Driving Sports

There are certain invitations in the automotive world that one simply does not decline, and the chance to get a pre-launch peek at the Lotus Evora is right at the top of that list. Throw in a ride through Portland’s twisty West Hills up to Skyline Drive, and you’ve got a day that’s tailor-made for automotive nirvana.

Today was the day that Lotus brought their one-and-only North American promotional Evora to Lotus of Portland for an invitation-only preview. And Portlanders, if you haven’t been down to the MotoCorsa Ducati/Lotus store on NW Wilson Street, it’s well worth the trip to the Montgomery Park neighborhood. The place has the ambience of a European nightclub, with dozens of fabulous Ducatis and Aprilias, a theater area, and a fully-equipped espresso bar with free Wi-fi. If you’re into Italian bikes and Lotus cars (and really, who isn’t? No one I’d want to know), this place is the living end. When word gets around about this place, they’re going to need to hire a bouncer. I can’t imagine why anyone would ever leave.

But I digress ­– the point of the trip was to experience the new Evora. Lotus bills their latest model as a “2+2” – which is supposed to mean that there’s a back seat. Well, there is a back seat, technically. And I suppose if the people in the front seats are about 5 feet tall, you could even pull the seats forward enough to get someone in the back, but it would still have to be someone very small. For practical purposes just consider that back seat a good place to toss your helmet when you’re not on track, because this car cries out to spend a lot of time cutting hot laps.

Lotus has always been known for its engineering, and the Evora is no exception. They started with a chassis from the same design family as the successful Elise and Exige, half-again stiffer than a Ferrari 430. They gifted the Evora with a Lotus suspension, including custom-spec Eibach springs and Lotus-engineered Bilstein dampers. Big 13.8-inch brakes in front, and 12.7-inch rotors in back. All four rotors are vented and worked by 4-pot fixed AP calipers.

So you’ve got the full Lotus treatment in suspension and brakes, but it’s the engine and drivetrain where Lotus achieved true genius on the Evora. The engine is a rock-solid 2GR-FE 3.5-liter V6 made by Toyota. It’s the same fundamental power plant that Toyota sticks into millions of Camry sedans every year. Of course, the plain jane Toyota engine has been massaged up to 276 horsepower and 252 pound-feet of torque by Lotus engineers, but the point is that the Evora’s performance comes in an absolutely bulletproof package, with low maintenance costs.

Similarly, the crisp 6-speed manual transmission in the Evora is sourced from a European Toyota diesel model, with custom gear ratios selected by the Lotus engineers. What that adds up to is a proven reliable drivetrain for this mid-engined exotic. In the future, Lotus plans to add a paddle-shifted automatic option, also purchased from Toyota.

The technology side of the engine is fully-featured. The Evora features intelligent variable valve timing, traction control, ABS, and an electronically-controlled differential. Of course, being a Lotus, the automatic traction control features are set to kick in only when the driver has exhausted all hope of controlling the car. Score another point for Lotus!

Putting it all together, the Evora delivers headrest-denting acceleration of 0-60 in 4.9 seconds, a top speed of 162 (governed) miles per hour, and over 30 MPG on the highway. Then you get authoritative braking and a ride that is equal parts race car feel for the road and tuned suspension smoothness. Lotus did their homework and really got the Evora right. This is a comfortable high-speed touring car that you can also drive to victory in an autocross, and to serious bragging rights at your favorite track day. Power comes on smoothly, and there’s plenty of it without any risk of getting in over your head – if you know what you’re doing.

Finally, those of us who tend towards the tall and fully-figured know that the biggest obstacle to getting into a Lotus Exige was physical. It’s an episode of America’s Most Pathetic Home Videos to contort a 6-foot, 250-pound middle aged automotive journalist into an Exige, but I’m happy to say that the Evora is as accommodating as a Miata. Just slide right into the seats. Egress is equally graceful, and the cockpit is both comfortable and roomy while you’re in the car. The Lotus marketing staff have been driving this Evora from city to city on this sneak peek tour, and they report clocking hundreds of miles in perfect comfort. And the trunk is larger (at 5.7 cubic feet) than most exotics provide.

Pricing on the Evora is well to the good side of most exotics. Starting at $73,500, you get everything I’ve described. For an extra $1500, you get the sport gearing in the transmission. Past that, there’s a technology kit with navigation, stereo, and backup camera and radar and a Premium package if you want leather. Then there’s a Sport package with more aggressive engine tuning, sports traction control with higher thresholds, and the cross-drilling on the brake rotors. If you open up the option book and get the car fully optioned-up, you’re still shopping in the low 80s. That’s thousands less than a comparable Audi R8, and half the ticket price of a Ferrari or Lambo.

The bottom line on the Lotus Evora is that it’s a natural extension of the Elise and Exige lineup – an excellent choice for someone who wants a car that’s equally at home on the race track, or heading to the coast for a long weekend.