British sports car specialist Lotus Cars has launched the beautiful Evora sports car in Australia.
Powered by Toyota's 3.5-litre DOHC V6 engine, the Evora is priced at $149,990 for the two-seater or $156,990 for the 2+2.
Founded by legendary designer Colin Chapman and with a long history in Grand Prix racing, Lotus Cars has endured some ups and downs, but has emerged to do what it does best - create real sports cars. Its recent models - Elise, Exige and Europa have been critically acclaimed and the Evora picked up numerous awards since being launch in the UK last year.
And while some older Lotus cars have been somewhat stark in their equipment levels, in keeping with today's market, the Evora has a comprehensive list of standard and luxury features including beautifully crafted leather interiors and available touch screen, reversing camera and driver-select adjustable driving modes for the engine and suspension set-ups.
It even comes with the peace-of-mind provided by a three-year, 100,000kms warranty and the 2+2 version includes ISOFIX mountings in the rear seat for child seat installation.
Still based in Hethel, in the East of England, Lotus has installed a dedicated new assembly line for the Evora with much of the car being hand-crafted. The central tub is made from extruded aluminium and the roof is a composite structure which is a stressed structural member of the chassis - all to provide maximum stiffness for pin-sharp handling.
The suspension is straight from motor sport technology - fully independent with beautiful forged aluminium unequal length double wishbones with Eibach springs and Bilstein mono tube gas dampers. Same story with the brakes - AP Racing 4-piston fixed aluminium 2-piece calipers with massive ventilated discs and Bosch ABS.
Frontwheels are 18-inch alloys while the rears are 19-inch.
Inside are adjustable Recaro black leather seats and a flat bottomed magnesium steering wheel bound in high quality leather. There is even standard air-conditioning and an Alpine audio system with iPod connectivity - items that certainly wouldn't have made the list in Colin Chapman's day.
Lotus has been in partnership with Toyota for several decades and the 2GR-FE 3.5-litre V6 engine is enhanced after it arrives in Hethel. Lotus fits its own engine management software and exhaust system which boost peak power to 206kW at 6400rpm and torque to 350Nm at 4700rpm.
Drive is via a six-speed manual transmission and the fuel consumption is admirably low at 8.7l/100kms.
Lotus Cars Australia has secured 30-40 Evoras for local sale this year.
