Lotus Evora | Lotus Evora Pictures | Lotus Evora Photos | Lotus Pics

Lotus has unveiled its highly secretive Project Eagle car, which is officially christened the Lotus Evora at the 2008 British International Motor Show. It is the most important Lotus since the Elise was unveiled 13 years ago and heralds the marque’s return to the GT market.


Lotus Evora is 2+2 mid-engined sports car weighs just 1,350 kg and is powered by a Toyota 3.5 liter V6 Dual VVT-i engine with a Lotus T6e ECU putting out 280 PS at 6,400rpm and 342Nm of torque at 4,700rpm. Evora 0 to 100km/h time is measured at under 5 seconds.


Lotus is targeting 2000 sales per annum for the Evora and will be priced between £45k to a little over £50k.


At the environmental front, CO2 emissions are measured at just under 225 g/km and the car achieves more than 30 mpg on a combined cycle. This is mated to a 6-speed manual, but the ratios are tuned for a more relaxing GT-like drive.


Braking system of the Evora is via AP Racing 4-pot calipers for both front (350mm disc) and rear (332mm disc), hiding behind large 18 inch wheels at the front and 19 inch wheels at the rear wrapped with Yokohama rubber in 225/40ZR18 and 255/35ZR19 sizes respectively.


Lotus Evora chassis is based on the Lotus Versatile Vehicle Architecture,and the car itself measures 3242mm long and 1223mm tall with a track of 1565mm at the front and 1557mm at the rear. The body has a drag coefficient of 0.33 cD.


The Evora’s composite roof is used as a stressed structural member to help the vehicle achieve a chassis stiffness of 26,000 Nm per degree. The suspension uses Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs with dual path top mounts.



All the switches in the car are edge-lit to replicate those found on top-end hi-fi systems and a central touch-screen will operate all radio and sat-nav controls.


The interior configuration apes the themes and lines of the exterior with a ‘floating’ centre console and a contrasting band that runs from the dash right around the cabin and across the rear seats.


The Recaro seats of Lotus Evora are a little larger than those in the Elise and there’s more shoulder room between the driver and front seat passenger, while the dash is formed from leather and aluminium .