Lotus
Automotive history books are filled with lusty machines wearing the Lotus roundel and the initials of the British automaker’s famous founder Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman. The phrase “simplify, then add lightness” has been accredited so frequently to Chapman’s creations that it’s practically a sacred text engraved on the hearts of auto enthusiasts worldwide – at least those who have experienced its true meaning behind the wheel of a proper Lotus sports car. But does every car wearing the Lotus badge have to be stripped down to the point that it’s useful for nothing but blasts down curvy strips of blacktop? Fans of the Lotus Evora have reason to believe otherwise.
The Lotus Evora is a true sports car. But it’s one that owners can live with every day without wearing their discomfort like an automotive hairshirt. Lotus bragged that the Evora could fit a full set of golf clubs in its cargo area and said it was designed to combine “track-bred performance with luxurious in-car comfort.” We’ll counter that by admitting that the Evora is no luxury car, but the fact that it married those two seemingly opposing elements as well as it did means it’s got the goods to add its name to the annals of collectibility.
But there’s more to the Evora story than that. Here are five more reasons the Evora has earned a spot on our list of future classics.
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Its award-winning chassis provides 50:50 weight distribution
Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian There’s a reason the most successful racing machines use mid-engine designs. Putting the biggest single lump of weight in the center of the chassis results in an ideal balance between the front and rear. And unlike some vaunted sports cars like the rear-engined Porsche 911, the engine of the Lotus Evora is located right where God and Colin Chapman intended: in the middle of its award-winning chassis.
While there’s plenty of debate about whether it’s best to have exactly 50 percent of a car’s weight over each axle, there’s no argument that the Evora’s 50:50 distribution results in sublime handling. If ultimate grip is the stick by which you measure cornering performance, many versions of the Evora pull more than 1G on the skidpad. But it’s the Evora’s lovely hydraulic power steering that provides excellent road feel that truly stands out.
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It’s a mid-engine car with four seats
Image Credit: David McNew Don’t get us wrong. A pair of grown adults are not going to cram themselves into the two rear perches of the Lotus Evora with smiles on their faces. The same can be said of most 2+2 sports cars, such as the aforementioned 911. The Ferrari Mondial uses the same layout as the Evora, and while opinions on the Italian’s styling are, to put it nicely, mixed, not many complain about the Lotus’ winsome lines and curvy good looks.
Lotus offered the Evora with or without the rear perch, so if having the extra pair of little buckets is important to you, be sure the car you’ve got your eye on has them.
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It was the fastest car Lotus had ever produced by the time it ended production
Image Credit: Ker Robertson Not all Evora models were created equal. When it was first introduced in 2009, the Evora could hit a top speed in excess of 160 miles per hour. Not bad, but by the time production ended in 2021, the Evora GT could hit 188 mph. Some earlier special editions could eke out a few more, but regardless, the Evora was the fastest car Lotus had ever made.
Production of the Evora has ended, and Lotus’ replacement, the Emira, wasn’t quite as fast at the top end. Lotus has since released its fully electric Evija, which has a top speed of well over 200 mph. Still, the Evora remains the fastest car made by Lotus that’s powered by an internal combustion engine.
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The engine and transmission ought to prove durable
Image Credit: Lotus Toyota doesn’t currently make a whole lot of cars designed to set enthusiast hearts aflutter. What the massive Japanese automaker does make a bunch of, however, are solidly reliable passenger cars powered by really good engines. And one of those Toyota-made engines powers the Lotus Evora, in either naturally aspirated or supercharged guise.
Toyota’s ubiquitous 2GR-FE can be found under the hoods of cars all around the world, including in some Avalon, Camry, and RAV4 models sold in the United States. It also powers some vehicles that are wearing the Lexus badge. In modified form using engine management software developed by Lotus, Toyota’s 3.5-liter V6 spins out a minimum of 276 horsepower and as many as 430 galloping ponies, depending on the Evora model it’s nestled inside.
The Evora’s transmissions – both automatic and manual were offered – were sourced from Aisin, a major Japanese supplier that has done business with just about every automaker in the world. Including, naturally, Toyota.
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Its name is a portmanteau of the three different words
Image Credit: Matt Balls Lotus loves the letter E. While under development, the program that would eventually result in the Evora production car was known as Project Eagle. The name didn’t stick. Instead, Lotus says Evora “was created from the words evolution, vogue, and aurora.”
We have no trouble buying the evolution part. While the Evora wasn’t based on any previous platform, it shared construction techniques – its lightweight aluminium tub is mated with a steel rear subframe and 6000 Series alloy extrusions bonded with an epoxy adhesive that is then riveted together – with previous models like the Elise. And vogue means a fashionable trend, so that sort of makes sense. But Aurora? We have no idea where that came from. Oh well, put together, the name Evora is memorable and, unlike some portmanteaus – Volkswagen Tiguan, we’re looking at you – it’s even easy to pronounce.
