Lotus unveils its most powerful road car with ultra-lightweight technology
AFTER successful launches into the global auto market of its Evora 400 and Evora Sport 410 models, British sports car manufacturer Lotus has unveiled what promises to be an almost instant classic in the shape of the Evora GT430.
Lotus has built itself quite a reputation as a manufacturer with serious expertise when it comes to the development of ultra-lightweight vehicle technology, and the Evora GT430 is the very latest culmination of all that expertise.
Weighing in at a dry weight of just 1,258 kg, the new model sets a new benchmark for the company as its most powerful road-going car to- date.
Lotus has paid particular attention to the hand- crafted carbon-fibre components used to deliver incredible weightsaving and a level of precision engineering and design unseen before. Coupled with 430 horsepower and 250 kg of downforce at a maximum speed of 190 mph, the performance and handling of the new Lotus promises to be nothing short of breathtaking.
The engine producing that 430 horsepower is a supercharged and charge- cooled 3.5-litre V- 6, which will get the GT430 from a standing start to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds.
Thisnk of the Sport 410 as an upscale, upsized retake on the more miniscule mid- engine Elise that returned Lotus to volume production in 1995.
The Elise boasted a groundbreaking chassis of bonded aluminum extrusions and the new Evora was a great car at the time of its US introduction in 2010— an Elise with a V- 6, just shy of 11 inches more wheelbase, and a tiny but still useful backseat.
It was, however, still possessed of a few more rough edges than a firm with a longstanding reputation for rough edges might want their self-proclaimed Porsche competitor to contain.
Geely’s on to something.— Relaxnews