Lotus Evora GT430
Lotus adds power and downforce while reducing weight. Result: its fastest car yet
Lighter, punchier and quicker
Porsche 911 GT3, GT3 RS, Mercedes-amg GT S, Mclaren 540C…” These are the cars that Lotus boss Jean-marc Gales reels off when asked what he considers competitors for his firm’s latest model, the Evora GT430.
Those rivals might raise an eyebrow if your Evora impressions are still rooted in the 276bhp, £47,500 original from 2009. But the car has come a very long way since then, improved most dramatically in becoming the Evora 400 in 2015, incrementally so again with the Evora Sport 410 last year, and now with the GT430. At £112,500, it completes the Evora’s transformation from sports car to bona fide supercar, becoming the fastest and most powerful car Lotus has yet produced.
The changes over the Sport 410 run far deeper than the extra 20bhp that its name suggests. It does indeed have 20bhp more from its supercharged 3.5-litre V6 engine, but it’s the GT element of this car’s name that’s the real part of the transformation: this is effectively a GT4 race car for the road.
Or maybe that’s the other way round: stick the GT430’S Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres (from a 911 GT3, of course) on the GT4 race car instead of its usual slicks and, Lotus chief engineer Gav Kershaw reckons, it’s the road car that’s actually quicker due to its extra power.
The engine’s urgency and responsiveness are delivered through the much improved six-speed manual gearbox from the Exige 380, and you really feel the extra power on both road and track without ever being overwhelmed by it. For this remains an approachable, flattering car, one with a titanium exhaust that sings the most wonderful tune above 4500rpm.
As well as extra power, there is less weight – 36kg less than the Sport 410, in fact. Where that weight has been taken out is crucial: for the most part, the bumper side of the front and rear axles. The result of the front-end weight reduction is a turn-in that shocks you at first with just how immediate, precise and involving it is.
This is also exhibit number 312 for the fine Lotus ride and handling blend. The GT4 racer donates its adjustable race suspension to the GT430 and it makes the Evora more in tune with a British B-road than it has ever been before. The increased spring rates mean you can also feel more of that B-road than ever, which makes this less suitable every day than other Evoras. It’s more 911 GT3 than GT3 RS in this regard, though.
The aerodynamic package, most obvious on that rear wing, completes the ‘race car for the road’ makeover, with Lotus claiming that 250kg of downforce is produced by the car. The mechanical grip it creates is quite extraordinary, the speedometer requiring a double take on corner exit speeds around Lotus’s Hethel test track to see how fast you really are going. No Lotus has lapped the circuit faster.
Nor has one reached a higher top speed before, 190mph here, with high-speed tests on the autobahn having gone all the way to that speed.
It’ll stop rather promptly from those speeds too – the brakes resisting fade even under heavy track use and their effectiveness proving a very good demonstration of just how light the car is.
The Evora is now as good as it ever has been, and it credibly sits alongside some of Lotus’s named rivals as a driving tool. Although a 911 will always have this generation of the Evora licked inside and on everyday usability, no matter how much Lotus improves, the 60 people who’ll be getting a GT430 will not care one jot, and nor are they put off by the prospect of a £100k-plus Evora.