The Baby Ferrari That Ferrari Refuses To Build
By Matt Davis, Contributor Email
Date posted: 05-13-2009

About midway between, say, an Ariel Atom and a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti sits the 2010 Lotus Evora. This all-new Lotus 2+2 is a real Lotus at heart and it takes the noble East Anglian company into the third phase of its life. There was the original glory of the Colin Chapman years from 1952 up to his sudden death in 1982 and then the deeply troubled second period that ended in 1995 with the financial success of the Lotus Elise and its variants. And now the Evora is a clear signal that Lotus Cars can once again attain real worldwide glory.

Over the course of 200 miles through the lichen-covered landscape northwest of Glasgow, Scotland, we had the chance to check out everything about the Evora with Rob Savin, Lotus product planning manager, who was acting as passenger and navigator. There were long straights for overtaking, a lot of braking moments for harder lefts and rights and a huge number of shifts between 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears. Right off, we can happily report that heel-and-toe downshifts are easy and peak revs at 7,000 rpm are readily available.

Dashing through every kind of weather, the lightweight Evora devoured it all handily. Even when we got pelted by big rain (and once by hail), we discovered that the 2010 Lotus Evora doesn't really need to slow down by much. It's a sports car with four seats.

Choice Chassis
Of all the technical fun for which Lotus Engineering is renowned, the development of a cost-effective, durable and dynamic modular chassis has been the key to its success. The Evora represents Lotus Cars' first use of the new low-volume Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA) originally shown at the 2006 Geneva Auto Show and later displayed at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show as "Project Eagle."

This customizable architecture — designated "122" in Hethel white papers — weighs 450 pounds as it sits beneath the Evora. It has a bonded-aluminum front structure bolted to the bonded-aluminum passenger tub, which is bolted in turn to a steel rear structure that holds the engine. Even before the fiberglass body is bonded and bolted to the chassis, the structural rigidity of the Evora platform in both bending and torsion is more than 60 percent greater than that for a Lotus Elise or Exige. Add the body parts and these figures are upped by over 150 percent and just eclipse the figures recorded for the Porsche Cayman.

Just as in Colin Chapman's day, it's this high structural integrity that allows the compliant suspension to work its magic.

Toyotus
But nothing matters, of course, if the engine and transmission aren't overachieving at all times. It begins with the packaging challenge represented by the transverse, DOHC 3,456cc Toyota V6 (Toyota has provided hardware to Lotus since the days of the Esprit). The Evora is, after all, the world's only midengine 2+2, and the car's 105.3-inch wheelbase must accommodate the front passengers, the kids in back and the engine.

Our 2010 Lotus Evora test car came fully optioned, including both the Sport Upgrade Pack and the sports-ratio gearbox with its shorter ratios for 3rd through 6th gears. In this trim, the Evora's V6 with variable valve timing has 276 horsepower peaking at 6,400 rpm and 258 pound-feet of torque at 4,700 rpm, which together get us to 60 mph in an estimated 4.9 seconds. This Lotus definitely feels about that quick, as with a quoted curb weight of 2,976 pounds (weight distribution is 39 percent front/61 percent rear), each horse is carrying just 10.8 pounds. Of course, it's definitely better for performance to keep the revs around 3,500, and we generally felt best when downshifting to 3rd for overtaking, but that's not much sacrifice. A top speed of 155 mph is possible, we're told.

This seemingly pedestrian Toyota V6 has until now only ever been attached to an automatic transmission in a Camry, Venza, Lexus GS, et al., so Lotus has had to adapt things to fit the Aisin six-speed manual transmission. Both the clutch and new single-mass flywheel were designed by Lotus and built by AP Driveline. As a testament to the excellent control of noise, vibration and harshness, the cabin doesn't register any engine badness, and the interaction between throttle and shifter is at once smooth and deliberate. The exhaust note is nothing to write home about, but the good news is that U.S. regulations allow Lotus to send us louder cars than the rest of the world gets!

There are plans for an optional six-speed automatic with shift paddles — sourced again from Toyota and heavily adapted by Lotus — to be available later in 2010. Projections give the 2010 Lotus Evora an EPA rating of 27.1 mpg combined. In fact, after 150 miles of our aggressive Scottish tour, we eyed the gas gauge and did a double-take at the meager use of fuel.

MacDrive, Laddie!
With a 27-month development schedule between Project Eagle's green light and the Evora we're driving, the dynamics team led by Matt Becker has worked a wonder by rendering this ultra-rigid assembly capable and comfortable over any road surface while using an undramatic conventional suspension. Becker and his team are reportedly toying with a Porsche-style variable damping option, but we reckon the Evora just doesn't need it.

The Bilstein dampers with Eibach springs deliver an all-around pleasing balance that we have not yet felt from any other manufacturer's default setup. Becker states, "When we started the process with Bilstein, these dampers had only 12 possible fluid-bypass shims. By the end we had together designed and tested a total of 60." New lightweight wishbones made from forged aluminum also help maintain a balance between a comfortable ride and responsive handling as we rocket along through the heather.

Another useful aspect of the Evora's suspension design is the application of soft suspension bushings to make the ride more comfortable, a move again made possible by the very rigidity of the whole car. As a result, we expect that Lotus can play with the suspension bushings and the rear antiroll bar to easily develop a hotter version of the Evora for the future.

Round and Round
At the last moment, Lotus switched its tire supplier for this car from its customary partner Yokohama to Pirelli, and the 2010 Lotus Evora now carries 225/40ZR18 front and 255/35ZR19 rear Pirelli P Zero rubber. Compared to the Yokohama Advan Sport LTS treads we tried in an earlier prototype ride at Lotus HQ at Hethel, these Pirellis make a serious difference in all-around performance at higher speeds, through testing corners, and even around town. Lotus tells us that Yokohama will still provide the optional set of winter tires for the Evora.

Though the Evora features hydraulically assisted power steering, we didn't ever feel anything but connected to the road while guiding it through its paces. There was no hint of numbness or feeling of being forced to on-center whatsoever. Chipping in here, no doubt, is the incredibly light magnesium inner hoop of the flat-bottom steering wheel, which heightens steering feel.

Braking is also spot-on with AP Racing vented discs (also cross-drilled in the Sport Upgrade Pack) and calipers fore and aft. We were literally trying to make some perceptible fade happen through repeated tight turns, but failed. Initial figures put the Evora's 60-0-mph braking distance at a tooth-yanking 110.3 feet.

This test car's one-piece forged wheels are a worthwhile option, as each wheel reduces unsprung weight by nearly 7 pounds. There is currently a traction control function plus ABS, but all cars arriving in North America will come with a full stability control system that can be deactivated in two stages.

Total Package Inside and Out
Since we're in here, we should tell you that the interior as designed by Anthony Bushell is right on the money. We feel securely placed in the Recaro seats (ready for a racing harness, if you like), there's a full-size allotment of head- and legroom, and visibility from the front and side is ample. Rear vision through the center mirror is a small disaster aided only a little when you opt for the Alpine onboard system with reverse camera, and the blind spots back there are substantial. Buyers can request either a two-seat layout with a rear parcel area or this car's 2+2 configuration to give the kids a secret clubhouse in back.

Whether you stick with the partial leather interior or go for the Premium Upgrade Pack's full leather treatment, the leather used is from hides supplied by Scotland's own Muirhead catalog. As a result, the 2010 Lotus Evora really does feel like a better and slightly smaller version of a Ferrari F430.

The exterior design by Steve Crijns is pure Lotus from several views — the grinning front with prominent air passages and the rear fascia in particular. This means that, being a Lotus, it will cause wide-ranging opinionated discussions with no resolution. Perfect, we think.

The famously wide door sills of the Lotus modular chassis seen in the Elise and Exige (a consequence of the big bonded pontoons that provide structural rigidity) have been narrowed an inch apiece for the Evora to improve ingress and egress, plus the door openings are more generous in dimension up top, while the H-point of the seats are 2.5 inches higher than those of any previous Lotus. As a consequence, you can now actually live with a Lotus every day.

It's Not Just for Kids
The Evora will roughly double production at Lotus to nearly 4,000 units annually and the plan is to produce 12,000 examples over the next six years. The first Evora deliveries in North America begin in January 2010, with the price of the two-passenger version expected to start at close to $73,000 and the 2+2 adding only a little for around $74,500. Lotus Cars USA reports 150 sold orders to date, with most dealers accepting fully refundable $5,000 deposits for a spot in line.

With the 2010 Lotus Evora, Lotus seems as if it's ready to break out of its niche as a maker of hobby cars to become a mainstream manufacturer. And just like one of the big names, impressive technology is the key to its accomplishment. Ferrari has long resisted a return to the portion of the market once occupied by its V6-powered Dino 246 GT in the late 1960s, the Italian company's first midengine street car, but now Lotus has built the baby Ferrari that Ferrari won't