Lotus has a chequered history quite apart from its seven Formula 1 World Championships.The road car and engineering businesses have gone through periodic crises and since Colin Chapman,the founder and inspiration of Lotus,died in 1982,the company has had three different owners:General Motors, Romano Artioli’s Bugatti,and Proton of Malaysia.Lotus seems to have settled down under Proton thanks in no small part to Mike Kimberley,Lotus CEO from 1983 to 1991 who returned to the company in 2006 and established a five-year plan to secure its future.Kimberley’s retired with health problems in July this year but only after he had brought the new Evora to the market.
The Evora is the first completely new Lotus in 13 years yet it was developed in just 27 months.In recent times Lotus has survived and thrived by producing multiple variants of the Elise,the lightweight back-to-basics open two-seater that was born in the Bugatti era.Apart from numerous special edition Elises and the Exige and Europa coupes,the Opel Speedster and the electric Tesla Roadster are derived from the same platform.
There had been a plan to extend the range with ‘MSC’ (Mid-engined Supercar),a V8 successor to the old Lotus Esprit that would compete in same price class as the Porsche 911 and Audi R8.Kimberley reckoned that Lotus was missing a trick by favouring MSC ahead of a less expensive 2+2 model which would be an attainable step up for Elise enthusiasts.MSC was postponed and Project Eagle put in its place.
Because other companies had title to the name,Eagle became Evora: the only current mid-engined production car with occasional rear seats. The Elise requires its owner to make compromises in comfort and practicality for a driving experience like race car.The Evora had to retain Lotus’ renowned performance and handling qualities while providing the refinement and ease of use of an everyday car. And have a UK price below £50,000 (Rs 37 lakh).
The Evora achieves its objectives. It is, quite simply, a delight to drive. It is adequately fast: 0-100kmph in 5 seconds and 260kmph maximum speed. It corners impeccably and rides over bumps with a suppleness that is typical Lotus: sports cars don’t have to have joltingly hard suspension. Part of the secret is a mastery of spring and damper settings but Lotus engineers say that the major contributor is the stiffness of the car’s aluminium chassis.
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