Lotus Evora 400

[Raza]

Tonne is another name for a metric ton, or megagram.  It is not the British English spelling of "ton".

And kilogram is another word for 2.2 pounds.  My point still stands!

[Raza]

Lotus deserves to win.

My pick is still that Exige V6 though. Seperate the men from the mice

Evora for daily driving, Elise for weekends, Exige for trackdays.  Perfect garage. 

[MX793]

And kilogram is another word for 2.2 pounds.  My point still stands!

Be glad they weren't using stones and hundredweights (which, contrary to the name, does not equal 100 lbs, or 100 anything in British Imperial units).

[SVT666]

I am not a fan of the Evora, but I love this.

[Payman]

From Top Gear Magazine...

Lotus does love a special edition, and the latest is this, the Evora Sport 410.

It takes the latest version of the Evora - the 400 - and sharpens its focus yet more. There's less weight, more power and, as you'd expect, sharper performance as a result.

Its top speed is 186mph, while its 3.9sec 0-60mph time is not only 0.3sec quicker than the 400, but also on par with a Ferrari F50...

The extra 10bhp from its supercharged 3.5-litre V6 engine - output rising to 404 good old British horsepower, Lotus naming its cars with the rounder, more modern PS figure - plays its part, as does a whopping 70kg weight reduction.

That takes the Evora down to 1,325kg, about the same as a Ford Focus. Lotus has got there with some ruthless stripping of trim - arm rests, storage bins and speakers have all been ditched - and plenty of lightweight carbon trim, including the boot lid.

It's all allowed for recalibrated suspension, which is dropped 5mm compared to the Evora 400. Combined with the Evora's sharp dynamic elements - its limited-slip differential, sticky Michelin Cup tyres, its multi-stage stability control - it should be a more focused thing yet.

While weight has been slashed, the price has not, and at £79,995, you'll need an additional eight grand over an Evora 400 to upgrade to a 410. Production is limited to 150 cars

[12,000 RPM]

Evora for daily driving, Elise for weekends, Exige for trackdays.  Perfect garage.

If the tire noise is low I could DD the Exige. I would actually probably want something relaxing/luxurious for the weekends. My commute is pretty fun depending which way I go.

[Payman]

A 3-Eleven would round out my garage.

[Cookie Monster]

I love this car and the fact that Lotus is still making manual transmission, light weight cars when everyone else seems to have moved on from that concept.

Does this strip out those useless rear seats?

[Payman]

I love this car and the fact that Lotus is still making manual transmission, light weight cars when everyone else seems to have moved on from that concept.

Does this strip out those useless rear seats?

Good question... it's not mentioned.

Edit: YES, it's a 2-seater. http://www.lotuscars.com/evora-sport-410

[Cookie Monster]

Good question... it's not mentioned.

Edit: YES, it's a 2-seater. http://www.lotuscars.com/evora-sport-410

Sweet! I'd definitely take one of these over any 991 911. Don't know if I'd want one over an Exige but it's still nice.

[12,000 RPM]

Sweet! I'd definitely take one of these over any 991 911. Don't know if I'd want one over an Exige but it's still nice.

Was gonna ask about the GT3 but thats obvious.

Stickshift GTS?

Cayman GT4?

[Cookie Monster]

Was gonna ask about the GT3 but thats obvious.

Stickshift GTS?

Cayman GT4?

I'm not down with the looks, the weight or the weird 7MT on the 911. The GT3 is auto only and $40k more than this car.

I would take a GT4 over the Evora, but it'd be close. Both are so limited in quantity (this Evora even more so) that it's a moot point though.

[BimmerM3]

They might have moved, but there was a Fisker/Lotus shop in W-S as well. That Porsche dealer is almost in South Carolina, probably takes about as long to beat your way through traffic as it does to get to the Triad. Likewise, you go somewhere out West and it could be 500+ miles to the nearest dealership. I think ultimately the people that buy them aren't that concerned with the support aspect, no one expects a Lotus or Porsche to have a dealer nearby.

Definitely depends on the city. Atlanta has at least two Porsche dealerships, so even if one of them pisses you off for some reason, you can go elsewhere. Not to mention that it'd be easier to find an indie shop to work on a Porsche than a Lotus. Even if you're fairly close to a Lotus dealership, if they piss you off for some reason, you're probably still stuck dealing with them. Though ultimately it wasn't the deciding factor, it's one of the reasons I didn't buy the Elise I test drove a few years back before I bought the S2k.

[SVT666]

Definitely depends on the city. Atlanta has at least two Porsche dealerships, so even if one of them pisses you off for some reason, you can go elsewhere. Not to mention that it'd be easier to find an indie shop to work on a Porsche than a Lotus. Even if you're fairly close to a Lotus dealership, if they piss you off for some reason, you're probably still stuck dealing with them. Though ultimately it wasn't the deciding factor, it's one of the reasons I didn't buy the Elise I test drove a few years back before I bought the S2k.

Just because of dealership and service centre proximity, there are a lot of cars I wouldn't buy.

[CaminoRacer]

Definitely depends on the city. Atlanta has at least two Porsche dealerships, so even if one of them pisses you off for some reason, you can go elsewhere. Not to mention that it'd be easier to find an indie shop to work on a Porsche than a Lotus. Even if you're fairly close to a Lotus dealership, if they piss you off for some reason, you're probably still stuck dealing with them. Though ultimately it wasn't the deciding factor, it's one of the reasons I didn't buy the Elise I test drove a few years back before I bought the S2k.

I feel like exotic dealers are less likely to piss you off

[BimmerM3]

I feel like exotic dealers are less likely to piss you off

Maybe, maybe not. It's hard to tell until you take the risk.

In my case, even if there had been 10 Lotus dealerships in the area, I wouldn't have bought the car. The price alone was a good bit more than I really wanted to spend, not to mention insurance and maintenance costs, plus I'd have wanted to keep the Accord. I could have made it work, but it would have been a pretty stupid financial decision. But the dealership consideration made the list of "cons" a little bit longer, which made the decision a little more certain.

For the record, there is a Lotus dealership just north of Atlanta, but only the one. It's also an Aston Martin, Lamborghini, and McLaren dealership. I think it used to be a BMW place too, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

http://www.motorcarsofgeorgia.com/

[SVT666]

There are a couple McLarens, several Ferraris, a couple Lambos, and a couple Aston Martins in my town.  I have no idea where they get them serviced because the nearest dealers for all of them are 4-5 hours away.

[Payman]

There are a couple McLarens, several Ferraris, a couple Lambos, and a couple Aston Martins in my town.  I have no idea where they get them serviced because the nearest dealers for all of them are 4-5 hours away.

My guess is they drive them 4-5 hours away to get them serviced. 

[SVT666]

My guess is they drive them 4-5 hours away to get them serviced. 

I guess. That's a brutal 5 hour drive too. Across two mountain ranges and then you have to battle Vancouver traffic for almost two hours to get to the dealerships.

[Payman]

I guess. That's a brutal 5 hour drive too. Across two mountain ranges and then you have to battle Vancouver traffic for almost two hours to get to the dealerships.

Imagine living in Nfld. The nearest dealers for most exotics is Montreal. My brother decided against buying an Aston Vantage because the nearest service centre is Boston.

[68_427]

There are a couple McLarens, several Ferraris, a couple Lambos, and a couple Aston Martins in my town.  I have no idea where they get them serviced because the nearest dealers for all of them are 4-5 hours away.

There may be specialty indy shops

[Raza]

Be glad they weren't using stones and hundredweights (which, contrary to the name, does not equal 100 lbs, or 100 anything in British Imperial units).

I do know what a stone is. Hundredweight is new to me.

[Raza]

If the tire noise is low I could DD the Exige. I would actually probably want something relaxing/luxurious for the weekends. My commute is pretty fun depending which way I go.

Okay, Exige for DD (I'm skeptical, since you dumped the 350Z for a Civic  ), Evora for weekends, Evora 410 for track days.

[Raza]

I guess. That's a brutal 5 hour drive too. Across two mountain ranges and then you have to battle Vancouver traffic for almost two hours to get to the dealerships.

Dealers like that may have a concierge service that picks up the cars, if the drivers are willing. My mom's Mercedes dealership does it, but it's more like 40 minutes away, not 5 hours.

[SVT666]

If the tire noise is low I could DD the Exige. I would actually probably want something relaxing/luxurious for the weekends. My commute is pretty fun depending which way I go.

You got rid of the Z cause you don't do track days and it was too hardcore.

[12,000 RPM]

You got rid of the Z cause you don't do track days and it was too hardcore.

I would make an exception for the Exige. I would stop commuting on the motorcycle for the Exige. It's worth the sacrifice. Z wasn't

[Rich]

It's worth the sacrifice. Z wasn't

Why not?

[12,000 RPM]

Why not?

Well they are both loud and impractical

But the Z weighs ~1000lbs more, and definitely has nowhere near as good controls. Everything you had to interact with to control the car was unnecessarily heavy and a little imprecise. Steering gave zero feedback. Shift action was slow and heavy like an old Lamborghini. Etc. It required a lot of effort to drive but didn't give much in feedback/information.

Higher power to weight ratio doesn't hurt either.

I am seriously considering an Exocet if I decide to stop riding one day. Z showed me if I have a sports car it's got to be light and have good feedback. Cant do better in that regard than a Lotus

[AutobahnSHO]

My guess is they drive them 4-5 hours away to get them serviced. 

Don't those kind of cars have to be serviced every 4-5hrs anyway?   
Seems like if I had the cash for exotics I'd have the cash to have someone trailer it to the dealer (if it was out of town) and back.

[Rich]

Well they are both loud and impractical

But the Z weighs ~1000lbs more, and definitely has nowhere near as good controls. Everything you had to interact with to control the car was unnecessarily heavy and a little imprecise. Steering gave zero feedback. Shift action was slow and heavy like an old Lamborghini. Etc. It required a lot of effort to drive but didn't give much in feedback/information.

Higher power to weight ratio doesn't hurt either.

I am seriously considering an Exocet if I decide to stop riding one day. Z showed me if I have a sports car it's got to be light and have good feedback. Cant do better in that regard than a Lotus

I think you'd be pretty happy with an Elise.  Is it cheaper to go the Exocet route?

Elises have pretty bad shift action (but light) and the steering is heavy at low speeds (I've never driven a Z so I can't compare). 

Karts, Elises, and Atoms have ruined other cars' steering for me