Evora GTE in China?

[Mark Blanchard]

I just spotted an Evora GTE displayed on the Chinese Lotus website?  Is Lotus making the car for the Chinese market, as the safety regs are different?

 

http://www.lotuscarschina.com/

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

Didn't Lotus have a huge order for GTE's from China a couple of  years ago? 

[auRouge]

Does look good. What power would it have?

[Bibs]

That website features the old Exige which is no longer in production, I wonder how out of date it is? It's certainly not current.

[Exploded]

Didn't Lotus have a huge order for GTE's from China a couple of  years ago? 

 

Sadly no; there never came any money from the Chinese, still Lotus had already started to build the first batch of about 30 cars. I think quite a few forum members have seen these cars, behind the factory. Then again all parts on these cars were hand made... in the end first batch costed a whole lot more than the value they were supposed to be sold for...

Would have loved to see the GTE on the roads here...

Edited February 14, 2014 by Exploded

[Mark Blanchard]

Here's an old link, they were offering them for sale and giving test drives too.  Shame it never happened  .

 

http://www.carnewschina.com/2011/11/03/lotus-evora-listed-priced-in-china/

Edited February 14, 2014 by Mark B

[Snoopy1969]

As far as I heard from different sources: The GTE was n e v e r well developed - a lot of the work was made by another Company, rumours said that the Company hat a "Special relationship" to DB...whatever.....

[Bibs]

If it was never developed, how was another company involved?

 

The problem was exactly that. It was a concept, an idea and an unworkable one without considerable investment, which wasn't available for the Evora at that time. 

[Mark Blanchard]

So what's stopping Lotus from updating the standard Evora Sports Racer with the GTE splitter, upping the BHP a bit, adding a few decals and calling it the GTE?  It won't be the same but it's an easy fix.

[Bibs]

It'd probably need £3-4m worth of type approval if they changed that much. 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

So 25 years on does the 377bhp Lotus Carlton remain the most powerful production road car Lotus has ever produced?

[chipp]

If it was never developed, how was another company involved?

 

The problem was exactly that. It was a concept, an idea and an unworkable one without considerable investment, which wasn't available for the Evora at that time. 

 

Was there any road going mock-ups, maybe with just the body kit on?

 

chipp

[Bibs]

Yup, with massive spacers on the wheels.

[Snoopy1969]

@@@Bibs: with "lot of work" I referred to the spacers......(and the Body parts...)

[Mark Blanchard]

Would you need type approval just for the splitter?

 

If nothing else, I guess you can still make an Evora look like a GTE.  Mansory still sell their after market body kit: 

 

http://www.mansory.com/lotus-evora

 

 

 

[Snoopy1969]

That are two different kits, you could buy the parts of the cg car, but: if you - at least in Germany - have an accident with a pedestrian with that front splitter and it is a "non approved" one you have a (more than) Little Problem......

[Mark Blanchard]

I understand the top is a Mansory Evora Bespoke kit and the below is a Mansory GTE kit.

[TBD]

Most likely the body parts were not the issue. I would think the engine mods,the gearbox and the wider track were much more critical.

Nonetheless I would love to see some of the ideas make it into an eventual Evora facelift.

[Exploded]

I understand the top is a Mansory Evora Bespoke kit and the below is a Mansory GTE kit.

 

The red Evora is from a very good friend of mine. It's a Mansory, just like the gray one. Lotus dealer, Lotus Wallonie, had them rebuilt by Mansory. The difference is just that the gray one does not have the Mansory rear. A few months ago I was told, to that date the red one is still the only full "official" Mansory Evora.

 

Most likely the body parts were not the issue. I would think the engine mods,the gearbox and the wider track were much more critical.

Nonetheless I would love to see some of the ideas make it into an eventual Evora facelift.

As Bibs said a new homologation + moulds + ... were needed, the difference to a standard Evora was quite big. So even when Lotus asked 150k per car, as was stated in the press, it would still make a huge loss per car...

Edited February 14, 2014 by Exploded

[chipp]

Bahar had one on the road, I saw him in it near his house in Hethersett. Very nice.

 

chipp

[Bibs]

Reg was AU10 CEO and it was black. I've seen the car, it was the mockup of what they'd like the real thing to be

[Neal H]

Those Mansory cars are hideous!

[Russell Holdaway]

When I collected my evora from factory in 2012 they had a few built - they looked ready to go back then, such a shame it didn't make production, the look was very aggressive, if you think our cars are wide, the GTE is something else!

Nice carbon roof too - was it real?

Would love lotus to make a carbon tub'd version of the Evora a'la Alfa 4C! They look the same anyway!

[JAWS]

Would love lotus to make a carbon tub'd version of the Evora a'la Alfa 4C! They look the same anyway!

Why would you want that?, bearing in mind it would weigh more as well as cost a lot more to produce? Do you think the Evora needs any more structural rigity even when it is a class leader already?

[Bibs]

I think the stat is that you could hang an Evora off of an Evora and there would be less than 1.5% deflection in the chassis.