Evora Sport 410

[The Pits]

Fun per Euro peaks at a used Evora S for sure but that can't be a criticism of any new car. When the Evora S was new the fun per Euro ratio belonged elsewhere too.

Lotus were selling cars at negative margins until recently. That couldn't go on. Those who bought a few years ago were enjoying an unsustainably good deal. JMG has taken an average of £3000 cost out of every car made and hiked the prices up. With such low volumes that is the only option. Margins are now at around 11% according to a recent article, before that the dealers were making more than Lotus on each car sold!

No idea about 911s but I bet the 'Clubsport' was nothing like 70kg lighter than the regular 911!

Less weight is better (and faster) than more power, come on guys preaching to the converted here surely?!

The Exige V6 Cup had not a single more bhp, a similar 70kg drop and pretty hefty price premium to pay for it. But it was worth every penny to me. LMS totally transformed it as a trackday car. If they had given the V6 Cup 10 bhp on top I'd have been ecstatic!

 

[JayEmm]

@Snoopy1969 in the 1990s Porsche introduced the 968 "Clubsport" here because the 968 was having a hard time selling. Stripped out, less extras, lighter, but quicker. Sold like hotcakes. Was cheaper than the normal 968 too. How times change.

I could have sworn @The Pits I remember reading somewhere that much above the standard amount of torque and the Lotus DPM might have issues, as it confuses the extra torque with poor traction. In fairness, I find the Evora so well planted I am not sure I would be that worried. The ECU doesn't seem to stop you having interesting moments even in full nanny mode.

I don't think it should be any surprise the Evora has always felt like it could handle more power. The platform was built so you could spin an Esprit variant off it easily...

That being said, I went out in a friends' C63 AMG the other day, about 500bhp and well over 450lb-ft of torque, I expected it to be masses faster than the Evora. It wasn't. Didn't feel quicker at all.

[geartox]

performance based on numbers and feeling about a driving experience are for me two different domains. 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

We've got to the point now where plenty of decent performance cars are doing 0-60mph in 4 seconds and 0-100mph in 10 seconds. With modern auto 'boxes and electronics anyone can achieve these sort of figures in a saloon like a C63. The straight-line performance gap between hot saloons and supercars has pretty much disappeared. I guess we can blame the Lotus Carlton for starting that trend, but at least you still had to actually DRIVE that thing...

[JayEmm]

The Carlton would still be classed as a seriously quick saloon NOW. I have never even sat in one, but considering the numbers it achieved were with old school turbos and a manual box, I bet it still feels bloody rapid

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

It was certainly adequate...

Edited January 10, 2017 by LotusLeftLotusRight

[The Pits]

It would still feel quick today. It took Lotus over 20 years to better its 377bhp and in terms of torque they still have a long way to go.

The Evora Sport 410's 302lbs/ft pales in comparison to the Carlton's 419lbs/ft!

I had one back in the 90s an it was an absolute beast. Despite the Corvette ZR1 gearbox the torque was too much for mine!

[C8RKH]

The only Lotus I would swap my S1 Evora for is an Evora 410. Who knows, maybe this year it will happen. I hope so anyway. Colour and final spec all sorted, just need the cash in the bank.

[hedgerley]

I guess one might call this a conquest sale. Will be interesting to follow this guys thread once he takes delivery, or maybe he will appear here soon...

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=&t=1644156

[Danelaw]

I've just seen McLaren on facebook getting a fair degree of attention for an ad suggesting you can drive a 540C for less than £32 per day with PCP and deposit.

Clearly the devil is in the detail with deals like this, but the start is to sew the seed that the dream can be a reality. Personally I think the Lotus 50/50 deal is a winner, but a low per price day gets the comments on social media even if the reality is a little different. Since the 410 is much better value Lotus should be able to do some equally creative marketing...

[JayEmm]

I saw a McLaren ad recently similar to that, have a McLaren for £1000 a month or something.

With a £35k deposit. Then another £99k after if you want to keep the car.

Lotus should do German car amnesty. Trade value on any Porsche, Audi or BMW being changed for a Lotus. Call it "cash for krauts" in the states

 

McLaren seem to be trying to be the darling of the YouTubers. Not sure if it's genius, or a terrible idea. They obviously appreciate the reach, but I suppose you have to be careful about brand image when you're this kind of company.

[C8RKH]

4 minutes ago, JayEmm said:

I saw a McLaren ad recently similar to that, have a McLaren for £1000 a month or something.

With a £35k deposit. Then another £99k after if you want to keep the car.

Lotus should do a German car amnesty. Trade value on any Porsche, Audi or BMW being changed for a Lotus. Call it "cash for crap" in the states

Fixed it for you. 

Then break those pieces of shit for parts.

[Colin P]

2 hours ago, hedgerley said:

I guess one might call this a conquest sale. Will be interesting to follow this guys thread once he takes delivery, or maybe he will appear here soon...

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=&t=1644156

I was going to point him over here in my first post (Boogs), but piston heads don't like the letters TLF (especially in your user id) 

 

[DJW]

11 hours ago, The Pits said:

I wasn't able to drive a V6 Cup before ordering so had to put all my faith in Lotus Motorsport. It worked out well on that occasion but in the absence of that most excellent department I feel more inclined to wait until I have driven one this time around. If it takes 6 months so be it. Another year in a V6 Cup is the kind of hardship I can live with!

The really intriguing thing for existing Exige owners who do enjoy track days is the claimed Hethel laptime.

Evora S - 1.38

Evora 400 - 1.32

Exige V6S - 1.32

Exige Sport 350 - 1.29

Evora Sport 410 - 1.28

There never was an official Hethel lap time for the V6 Cup, having driven both around the test track I believe it's still a bit quicker than the Exige Sport 350 but it can't be by much. Quicker than 1.28? Doubtful. So the Sport 410 should in theory be able to offer the advantages and extra road comfort of the Evora platform with track capability similar to that of an Exige V6 Cup. That's quite an enticing thought and for me, possibly a better return for a similarly large cost to change to get into an Exige Sport 380.

 

1.26.5 for the Exige 380 ? 

Edited January 10, 2017 by DJW

[Danelaw]

16 minutes ago, DJW said:

1.26.5 for the Exige 380 ? 

I believe the 311 race version has done 1.19.5.

Can someone add a time for a NA Evora so I don't have to feel my S is the slowest please.

[The Pits]

Yes the 380 is very fast around Hethel. But that's an Exige's main job and they are very good at it.

The Evora is a much more complex car when you see them going down the line in the factory. They take longer to make and everything is more substantial. I'm actually more impressed that they have got an Evora around Hethel faster than an Exige Sport 350. The 350 is a spectacularly good track car in its own right.

I've edited the list for you John.

Lapping Hethel in the same time as an Exige Cup 260 is no disgrace at all, that car was sub 900kg!

[DJW]

Good point re 410..... damn, now you are talking me into checking one out...... stop it man 

Suppose one thing lap times don't show, is how many laps the car can keep that up for though, before it needs to be rested up.  One assumes the weight difference means an Exige can go get on for longer and be more gentle on consumables ?

Edited January 11, 2017 by DJW

[DJW]

BTW re hethel lap times , from this article the slightly lighter 350 states lap time of 1m29.9s https://www.thelotusforums.com/latest-news/lotus-cars-news/sub-1100kg-lotus-exige-350-special-edition-released/

is there a dedicated thread for Hethel lap times, as would be a great reference plus good for SEO ?

[NW76]

Really interesting ... do we know on what tires those Laptimes were achieved? That would be really helpful to assess true car performance differences ...

[Bibs]

1 hour ago, DJW said:

is there a dedicated thread for Hethel lap times, as would be a great reference plus good for SEO ?

I don't think there is but you're very welcome to start one. I could also use that to add an article to our homepage which is updated as new (and no doubt faster!) times come out of the factory. 

[The Pits]

Lets at least start a thread which I'll do shortly. Will dig out some more precise numbers too, tenths of a second always count!

Like anything to do with laptimes, it's guaranteed to cause controversy and much debate!

[JayEmm]

@DJW from my experience of the Evora on track, it takes a hell of a beating before anything starts to give up. After about 10-12 consecutive laps I eventually started getting a small wobble under heavy braking, but I think that was relating to something else on my car.

The brakes certainly never gave even a hint of fade. 

My own limited time with an Elise and I have a similar conclusion to @C8RKH, which we discussed at the Xmas meal. The Evora I feel so much more confident in, I can really push it. I expect the V6 Exige is very different to the Elise, but with the Elise I always have this concern it could go badly wrong which just isn't there with the Evora. No doubt more time behind the Elise will change that but the Evora seems quicker, easier.

[JT73]

Two things I discovered driving to work today:

(1) the steering wheel position is adjustable - how I didn't realise this previously I don't know.  But allows the seat position to be adjusted, and is now perfect!

(2) opening the window...wow!  The noise from the exhaust is even more epic!  Actually shows that there is a reasonable amount of noise insulation within the cabin.

[JayEmm]

@JT73 did you opt for the sound insulation pack?

[JT73]

Sound deadening came with the stereo/sat nav option - I assume this is the £250 sound insulation pack option, but when I ordered it was included.  For £250, I can't imagine there is a huge amount of sound insulation...

Don't get me wrong, the exhaust is very noticeable, but I appreciated even more when I opened the window! :-)