Evora Sport 410

[NedaSay]

It actually was...

 

[French Frie]

oops 

 

[The Pits]

Thanks to the enormous generosity of one of our Evora Sport 410 owning members, I had the chance to drive the car today on dry roads in bright sunshine.

If you're thinking of getting one just get on with it. You can thank me later. 

Yes, much more to come on this soon. Until then, this is what a good day looks like!

 

[Stubox]

Git.....I have nothing more to say

[The Pits]

Sorry! Forgot this 

 

[Stubox]

Oh ffs then get on with it

[CocoPops]

Wow, how different the greens are.

Racing Green (410) and Motorsport Green? (Exige)

[The Pits]

Yes the greens are quite different when parked next to each other. Both sodding nice though. I used to think it was worth paying extra to have it in 'proper' Motorsport Green but it just looks terrific as it is. Unlikely to be worth the extra.

Just for Stu the very condensed version:

Carbon panels are stunning. Even better quality than the Sport 380 stuff if that's possible. As good as I've seen on any car, at least on a par with Aston Martin (and they do carbon very well).

It's very quick. The Exige Sport 380 has the edge up to 6k but the Sport 410 is gaining fast from 5000rpm and but over the last 1000rpm it feels even quicker. Lovely crescendo, the limiter just comes too soon. So smooth, felt good for another 1500rpm. Top end of the gods.

Felt to me like it would start to walk away from an Exige at autobahn speeds.

The ride is the definitely the firmest yet in an Evora (haven't driven a GTE sadly) but it still felt pretty plush and compliant straight after an Exige Cup.

I can totally see how the Evora 400 would be the better choice for some. The 410 is more focused than it may appear on paper. I think it will feel very at home on track. For me that is a good thing, no point in keeping it too close to the 400. It's the Evora for those, like me, who've always wanted one but always seemed to go for the Exige when it came down to it. Yes it's very expensive but it looks and feels very special too, has incredible road presence, way beyond the individual differences to the Evora 400. Beyond its price too. It's a wildly more exotic car than a base 911. A less accomplished all rounder, probably yes, but you don't even get carbon work like this on a GT3RS. The 911 is better finished in other areas of course, particularly inside, but this would surely be a more exciting thing to own?

I don't know how these turnip farmers do it. They seem to make a complete hash of some things and then they go and knock out a car like the Evora Sport 410 out of nowhere.

An amazing, inspiring car with almost zero promotion, not available to test drive, nothing on Youtube. What are they playing at?!

[DaveC72]

You utter, utter toe-rag. 

I am currently greener than both of those stunning cars put together. 

That must have been quite a sight - and just around the corner from me by the looks of it.

[The Pits]

Dave, I so wanted to call you just in case you were around today but it would have taken us ages to wipe off the drool and I had pictures to take.

With luck we'll get that very car along to a Hants drink before the year is out. The owner is an absolutely top bloke. It's about time we had one in the Hants crew!

 

 

[JayEmm]

Interesting @The Pits - we agree on the engine. I still occasionally headbutt the limiter as the engine really feels like it wants to keep spinning. I've driven many cars, even sporty ones, where the last 1,000rpm just feels like unwanted effort but the Lotus really goes for it. 

[nerobi]

Maybe it is about the gearbox limitation again?

[The Pits]

[auRouge]

It's going to do well if Lotus let it. A big name needs to drive and indorse it soon before its forgotten about by the next big thing.

[Cypriot]

The 410 in that colour and spec just looks stunning... thank you to the owner and Pits for the forthcoming comparison!  How much money does one have to give to get the likes of top gear/grand tour to get them to put it on their show? Or to be part of some kind of Evo Car of the Year? that would be great exposure...

[C8RKH]

I do prefer the MSG, but agree both look stunning.

[Bravo73]

1 hour ago, Cypriot said:

How much money does one have to give to get the likes of top gear/grand tour to get them to put it on their show?

Unfortunately, for as long as Chris Harris is involved with Top Gear, I imagine that there won't be many (if any) Lotuses on the program. That bridge is, well & truly, burnt. 

[Neal H]

I think the photos make the racing green look lighter than it is in reality.

Really looking forward to seeing the write up and kudos to the 410 owner for making the car available

[The Pits]

Yes that green is hard to capture on camera, with my limited skills anyway. It is more blue than MSG which has more yellow in it. Gorgeous colour for the car either way and you won't get mistaken for a common as muck Lamborghini quite so often.

 

[Gashead1105]

So I guess your order has gone in? Or are you going for the blue one that's at the dealer in Weston-super-mare? 

[The Pits]

No I think for that money I'd wait for one to be built to a unique spec.

Like a few others here I'm still weighing up modding my current car, going for an Exige Sport 380 or Evora Sport 410 from Lotus plus one or two non-Lotus possibilites.

No idea where it's going to end up as of today, lots of numbers I need to see first, but driving the Sport 410 certainly didn't help to rule it out!

[NW76]

@The Pits Just out of curiosity: what are your non Lotus thoughts? 

6 hours ago, Bravo73 said:

Unfortunately, for as long as Chris Harris is involved with Top Gear, I imagine that there won't be many (if any) Lotuses on the program. That bridge is, well & truly, burnt. 

What happend with Chris Harris and Lotus? 

[nerobi]

21 minutes ago, NW76 said:

What happend with Chris Harris and Lotus? 

http://jalopnik.com/how-auto-journalism-fails-when-nationalism-gets-involve-1686723025

[Mark Blanchard]

41 minutes ago, nerobi said:

http://jalopnik.com/how-auto-journalism-fails-when-nationalism-gets-involve-1686723025

Quote

I remembered those days when I saw the new Lotus Evora 400 press release on Wednesday. Viewed dispassionately, it's an overpriced machine that will make zero impression in the European marketplace, and I doubt it will do much better over on your side. But the Brits will cream all over it because it's a Lotus.

in the UK it's normally some cottage-scale sportscar manufacturer that is scrabbling around for oxygen in a world of Porsches and Lamborghinis. In fact it's normally Lotus, but for years it was TVR and it was once Aston Martin, or whichever one was in dire financial trouble at the moment in time and attempting to beat the 911 with the budget Porsche spends on a tail-light. There'd be a magazine cover-story resplendent with something like 'Panther Solo beats Ferrari' or some such claptrap, and we'd all know that the writer had swallowed the bullshit and the car would never make production.

What a nasty bit of journalism.  That article make me want to give him a good kicking.

He doesn't know his history, Porsche wasn't always at the top, the early 90s was a bad time for them and the company wasn't selling many 911s, like our "cottage scale sportscar manufacturers" but the Boxster saved them.

 

[ephancock77]

I'm curious as to whether the Evora 400 really has helped Lotus to balance the books like we're being told, there certainly seems to be conflicting stories recently regarding Lotus's financial position.

I like Harris but it was wrong of him to judge and slate the Evora on its evolution looks alone, I mean heavens forbid should we dare criticise Porsche for their fantastic styling change each time they release a new version of their line-up.  

One thing that really does grind my gears is how every sports car comparative to Porsche has to be compared to the Cayman GT4 which as we all know was never really available. I wouldn't even be surprised if Porsche were happy to make little to no profit on this model knowing it would be produced in such minimal numbers that they knew that all there competitors would ever hear is.....yet its not as cheap or as good as blah blah blah.

If the Evora really has helped Lotus back into the black, I wonder if CH will be happy to apologise for being wrong.