Evora Sport 410

[Stubox]

From its release it seemed obvious to me that the 410 is the more driver focused variant of the Evora series, certainly driving the 2 back to back when the demo arrived at B n C cemented that in my mind they served 2 different purposes. The 400 being a nice GT car with the similar marginal rear seats as a 911.

While the 410 is only marginally faster on the same track you'll need to appreciate that 'only' 1.5 secs is still considerable and chasing faster lap times is a diminishing return unless you can make a monster leap in power, grip or aero. Also this leaves room for 'Cup' type car if they think thats the direction an Evora should go.

You of course could turn a 400 into a 410 with weight saving, geo ,seats and tyres, and if you've a 400 already why not. But if you've not then the 410 offers a turnkey sharper 400 set up from which to then modify further if you so wish. 

But ultimately I , like Michael mentions earlier, preferred the 'feel' of the 410, and that to me is as important as 50 more horsepower or 3 second lap improvement.

 

[The Pits]

Of greater significance to me is that, if the laptimes are to be believed, the 410 can outstrip the Exige Sport 350 around a track. If the 410 can combine that sort of pace and track ability with extra comfort and some GT ability then it's a very worthwhile addition to the range and car market as a whole. That's what appeals to me anyway. But having experienced how well the V6S can go on track I find it hard to believe that an Evora could really pull away. What a fantastic experience and achievement that would be. No-one would be more impressed than me to put some manners on an Exige Sport 350 around Brands Hatch before heading home in something Evora sized.

For what it's worth (not much) I think the Sport 410 is pitched just right for a more focused Evora. You can tailor the level of extreme very finely with the options list. I don't really see what a Cup version would add without taking something away from the Evora's traditional strengths and I don't see anyone (myself included) ordering the most extreme version of the 410 as it is.

 

 

[blindside]

6 hours ago, JayEmm said:

I'll give a fuller explanation when I can but I feel they just didn't go far enough with the 410. 

There is a lot right with the car, an awful lot - and some of the 410s I have seen I would buy in a heartbeat (Silverstone's Azure blue for example), but I feel like it's not the car I wanted Lotus to make. Why dealers keep buying them in dark colours I don't know- it looks wrong to me.

It is amusing just how anal & narrow minded folk can be about car paint & wheel colours. You would like to assume that the Lotus dealers are quite close to customer demand and bring-in cars in colours they think will sell more easily.

In the same vein with the 410 Lotus have produced a more driver focused varient of the 400 (which it is), with the obvious objective of selling as many as they can. They appear to have an unqualified success on their hands in sales and review terms despite a pretty mediocre marketing effort. Potential buyer's putting the extra money down after objective comparison with the 400 and/or switching from other marques is surely what really counts... Although of course everyone is entitled to their opinion.  

I look forward to watching your 410 video review.

[JayEmm]

One thing I will say for the Evora - in all its variations - is I feel very confident driving it. I feel like I would have a much better chance of getting close to Lotus official lap time in a 410 than I would a 350.

One thing I cannot emphasise enough is how big a difference new seats made for me in the 400. I would say that the added feedback, lower seating position all add up. I have miles more confidence in my own car since then.

Perhaps because I have become accustomed to that setup, the 410 does not feel like as significant a leap to me.

Even the guys at the factory agreed the seating position and seat type in the 410 make a big difference to the driving sensations...

If you own a 410, you have one of the finest handling cars I have ever driven - That is in no doubt at all. I think across broken b roads it is faster than an Exige for sure. On track, I don't know.

Edited May 30, 2017 by JayEmm

[C8RKH]

3 hours ago, chylld said:

You're not seeing my point either: my 400 is 3.5% faster with track tyres (1:49 vs 1:53). The 410 is only 3.3% faster than the 400 with track tyres (1:28 vs 1:31). JayEmm and I are just saying that the majority of the 410's performance improvement comes from the tyres.

So I put track tyres on my S1 NA and cut in half the 400 lap time improvement for a few hundred quid and save myself £40k. Sounds like a bargain to me but doubt any 400 owner would agree it was just about the tyres that made the 400 feel better than my little old NA etc etc.  

I like the 400 but can't see the worth to justify my old NA car plus £50k.  However, I do keep looking at a 410 and thinking well, it's only £60k more and my  car! It's not clever. It's not rational. It's not sane. But it is my reality.

I think I get your point, but I don't get your point. Don't fret, I've always been a bit thick, as I've got older I've got thicker around the middle as well as in the head too

[JayEmm]

1 hour ago, blindside said:

They appear to have an unqualified success on their hands in sales and review terms despite a pretty mediocre marketing effort.

I agree they have been very successful with reviews of the 410. As they were with the 400 (more so in the USA than here), as they were with the Evora S, as they were with the first car. Sadly, the car has never, ever sold anywhere near as well as it should have done.

I'd love to know how many 410s have been sold but I suspect they're nowhere near their "limit" of 150 a year.

[pickle]

That may be so, but amongst the few that have bought into Lotus it seems to be a worthy range topper. I for one will be ordering an EU 'Jack' spec car on the first day of the next tax year. 

The problem isn't that the 410's not good enough, the problem is that people don't consider Lotus when they are spending £90k on a car. The brand simple hasn't occurred to a lot of people. However, the 400 does seem to be changing things slowly. Reading about new purchases on this forum, and the overwhelming response to your PH article is proof of this.

 

[JayEmm]

Genuinely the 410's biggest competition is going to be used 400s. As a "new-only" proposition, I'd be very tempted by a 410. But I suspect it's hard to justify the 50% price increase from a used 400 to a 410.

Lotus is a brilliant brand. Two of my friends have recently bought into it, and two more will be joining the fold soon. Interestingly most of them are coming to the Exige, because that is probably the car with few (if any) direct rivals.

[C8RKH]

Have you looked at the price of "tits" recently? They're hugely expensive and at least the Lotus one won't leak or sag in a few years and will usually feel warm to touch after a good drive.

[pickle]

Looking pretty purposeful....

(taken from Jack's Instagram page)

[Arregueti]

And it is making the car in front shake and tremble in fear. :-)

[C8RKH]

That does look stunning. Like a frog about to swallow a little insignificant insect.

[French Frie]

20 hours ago, chylld said:

I have burned through about half the tread on my track tyres in about 2000km, half of which were track kms. The dealer reckons by now I've used over half of the life in terms of heat cycles.

At first they were ok in the wet but now they are quite hopeless. On both street and track they are noticeably worse than the standard Michelin PSS in the wet.

FYI, I've used my PSC2s on rather damped roads, and I'm honestly surprised by how good they are ! they're still quite new (about 1000 kms), and haven't been tracked yet, but it is far from unexpectable on wet roads, like other semi-slicks... On the other way, they're less track focused than, say, Trofeos, with more tread ! for record, tread is only 6mm deep when new though...

I'll have a big, big Alps week-end in 10 days, so I'll be able to tell about wearing after that  ! 

regarding the 410, it looks very attractive to me, but I'm not a big fan of the 410 stripes and the added cost is a bit steep, so I assume an optioned 400, "à la" @4exige, could be a wise option... with a EV460 kit  !

[rallyesax]

Depending of tire size. PSCup2 is laptiming as good or even better than Trofeos

[French Frie]

@rallyesax: Baptiste, let me guess... you're a Bibendum guy, aren't you   ?  Anyway, I wasn't a Michelin customer since a long time, but Super Sports and Cup2s have made me coming back to home products  !

[JayEmm]

I will freely admit I am a complete tart, and the pictures of that green 410 look sensational.

[rallyesax]

2 hours ago, French Frie said:

@rallyesax: Baptiste, let me guess... you're a Bibendum guy, aren't you   ?  Anyway, I wasn't a Michelin customer since a long time, but Super Sports and Cup2s have made me coming back to home products  !

Am I ????

But honestly. On testing, depending of tire sizes, sometimes Trofeos is better, sometimes it's PSCup2

Both tires are a blast to drive anyway !

[chylld]

On the side subject of trouncing the 410 with easy upgrades to the 400 (given that they are both currently available models), does anyone know what weight the 410's forged wheels are?

Picked up my custom BC Forged wheels yesterday and they weigh in at 9.1kg front (19x8.0 ET50), 10.0kg rear (20x10.0 ET69, 0.5" wider than stock)

[CocoPops]

Lovely! Costly?

[French Frie]

superb   ! and unfortunately, 410 rims are not supposed to be homologated for regular 400s...

[Cypriot]

Well the forged 400 wheels are 9.5kg front and 11.4kg rears. The 410s are supposedly even lighter

[chylld]

3 minutes ago, CocoPops said:

Lovely! Costly?

5% more than what the dealer wanted for a new set of 400 cast wheels

2 minutes ago, French Frie said:

unfortunately, 410 rims are not supposed to be homologated for regular 400s...

2 minutes ago, Cypriot said:

Well the forged 400 wheels are 9.5kg front and 11.4kg rears. The 410s are supposedly even lighter

I also read the same about the 410 wheels. Still curious what they weigh though...

[JayEmm]

I have only seen weight figures for the 410 comparing them to "400 wheels", not specifying whether they mean forged or cast. I did do the maths and worked out they've saved maybe a kg a corner at absolute most, I think much less compared to the forged items.

[Bibs]

[Hellers]

3 hours ago, Bibs said:

Muahahaha ??