Lotus are at the annual Geneva Palexpo motorshow to unveil the Lotus Evora 400 to the public and press. The Evora 400 is a evolution of the car to bring it up to date and Lotus hopes that this version of the car takes it into true supercar territory with the main differences, aside from cosmetic, being a large increase in power to 400bhp thanks to the chargecooler and more an increase in the cars’ dynamic ability.
CEO Jean-Marc Gales hosted the press conference and announced that the car is now worldwide compliant with key markets such as the USA receiving the 400 from December 2014. Many of the changes have been highlighted on TLF previously however in the flesh many of the changes are easier to appreciate. The front and rear of the car have much more aggressive styling and the bumpers will all feature the Federal side markers from now. The reworked bumpers also help to increase total downforce to 32kgs and to aid with slowing down new, larger 2 piece discs are standard. Wider wheels will allow more grip and new Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres in 235/35ZR19 up front and 285/30ZR20 on the rear help further and also allow for more rim protection than the previous Pirelli rubber. Also much of the meshwork protecting grills has been changed, including the bonnet and also intakes on the side of the car, with these being removed and smaller mesh being placed further back in the intake recesses.
The interior have been revolutionised rather than evolved with a large number of differences to the previous car. The main and most significant is that the sills are now 50mm lower and with an overall cabin width increase of 92mm the car is much, much easier to get in and out. The dash now has a real supercar feel and new Sparco sourced seats comply with USA airbag requirements and redesigned doorcards allow for side airbags in the States. These seats are also much lighter than the previous Recaro’s and help with the overall weight saving in the 400 of 22kgs.
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Images courtesy of nineteen80one.com
