The first Australian Lotus Evora production vehicles have arrived, in preparation for press first-drives through December 2009 and January 2010.
Lotus Cars Australia dealer demonstrators are to arrive through January and February 2010, heralding the start of the official introduction of the Evora into the Australian market.
The Evora is an exciting, practical and versatile V6-powered sports car that is available in two-seat or 2+2 configuration.
The Evora is the most significant Lotus car to be launched in the last decade and promises to be one of the most exciting new cars of its time, combining traditional Lotus ride and handling attributes with a large, practical platform encompassing a whole new drivetrain and chassis architecture.
Performance is spectacular with 0-100km/h in just 5.1 seconds, combined with low emissions and fuel consumption of just 205g/km and 8.7l/100km (combined highway/urban cycle).
In addition to its excellent performance and exemplary handling, the Evora offers a more refined ownership experience than Lotus’s existing smaller four-cylinder models. Its styled cabin is elegantly trimmed, cocooning occupants with sumptuous leather surfaces juxtaposed with contemporary high-tech features. With driver focused instrumentation the occupants sit in cockpit-esque surroundings with flush-mounted controls that glow with red LED halos and stylised gauges.
Because one of the roles of the Evora is to attract new customers to the Lotus brand, much attention has been paid to its ease of use. Wider, taller door apertures and narrower sills make getting in and out of the cabin an easier undertaking than it is in Lotus’s smaller sports cars (Elise, Exige, Europa and 2-Eleven), while the design of the cabin itself will accommodate two 99th percentile (6ft 5in tall/196cm) males in the front seats.
Styled in-house by Lotus Design, the Evora’s sophisticated and attention snaring lines brilliantly disguise its ability to accommodate passengers in the rear of the cabin, giving the car the external characteristics of a small, nimble sportscar belying its real exterior and internal space.
The ‘convenience factor’ of the Evora extends to less obvious areas of the car. For instance, beneath the skin the entire front-end structure is a high tech aluminium sacrificial modular unit, attached to the main extruded aluminium tub. This modular unit is designed to deform for maximum safety, and to reduce repair costs in the event of a frontal impact.
After winning a number of awards in the UK since its global press launch in Scotland earlier in 2009, including Top Gear Magazine UK’s Sports Car of the Year 2009, Evo magazine Car of the Year 2009 and CAR magazine’s Sports Car of the Year 2009, Lotus is excited to be bringing the production vehicles to the press and the public in Australia.
Initial launch edition cars are highly specified for dealer demonstration purposes, while new customer orders allow a bespoke selection of individualism and options. These Launch Edition Evoras are highly specified, in either Ardent Red or British Racing Green, with other colours available as a cost option, and include the following:
* 2+2 seating configuration
* Tech, Premium and Sport packs
* Hi-power silver cast alloys
* Bi-xenon headlamps
* Alpine Imprint Audio System
* Reversing camera
* Electric power fold mirrors
Customers can select from 2+0 or 2+2 seating configuration, plus the three cost option packs and other standalone cost options. These option packs, being Tech, Sport and Premium packs, add items such as a touch-screen display, iPod connection, cruise control, parking sensors, accent lighting, full leather trimming in selected colours, traction control, sports diffuser and switchable sports mode (full details of the option packs are listed at the bottom of this release).
A sports ratio six-speed transmission is also available to experience the maximum performance offered by the V6 engine, combining a closer stack of ratios for improved acceleration and greater in-gear response.
The Evora is hand-crafted and built on a dedicated new assembly line within Lotus’s advanced manufacturing facility at Hethel in the east of England; capacity limitations will restrict production to approximately 2000 cars a year, ensuring the dynamic new sports car’s rarity and exclusivity.
The Evoras will enter the market as the only mid-engined 2+2 in production. The new car is a more holistic offering than the Elise, Exige and Europa models that have made the brand so iconic.
Despite exceptional international demand for the car, Lotus Cars Australia has secured an allocation between 30-40 Evoras through 2010.
The entry level Lotus Evora 2+0 will be priced at $149,990 (plus dealer and government charges), with the Lotus Evora 2+2 being priced at $156,990.
For ultimate peace of mind, the Lotus Evora has a three-year 100,000km whole vehicle warranty.
source: theautochannel
