RE: Lotus Evora 400 :Driven

[zebedee]

The dynamics easily outweigh what the switchgear feels like for me. I am a driving enthusiast after all. I would have one in a heartbeat if I had the money, fantastic car. Well done Lotus. And shame on PH for saying these things matter to its readership. Well, its original readership anyway. It probably does matter to a lot of you lot now, the sort that judge a car by its sales numbers and profitability as opposed to how it goes. Yawn.

[SidewaysSi]

otolith said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

Youcan buy a 2.7 litre 6-pot Cayman cheaper than an 1800cc 4-pot Elise. What are they thinking?

The bottom of the range Cayman is a lot slower than the top of the range Elise that it narrowly undercuts on price.

Exactly. Ridiculous comparison IMO. A cayman is a bit rubbish after an Elise after all. Besides a Caterham with a piddly Ford engine and an Atom with a Honda engine are more expensive than a Cayman. What are they thinking?

Also remember a Cayman will need over £5k in extras anyway.

[zebra]

otolith said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

Youcan buy a 2.7 litre 6-pot Cayman cheaper than an 1800cc 4-pot Elise. What are they thinking?

The bottom of the range Cayman is a lot slower than the top of the range Elise that it narrowly undercuts on price.

Those two are totally different options though.

One is for people who couldn't quite afford a Cayman with a decent engine and the other is for people who appreciate the handling on a car.

Only kidding.

[Robert Elise]

zebedee said:

The dynamics easily outweigh what the switchgear feels like for me. I am a driving enthusiast after all. I would have one in a heartbeat if I had the money, fantastic car. Well done Lotus. And shame on PH for saying these things matter to its readership. Well, its original readership anyway. It probably does matter to a lot of you lot now, the sort that judge a car by its sales numbers and profitability as opposed to how it goes. Yawn.

one another thread about PH's new GT86 the initial comments kick off on wheel sizes and alloy styling.
Anyway, i'm hoping Matt can write eloquently about the joys of this car and provide some illumination to the PH soft-fascia brigade

[blueg33]

kambites said:

Vee12V said:

And you can still order the 400 as a 2+0.

True, and personally I think that's probably another mistake on Lotus' part not because the car doesn't provide value to the market but because it will inevitably lead to comparisons with other, cheaper, 2-seaters.

Like it or not, how good your car is is only a tiny part of what makes it a success in this sort of market. Perception is everything.


ETA: Maybe I'm wrong and this will sell well enough to drag Lotus out of their hole, but I'm not holding my breath for it as long as the media are comparing it to the cheaper, better built, more photogenic Cayman.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 28th July 16:28

Csyman S is slower than old n/a Evora, quite a bit slower than the Evora s and quit a lot slower than the 400

[XBOW]

So just for fun I dug out the original receipt for my 97 Esprit GT3



Quick calculation shows this is equivalent to £70k in today's money, ooh nearly the same as an Evora 400

[Olivera]

blueg33 said:

Csyman S is slower than old n/a Evora, quite a bit slower than the Evora s and quit a lot slower than the 400

You're forgetting that Porsche update their models much more often than Lotus, so that Cayman S is several generations old.

For the record a few months ago Evo magazine put a base (non S) Cayman up vs an Evora S around Anglesey. the Cayman was quicker.

[CTE]

Who ever was driving clearly couldn`t!

[andy_s]

Olivera said:

You're forgetting that Porsche update their models much more often than Lotus, so that Cayman S is several generations old.

For the record a few months ago Evo magazine put a base (non S) Cayman up vs an Evora S around Anglesey. the Cayman was quicker.

C'mon, read the article again and you'll see why

[blueg33]

Olivera said:

blueg33 said:

Csyman S is slower than old n/a Evora, quite a bit slower than the Evora s and quit a lot slower than the 400

You're forgetting that Porsche update their models much more often than Lotus, so that Cayman S is several generations old.

For the record a few months ago Evo magazine put a base (non S) Cayman up vs an Evora S around Anglesey. the Cayman was quicker.

A current Cayman S is a little slower than a 2010 n/a Evora. For clarity, that is the current generation Csyman which is only 2 years old.

[kambites]

blueg33 said:

A current Cayman S is a little slower than a 2010 n/a Evora. For clarity, that is the current generation Csyman which is only 2 years old.

"Slower" in what way? The Cayman is something like 80bhp up on the Evora and is lighter.

[XBOW]

Putting aside Porsche vs Lotus , we should feel a bit of pride for what these guys bring to the market .



Orange please ....or maybe yellow......oh bugger it, I'll even take it in silver

[blueg33]

kambites said:

"Slower" in what way? The Cayman is something like 80bhp up on the Evora and is lighter.

On paper in terms of 0-60 mph. In the real world on fast B roads unless the cayman is a PDK car.

[kambites]

blueg33 said:

kambites said:

"Slower" in what way? The Cayman is something like 80bhp up on the Evora and is lighter.

On paper in terms of 0-60 mph. In the real world on fast B roads unless the cayman is a PDK car.

I see 4.7 seconds for the manual Cayman S and 4.8 for the manual Evora?

[andy_s]

XBOW said:

Putting aside Porsche vs Lotus , we should feel a bit of pride for what these guys bring to the market .



Orange please ....or maybe yellow......oh bugger it, I'll even take it in silver

Spot on - it's a great car. Isotope for me...or black.....or orange....

[Kolbenkopp]

zebra said:

I disagree. In view of comparable cars they are priced competitively and you are not paying for mas production here either.

The faster Lotus stuff does not look so bad in comparison, but the exchange rate is no helping. 991 = € 90k, Evora 400 = € 96k, GT-R = € 96k, F-Type R = € 106k.

[kambites]

Kolbenkopp said:

zebra said:

I disagree. In view of comparable cars they are priced competitively and you are not paying for mas production here either.

The faster Lotus stuff does not look so bad in comparison, but the exchange rate is no helping. 991 = € 90k, Evora 400 = € 96k, GT-R = € 96k, F-Type R = € 106k.

Yes when it's actually more expensive than the 911, things don't look so rosy.

[Gorbyrev]

XBOW said:

Putting aside Porsche vs Lotus , we should feel a bit of pride for what these guys bring to the market .



Orange please ....or maybe yellow......oh bugger it, I'll even take it in silver

Pic of the week?

[blueg33]

kambites said:

blueg33 said:

kambites said:

"Slower" in what way? The Cayman is something like 80bhp up on the Evora and is lighter.

On paper in terms of 0-60 mph. In the real world on fast B roads unless the cayman is a PDK car.

I see 4.7 seconds for the manual Cayman S and 4.8 for the manual Evora?

4.7 is for the PDK.

[chrispj]

Olivera said:

For the record a few months ago Evo magazine put a base (non S) Cayman up vs an Evora S around Anglesey. the Cayman was quicker.

Wasn't that actually up against a loaned Exige S with worn out front tyres and the owner sitting in the passenger seat so they couldn't rag it like a press car?