RE: Lotus Evora 400: even lighter, even dearer
Friday 19th August 2016
Because it weighs less than 1,400kg, Lotus insists the Evora 400 is a radically lightweight 2+2 sportscar. Well, 1,395kg is admirable for a 400hp machine, but a Porsche 911 Carrera S is only 45kg heavier and that has 420hp. As Jean-Marc Gales seems to have inherited Colin Chapman's mantra about light being right, this minuscule weight advantage clearly isn't good enough. So you can now optionally take out yet more mass from your Evora 400. If you can afford it.
The fanciest weight-saving feature is a new carbon pack, which at least gives Evora 400 owners a bit of visual differentiation for their £6,500 spend. Admittedly hand-made, it includes a carbon fibre front splitter and access panel, roof panel, rear wing centre, rear diffuser and door mirror caps. Presumably the carbon roof lowers the centre of mass a teeny bit; carbon door mirrors could see suburban roads littered with carbon shards, F1-like, when you thwack them against a parked car.
"We are now giving customers an opportunity to drive an even lighter and more responsive car," says Gales: and if you want the ultimate in lightness and responsiveness, Lotus will allow you to delete the air conditioning and 2+2 rear seats. Generously, it'll even allow you to do this for free. In ultimate skinny guise, the Evora kerbwight drops to just 1,353kg, pretty skinny indeed for such a potent car.
Lotus Evora 400: even lighter, even dearer
Just add lightness, says Lotus, if you can afford it
Total weight saving: 5kg. That's £1,300 per kg saved. Ouch. A far better return for your money comes from optioning the titanium sports exhaust system (£5,500) and the lithium ion battery (£1,350. We repeat, £1,350). They in total each save 10kg, which works out at a far better value £550 per kg for the exhaust and a bargain £135 per kg for the battery (it's a £1,350 bargain. We repeat, a £1,350 bargain).
Best not spoil it at the coffee shop, then: because Lotus engineers have even crafted a neat ultra-lightweight optional cupholder and oddments tray to sit between the front seats. Yes, it's been weighed: just 120g, "and demonstrates perfectly how Lotus will bend to market demands whilst at the same time ensuring it core values of lightweight and purity are maintained". Skinny lattes all round!
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Discussion
k all. how can they justify £1,350?
This reads to me as if the writer is giving the information in quite a sneering tone, which I don't think other manufacturers are on the end of when offering expensive carbon tat options to their cars. Personally I wouldn't want any of it on my own 400, but I doubt these trinkets would be receiving such derision on a certain other marque.
I can't help but thinking Lotus have lost their way.....I've had two Exiges, wonderful looking things alongside the usual Lotus dynamics. But the Evora still has the ugly bluff front nose. They should have taken a leaf from McLaren's book on the MP12....the first bland version gave way something far more purposeful and easy on the eye.
Ikobo said:
This reads to me as if the writer is giving the information in quite a sneering tone, which I don't think other manufacturers are on the end of when offering expensive carbon tat options to their cars. Personally I wouldn't want any of it on my own 400, but I doubt these trinkets would be receiving such derision on a certain other marque.
I'm all for adding lightness but the prices do seem a bit steep! Certainly not deriding the opportunity to make a great car even lighter and thus even better, but it seems an expensive way of doing it for a car that already costs £73k...Can't see what the fuss is about, it's more or less the same price point as Reverie components would cost. As for the price of the battery, funny that no-one bats an eye when Porsche charge that much for theirs... http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=110...
richardaucock said:
Ikobo said:
This reads to me as if the writer is giving the information in quite a sneering tone, which I don't think other manufacturers are on the end of when offering expensive carbon tat options to their cars. Personally I wouldn't want any of it on my own 400, but I doubt these trinkets would be receiving such derision on a certain other marque.
I'm all for adding lightness but the prices do seem a bit steep! Certainly not deriding the opportunity to make a great car even lighter and thus even better, but it seems an expensive way of doing it for a car that already costs £73k...
tankplanker said:
johnwilliams77 said:
No
They definitely have a 120kg cup holder
Oh awesome, I hope it adds to the torsional rigidity of the chassis.They definitely have a 120kg cup holder
richardaucock said:
Ikobo said:
This reads to me as if the writer is giving the information in quite a sneering tone, which I don't think other manufacturers are on the end of when offering expensive carbon tat options to their cars. Personally I wouldn't want any of it on my own 400, but I doubt these trinkets would be receiving such derision on a certain other marque.
I'm all for adding lightness but the prices do seem a bit steep! Certainly not deriding the opportunity to make a great car even lighter and thus even better, but it seems an expensive way of doing it for a car that already costs £73k...It's funny this article pops up now I was just thinking about my old Lotus Excel this morning.
Build quality was so so, I did not find it that comfortable on long trips and when a time came that I had to use it as my sole vehicle it did not exactly slip into that role with aplomb but when all was said and done I enjoyed driving it (just not for long periods) and for all its faults I liked it and was feeling super nostalgic just a couple of hours ago
This is clearly a sign I need another Lotus !!!
They might be expensive for what they are, but them their also cheap for what they are if that makes sense !!!
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