Lotus Evora GTE: Spotted

A right-hand drive version of the fastest Lotus road car ever produced. Sort of.

It's hard to recall anything especially positive about the Dany Bahar era at Lotus, what with the far-fetched model plans, dubious partnerships and so on. However not everything was ill-conceived, and the Evora GTE was proof of that.

No mistaking it for a regular Evora!

Taking inspiration from the Evora GTE racer, the roadgoing GTE's remit was simple: to be the fastest, most focused and most exciting production Evora available. By extension it would also be the fastest production Lotus ever. The spec was certainly there to go GT3 hunting, which inevitably must have been the target. Power was up 90hp on the Evora S to 440hp, the rear track was 100mm wider and weight was down over 100kg (1,277kg) thanks to a lot of carbon fibre parts. A butch bodykit gave the GTE the visual impact befitting of a car with such performance.

Initially the GTE was to be available only in China, which sounds like madness. If ever there was a car that suited Lotus's home market... Anyway, such was the demand for the car in China that Lotus reneged on its original decision and was to offer the car in Europe. Shown at the Frankfurt show in 2011, a price in the region of £100,000 was mooted. The GT3 comparisons continued, then everything went a little skew-whiffy...

The advert for this GTE states the 'project was parked' after 30 pre-production cars were built at Hethel. Some were registered, some were not. Predictably enough the cars were not a priority as Lotus changed ownership and it wasn't until September 2014 that Lotus sold off 20 GTEs to its dealers around the world. They would be remanufactured from original spec by Lotus Motorsport to include new suspension wishbones, brakes and wheels. Frustratingly that also meant a return for the 350hp Evora S engine but we'll return to that point.

It's a manual too - result

AU64 CNV is one of the 20 GTEs sold last year, build number eight and of just six right-hand drive cars. It is effectively brand new with just 300 miles recorded. It therefore carries a price near enough what was expected in 2011 of £94,995. For the full 440hp, this dealer is offering a Komotec upgrade for an additional £5,000.

So it's a £100K Lotus Evora then. Clearly a lot given what the standard car costs but then the specification is a long way from the standard car too. And look what cars of a similar ilk cost: the M3 GTS, C63 Black Series and 997 GT3 RS are all in that region and aren't as rare. They're also heavier than the Lotus too. Add lightness still has its virtues!

It will be interesting to see how long this car is available for, whether the demand for its rarity and (presumably) ability outweighs the substantial price. Or to save £10K, there's another one of the right-hand drive GTEs for sale in the classifieds with more miles. Power of PH, eh?

LOTUS EVORA GTE
Engine: 3,456cc supercharged V6
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 350@7,000rpm (standard Evora S)
Torque (lb ft): 295@4,500rpm (standard Evora S)
MPG: 28.7 (NEDC combined for standard Evora S)
CO2: 229g/km (guess what for)
First registered: 2015
Recorded mileage: 300
Price new: Pass
Yours for: £94,995