Lotus Evora GTE: Spotted
A right-hand drive version of the fastest Lotus road car ever produced. Sort of.
No mistaking it for a regular Evora!
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
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
See the original advert here.
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Originally I thought these were offered with the Cosworth tuned race engines, but all seem to be offered now with the standard supercharged engine.
Seems to be a range of engines and gearbox options offered on these.
I would love one of these. So much presence and rarity to make a GT3 look common!!
Asking for the big end of £100K and offering a £5K engine upgrade as an 'option' is f
king cheeky tho - either have some balls and do the upgrade and whack it onto the price or don't.I suspect the 'upgrade option' is a tactic to avoid having to warrant it - and on that basis, brave pills?
Originally I thought these were offered with the Cosworth tuned race engines, but all seem to be offered now with the standard supercharged engine.
Seems to be a range of engines and gearbox options offered on these.
I would love one of these. So much presence and rarity to make a GT3 look common!!
Trust me, you didn't want either.
As has been mentioned, if the Evora looked like this as standard (or at least had the option of this bodywork on a particular spec/extra cost) then I think lotus may well have sold a lot more. It really does look the business.
I seem to remember reading that either Mansory of Kahn had a hand in the design of the bodykit. I might be wrong though...
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