Exciting news of a supercharged 350bhp Lotus Evora has emerged from Hethel, although you’ll have to wait a couple of years to get your hands on it.
Deliveries of the Toyota V6 powered Evora will start in May this year, and performance should already be scintillating with the 3.5 litre normally aspirated engine putting out close to 280bhp in a car weighing less than 1400kgs.
According to Autocar magazine, the supercharged version currently under development will take performance to the next level – cutting the standard 0-60mph time from around 5.5secs to under 5secs, and boosting the top speed from 160mph to around 175mph.
The magazine’s latest report on the Evora says the delay in the supercharged model’s arrival is due to ongoing work to ‘federalize’ the Evora for the US market. Lotus hopes the car will have strong appeal across the pond, and to that end is developing an automatic (torque convertor) version as part of the model strategy.
Following the US Evora launch this Autumn, a roadster version of the Evora is scheduled for 2010, with the supercharged version following in 2011.
Lotus told Autocar a supercharged Toyota V6 is already running on the bench and making 350bhp and 290lb ft of torque ‘with no modifications’. It is therefore quite possible the final production output could be higher still.
With Evora prices predicted to start around £45,000 when sales start, the supercharged model is expected to cost at least £10k more.