Monday 9th February 2015

Lotus Evora facelift

Spy shots of 'new' Evora suggest looks remain similar but more significant changes under the skin

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We've established Geneva 2015 is going to be (possibly) the most PH motor show of all time, with major debuts of interest to us from Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, Audi, Honda, Porsche, Koenigsegg and ... probably more we don't yet know about.

Let's play spot the difference...

One we do know about is the heavily revised Lotus Evora, seen here out testing wearing the inevitable camo disguise. Staring hard at the pics it doesn't appear there are any dramatic visual changes, meaning the swirl pattern camo supposedly disguising its prototype status is probably more attention grabbing than if they'd just left it uncovered. In these days of officially sanctioned 'spy' scoops that might be entirely the point, who knows.

Anyway. We can establish there is a more substantial rear wing with a central spine and there's doubtless some resculpting work behind the camo in that squarer looking front valance but beyond that the aesthetic changes appear minor. The engineering ones are expected to be more significant though.

Bigger rear wing one obvious change

Previous on the record chats with Lotus boss Jean-Marc Gales have established his intentions for the car. "We are staying with the existing Evora but making it better," he told us back in October. "We make it better first of all by making it faster, second there were some practical things that were on the list of improvements like making it easier to get in and out of the car. Thirdly we also have an interior that looks different than the current interior. The car will be changed in most parts." Perceived quality of cabin materials, build and equipment will have to be high on the agenda but it sounds like there are more substantive changes coming too.

Off the record the stuff we're hearing from those inside Lotus suggest the update is going to deliver some very exciting numbers and make the Evora a significantly more potent machine than it is currently. This is probably a wise move, given the Evora's more all-round brief is challenged by similarly priced (if differently pitched) vehicles like the Jaguar F-Type while the omnipresent Porsche Boxster/Cayman range goes from strength to considerable strength. And although the Exige is probably the closer rival to the 4C, Lotus needs to close down the threat from Alfa Romeo and offer a decisive performance in addition to a broader operating window.

Interior updates ... not visible from this pic

We'll have to see how much more Lotus can get out of the Toyota 3.5-litre V6 - currently supercharged to 350hp in Evora S trim - but a stand-out power and performance advantage might be enough to attract renewed attention to what is a much overlooked car. It'll have its work cut out to be heard above the clamour at Geneva but we'll be sure to bring you the full story as soon as we have it...

 

 

Photos: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien

 

 

[jl34]

Shame there is no body mods. Having driven one i think they are a great car. However looks wise the roofline is just too high which adversely affects the profile. Should never have designed it to be a 2+2. hope it succeeds though as it has a great chassis.

[soad]

Let's hope we'll some more of these on the road!

[HeMightBeBanned]

The rumourmill suggests:

- 400bhp
- Less weight (50kg+ reduction)
- Much better interior quality, although it's not clear how far the interior architecture will be changed
- Easier ingress / egress
- Revised front and rear ends

Please make it look stunning Lotus. It needs to look stunning because there are some great cars available for £70k. These early spy shots don't inspire confidence...

[em177]

Awaits the first Cayman GT4 comment

[dlockhart]

I presume it will still have very wide sills and an offset footwell. Meaning I will look like a fool clambering out of it

[saaby93]

Theyve reverted to body colour for the roof?

[kambites]

IMO what the Evora needs, is to somehow become more photogenic. They're lovely looking things in the metal (well plastic) but look all stumpy and weird in pictures.

[braddo]

It looks like they are getting rid of the slightly silly 'smile' on the front bumper - new air intakes on either side of the main central one.

[gashead1105]

Drove a v late NA Evora this morning. Really liked it, great ride, steering, looked good and certainly wasn't slow. Didn't like it enough to make me want to change my V6 Exige order, but did make me think about ways to have 2 lotus' on the drive!

[saaby93]

I think we're missing a trick here

Is it the new 2015 limited edition Evora 'camoflage'?

[mrclav]

em177 said:

Awaits the first Cayman GT4 comment

This. People on here (and other enthusiast sites) moan about how sterile modern cars are compared to those of old - this car address those issues and then some. People who are actually in the market at this price-point then promptly march straight into their local Porsche dealership to put their money on a GT4 (or a very lightly used Carrera 2).

I like Lotus as their ethos when it comes to making cars is sound however on a world-wide level we all know they mean very little outside of all the good-will they get. The market votes with their feet and it's painfully obvious to see what the customers out there really and truly want. If I was buying a car at this price-point right now as a daily driver I definitely would not have an Evora at the top of my list - as I believe has been said on here before unless one has a genuine hatred of the Porsche I simply don't see how the majority of buyers would pick this over one of them.

Still, I guess choice is a good thing!

[kambites]

It seems from reviews that the reason to buy the Lotus is how it drives; the reason to buy the Porsche competition is... well everything else, really. It's hardly surprising that almost no-one buys the Lotus.

[hairy]

HeMightBeBanned said:

The rumourmill suggests:

- 400bhp
- Less weight (50kg+ reduction)
- Much better interior quality, although it's not clear how far the interior architecture will be changed
- Easier ingress / egress
- Revised front and rear ends

Please make it look stunning Lotus. It needs to look stunning because there are some great cars available for £70k. These early spy shots don't inspire confidence...

Whatever happened to the gte? I thought that was 400bhp and lighter??

[Baryonyx]

I hope this means we'll see more of these awesome cars on the roads.

[Oddball RS]

hairy said:

HeMightBeBanned said:

The rumourmill suggests:

- 400bhp
- Less weight (50kg+ reduction)
- Much better interior quality, although it's not clear how far the interior architecture will be changed
- Easier ingress / egress
- Revised front and rear ends

Please make it look stunning Lotus. It needs to look stunning because there are some great cars available for £70k. These early spy shots don't inspire confidence...

Whatever happened to the gte? I thought that was 400bhp and lighter??

We are all full of how the £60-70k model is going to be improved, but I will be honest and say I would not pay that for a Lotus much as a love then, for me it is the atmo model that needs a rework to make it more appealing and at the lower price point I might well be interested, I know its easy to just bandy figures about but give it 30-40 Bhp more to get it on a par and cut 70-80kg from its weight - well we can hope.

[kambites]

Oddball RS said:

We are all full of how the £60-70k model is going to be improved, but I will be honest and say I would not pay that for a Lotus much as a love then, for me it is the atmo model that needs a rework to make it more appealing and at the lower price point I might well be interested, I know its easy to just bandy figures about but give it 30-40 Bhp more to get it on a par and cut 70-80kg from its weight - well we can hope.

From a personal standpoint I'd agree, 300bhp and 1300kg would be great. However, I think what the market wants is better perceived build quality and a higher headline power figure.

[otolith]

If they've found another 50bhp from the engine, I hope the Exige will get it too. It would give some more headroom for the Elise to have more power.

[Claudia Skies]

jl34 said:

Shame there is no body mods. Should never have designed it to be a 2+2.

^^^ Smack on target.

[Junglehop]

Surely a missed opportunity. The car looks decent at present but not amazing. hopefully there will be more to come

[RobM77]

Claudia Skies said:

jl34 said:

Shame there is no body mods. Should never have designed it to be a 2+2.

^^^ Smack on target.

Whilst I would personally prefer a 2 seater GT or daily sports car, I think the market for a 2+2 was wider, and if you're a company in financial difficulty you don't want to be taking too many risks or pitching at too small a market. As a lesser but seperate point, the Europa didn't do too well as it was seen by many people as a rebadged tarted up Elise, despite it being very well received by the press. I realise the Evora is a different tub altogether, but public perception is a funny thing, and I think that being a 2+2 helped distance the Evora from the Elise.