Lotus Evora GT410 Sport & Honda e
Discussion
scottos said:
Lovely spec and could help but grin at the first picture that showed the plate with you stood next to it!
Commendable effort on the miles so far too! Have these been business or fun miles? Any decent road trips worth mentioning so far?
Thank you! I have to say, that grin just about summed up a very, VERY good day. Plate was the cherry on top Commendable effort on the miles so far too! Have these been business or fun miles? Any decent road trips worth mentioning so far?
It's done a fair chunk of the NC500, a route that looked something like this:
That, including the trip up and back from London, contributed something like 1,700 miles to the total. It also got taken to Bath for my birthday weekend at the end of August, but it hadn't yet had it's running in service, so there wasn't so much hard driving that time.
I'm so so bad at taking photos of it when off on a roadtrip, and on the NC500 trip there was a bit too much driving to be looking around for good photo spots. I'm considering doing the NC500 again in the first week of March, possibly with some guys from Caffeine & Machine also in a Lotus, but I dunno.
Time for a little update! The car has been flawlessly going about it's business with no dramas at all, I've spun it once (whoops) and got into a bit of a tankslapper (double whoops) and may have even got my first ever points here in Ireland, but other than all that, things have been good.
It's been back to visit where it was born, care of the guys from Caffeine & Machine, they very very kindly invited me along to the factory! I highly recommend anyone that hasn't already seen it gets into Instagram and searches for #romeinalotus. It was an awesome trip, and one I think I'll have to do myself sometime.
It's currently with me here in Galway on the west coast of Ireland, where my folks live. It's very very attention grabbing here, very few people have sports cars like that in Ireland due to the running costs, tax would be something like €2,400 per year here and I don't actually think |, as a 28 year old bloke, would be able to insure it at all.
It's sitting at 7,450 miles now and well, it might just be one of the best suspended cars out there. It's just been absolutely eating the roads here in Ireland, and they're some of the roughest I know of. It's not that they're gravelly or potholed (although some are), but it's more that they have dips and humps in them that unsettles the car and makes it difficult to maintain control. The Evora, with the touring suspension, just eats the roads up and always seems to have the grip and the poise you'd expect.
I guess it's difficult or even impossible for me to really put into words what this is like unless you've driven the car on roads like those here. I didn't even believe that body control like that was possible, everything that has been written about Lotus suspension is absolutely, utterly true. I would love to try a 911 GT3 on the same roads to see how it compares.
Anyway, have some crap photos of the car and some okay photos of the scenery! Oh, it passed a funny mileage number too that I got a snap of
Funny mileage because I'm a child. by Alex D, on Flickr
Sitting pretty at Caffeine & Machine by Alex D, on Flickr
More aerodynmaic streaklines by Alex D, on Flickr
Filthy rear wheel and streaklines by Alex D, on Flickr
1 loww boi by Alex D, on Flickr
Rare west coast Irish sun! by Alex D, on Flickr
Getting soaked at Gurteen Bay by Alex D, on Flickr
Find the road less travelled... by Alex D, on Flickr
Find the road less travelled... by Alex D, on Flickr
Gurteen Bay by Alex D, on Flickr
Connemara Lough by Alex D, on Flickr
Killary Harbour looking West by Alex D, on Flickr
Killary Harbour in the sun by Alex D, on Flickr
It's been back to visit where it was born, care of the guys from Caffeine & Machine, they very very kindly invited me along to the factory! I highly recommend anyone that hasn't already seen it gets into Instagram and searches for #romeinalotus. It was an awesome trip, and one I think I'll have to do myself sometime.
It's currently with me here in Galway on the west coast of Ireland, where my folks live. It's very very attention grabbing here, very few people have sports cars like that in Ireland due to the running costs, tax would be something like €2,400 per year here and I don't actually think |, as a 28 year old bloke, would be able to insure it at all.
It's sitting at 7,450 miles now and well, it might just be one of the best suspended cars out there. It's just been absolutely eating the roads here in Ireland, and they're some of the roughest I know of. It's not that they're gravelly or potholed (although some are), but it's more that they have dips and humps in them that unsettles the car and makes it difficult to maintain control. The Evora, with the touring suspension, just eats the roads up and always seems to have the grip and the poise you'd expect.
I guess it's difficult or even impossible for me to really put into words what this is like unless you've driven the car on roads like those here. I didn't even believe that body control like that was possible, everything that has been written about Lotus suspension is absolutely, utterly true. I would love to try a 911 GT3 on the same roads to see how it compares.
Anyway, have some crap photos of the car and some okay photos of the scenery! Oh, it passed a funny mileage number too that I got a snap of
Funny mileage because I'm a child. by Alex D, on FlickrSitting pretty at Caffeine & Machine by Alex D, on FlickrMore aerodynmaic streaklines by Alex D, on FlickrFilthy rear wheel and streaklines by Alex D, on Flickr1 loww boi by Alex D, on FlickrRare west coast Irish sun! by Alex D, on FlickrGetting soaked at Gurteen Bay by Alex D, on FlickrFind the road less travelled... by Alex D, on FlickrFind the road less travelled... by Alex D, on FlickrGurteen Bay by Alex D, on FlickrConnemara Lough by Alex D, on FlickrKillary Harbour looking West by Alex D, on FlickrKillary Harbour in the sun by Alex D, on FlickrGreat thread and love the spec on this really lovely car and great that you are using it properly ..I was in Ireland couple of months ago with my V12 Vantage visiting my family and agree cars such as these are super rare there, tax and insurance costs alone are prohibitive never mind that the purchase price alone would easily be 50% higher than in the UK...think the UK is prob one of the most cost effective places in the world to own sports cars shame the roads are so busy in certain areas, irish motorways and b roads are deserted by comparison. Anyway enjoy the car!
colm89 said:
Aha, I've just stumbled across this thread! I was chatting to you at the ferry port in Holyhead! Hope you're having a good Christmas in Galway!
Ah Colm! was great to chat to you, I hope you had a good time back home. I had a great time, probable points aside. The car has just ticked over 8,000 miles now and gets better every day. Still need to get a slightly quieter exhaust and also get the carbon that I don't like wrapped to see if I'd prefer it body colour.
I'm procrastinaing as I don't much want to spend £1,000 on tyres and then have nowhere to keep them for the 8 months of the year they wont be on the car... But then, on the other hand, it's really not enjoyable at the moment because of it. It was okay in Ireland as it was warm there, as it usually is this time of year, but yeah.
Sigh, next week. Maybe.
Sigh, next week. Maybe.
mumbojumbo1 said:
Queuing this morning at Waitrose Kingston and saw you blast up and over the bridge. Exhaust sounds awesome and cars looking great!
Oh man, that was me leaving in a huff after the fifth shop I'd been in still not having any flour 
Thank you for the kind words, I'm liking it more and more each day, at least I was until a week ago when all this lockdown and social distancing kicked in.
I'm stuck on 9,800 miles covered since getting it in mid August last year. Was dying to cross the 10k mark in six months, but sadly not.
Evora at Home by Alex D, on Flickr
Thanks Dino, looking forward to that thread on your new whip
The adaptations are straightforward, the really good thing is that cars like this from companies like Lotus have the option for an automatic. I used to firmly be on the side of the manual, and I still think it should be the default for a proper drivers car, but things like this Evora and the 991 GT3 coming with an auto option has been a godsend for me.
Never liked the idea of a private plate, but that's the one the car was registered on, and I think it's subtle enough that someone only twigs (ahem) why it's funny when I get out...
F1GTRUeno said:
Stonkingly good looking car in that colour scheme.
Glad that adaptations are available so you can enjoy it too.
Love the numberplate.
Thanks for the kind words, I know that green over tan with gold wheels is currently super trendy and not at all original, but it looks so damn good! Glad that adaptations are available so you can enjoy it too.
Love the numberplate.
The adaptations are straightforward, the really good thing is that cars like this from companies like Lotus have the option for an automatic. I used to firmly be on the side of the manual, and I still think it should be the default for a proper drivers car, but things like this Evora and the 991 GT3 coming with an auto option has been a godsend for me.
Never liked the idea of a private plate, but that's the one the car was registered on, and I think it's subtle enough that someone only twigs (ahem) why it's funny when I get out...
Time for another update that isn't really and update, given the rather particular conditions we're all living under at the mo.
It's been the only car I've used for shopping trips, and the odd errand here and there, and it's now over 10,000 miles since I picked it up last August! I'm reasonably pleased with this, I've always been a big believer in driving these kind of cars a lot, but I wondered if I would put my money where my mouth is when the time came.
I've been thinking about it's future a lot, too. I don't really know what to do, whether to keep it a while or chage it for something else. It's an utterly fantastic car when you're on a road and driving it enthusiastically, but I also have nothing to judge it against. I'd love to move on to a 911, 991-gen GT3 I think, and then a GTR after that, and then possibly back to Lotus and whatever they have out at that time. Money and space prevent me from having all these cars at once, but then I wonder will I truly remember what TW19 LEG was like after a few weeks in something else?
Just finding one to drive isn't an option sadly, proper hand controls have to be fitted or else the experience is just awkward. Oh well. Plenty of time yet to decice, and there's nowt I can do about it right now.
The other day, passing Ham Common on my way up to Richmond to get some groceries, I did manage to find a friend...
An Evora Finds a Fren: A Short Story. by Alex D, on Flickr
It's been the only car I've used for shopping trips, and the odd errand here and there, and it's now over 10,000 miles since I picked it up last August! I'm reasonably pleased with this, I've always been a big believer in driving these kind of cars a lot, but I wondered if I would put my money where my mouth is when the time came.
I've been thinking about it's future a lot, too. I don't really know what to do, whether to keep it a while or chage it for something else. It's an utterly fantastic car when you're on a road and driving it enthusiastically, but I also have nothing to judge it against. I'd love to move on to a 911, 991-gen GT3 I think, and then a GTR after that, and then possibly back to Lotus and whatever they have out at that time. Money and space prevent me from having all these cars at once, but then I wonder will I truly remember what TW19 LEG was like after a few weeks in something else?
Just finding one to drive isn't an option sadly, proper hand controls have to be fitted or else the experience is just awkward. Oh well. Plenty of time yet to decice, and there's nowt I can do about it right now.
The other day, passing Ham Common on my way up to Richmond to get some groceries, I did manage to find a friend...
An Evora Finds a Fren: A Short Story. by Alex D, on FlickrTime for some updates!
I've had the car almost exactly ten months and 12,504 miles as of last night. Lets just say I took the advice that we were able to drive as far as we wanted to heart, and have been out around Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire a lot. Some thoughts on the last few thousand miles.
Firstly, while I am very aware that I have a large amount of free time compared to most, I understand people that don't drive their sports cars much even less than I did when I first bought the car. The car has come alive since about seven or eight thousand miles, and I have considered it properly broken in since about ten thousand.
The car hasn't put a foot wrong in my ownership, and I don't expect it to given that it's late in the model cycle and the Toyota bits. The interior quality has been good in my car, no squeaks or rattles to speak of. I don't think the interior is very well thought out for a car that, to me, is more of a GT than anything else, the lack of armrests is very irritating when on the way to more interesting roads and the position of the cupholder is similarly annoying, as well as there being only one of them. I realise that this position is often dismissed as the concerns of someone that doesn't drive their car properly, but I disagree. You can't be on it all the time, and for very very little weight penalty it would be nice to have a decent cupholder and elbow rest. I've spanked my car around the NC500 and loved it, but there was still a boring, 8 hour, 400 mile schlep up there to get out the way first which would have been greatly improved by having these small things. I believe I have complained about this before but I haven't checked previous posts, ahem.
I'm considering adding them myself, the 400 door cards fit (although they're expensive) and maybe paying a visit to d:class auto to investigate a custom central armrest. In addidion to this, I'd really like a round, smooth steering wheel and to move the cruise control buttons off the wheel and onto a stalk. Thsi will need a bit of investigation and I'm in no rush at all, they're very minor things.
Talking of modifications, I have done my first two! The 2bular exhaust was sourced courtesy of Nick at PJS Sports Cars who did an excellent job of fitting it as well as the carbon panel I bought myself. I've gone for a twin exit exhaust that should be a little quiter then standard for the track noise limits, enabling me to do my first ever track day soon! Most likely Donnington, for friendliness and run off purposes, ahem. I'm waiting for it to bed in and settle down before giving my final thoughts on it, but I'm pretty happy so far.
The second bit was a carbon panel to replace the black plastic panel between the roof and the rear deck. This was from Elise Parts in Holland, and I'm satisfied. It's not a perfect match either weave or colour wise, and the line in the middle doesn't quite match up, but it's miles better than it was before. I'm really not very fussy about stuff like this when it's an aftermarket part, and how long do I spend looking down from above at that line anyway? No bother. Should it have been this way from the factory, or at very least been offered as an option? Of course. Lotus were proper, proper broke when they developed this car though, so I guess I'll given them a pass on that. Pics!
Carbon roof by Alex D, on Flickr
Dat ass tho... by Alex D, on Flickr
Now, while I was at PJS, they weighed it for me... Lotus. Oh Lotus. You are supposed to make light cars, you know. The spec I have is probably the heaviest spec possible with extra weight options ticked and it had a full tank at the time, but still.
1 lardy boi by Alex D, on Flickr
Other than all that, everything is going smoothly and I'm pretty happy with it. It would be nice if it was faster, but as it's kinda lardy, I accept it. If the decision is made to keep it then it'll be getting bumped to 500bhp as a minimum, however.
Here are some more pics, although please excuse the condition. I'm much more interested in driving it than cleaning it, and so it's pretty much perpetually filthy.
I've had a fetish for driving through fords recently, and here's a couple of snaps from the ford in Shilton, in the Burford area. This is long enough to get some good splash going, I might have to come back with a photographer friend for some action shots.
Fresh out of the ford at Shilton by Alex D, on Flickr
Fresh out of the ford at Shilton by Alex D, on Flickr
I'd like to try and keep it looking like this:
IMG_20200521_121836 by Alex D, on Flickr
But really, it spends most of it's time looking like this:
At rest in Burford by Alex D, on Flickr
Here's some assorted random photos. I've got a long way to go before being able to get a decent shot of the car, but I'm trying.
Brothers by Alex D, on Flickr
Taking in the sunrise by Alex D, on Flickr
Still working on the angles, ahem by Alex D, on Flickr
Sunrise Silhouette by Alex D, on Flickr
I've had the car almost exactly ten months and 12,504 miles as of last night. Lets just say I took the advice that we were able to drive as far as we wanted to heart, and have been out around Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire a lot. Some thoughts on the last few thousand miles.
Firstly, while I am very aware that I have a large amount of free time compared to most, I understand people that don't drive their sports cars much even less than I did when I first bought the car. The car has come alive since about seven or eight thousand miles, and I have considered it properly broken in since about ten thousand.
The car hasn't put a foot wrong in my ownership, and I don't expect it to given that it's late in the model cycle and the Toyota bits. The interior quality has been good in my car, no squeaks or rattles to speak of. I don't think the interior is very well thought out for a car that, to me, is more of a GT than anything else, the lack of armrests is very irritating when on the way to more interesting roads and the position of the cupholder is similarly annoying, as well as there being only one of them. I realise that this position is often dismissed as the concerns of someone that doesn't drive their car properly, but I disagree. You can't be on it all the time, and for very very little weight penalty it would be nice to have a decent cupholder and elbow rest. I've spanked my car around the NC500 and loved it, but there was still a boring, 8 hour, 400 mile schlep up there to get out the way first which would have been greatly improved by having these small things. I believe I have complained about this before but I haven't checked previous posts, ahem.
I'm considering adding them myself, the 400 door cards fit (although they're expensive) and maybe paying a visit to d:class auto to investigate a custom central armrest. In addidion to this, I'd really like a round, smooth steering wheel and to move the cruise control buttons off the wheel and onto a stalk. Thsi will need a bit of investigation and I'm in no rush at all, they're very minor things.
Talking of modifications, I have done my first two! The 2bular exhaust was sourced courtesy of Nick at PJS Sports Cars who did an excellent job of fitting it as well as the carbon panel I bought myself. I've gone for a twin exit exhaust that should be a little quiter then standard for the track noise limits, enabling me to do my first ever track day soon! Most likely Donnington, for friendliness and run off purposes, ahem. I'm waiting for it to bed in and settle down before giving my final thoughts on it, but I'm pretty happy so far.
The second bit was a carbon panel to replace the black plastic panel between the roof and the rear deck. This was from Elise Parts in Holland, and I'm satisfied. It's not a perfect match either weave or colour wise, and the line in the middle doesn't quite match up, but it's miles better than it was before. I'm really not very fussy about stuff like this when it's an aftermarket part, and how long do I spend looking down from above at that line anyway? No bother. Should it have been this way from the factory, or at very least been offered as an option? Of course. Lotus were proper, proper broke when they developed this car though, so I guess I'll given them a pass on that. Pics!
Carbon roof by Alex D, on FlickrDat ass tho... by Alex D, on FlickrNow, while I was at PJS, they weighed it for me... Lotus. Oh Lotus. You are supposed to make light cars, you know. The spec I have is probably the heaviest spec possible with extra weight options ticked and it had a full tank at the time, but still.
1 lardy boi by Alex D, on FlickrOther than all that, everything is going smoothly and I'm pretty happy with it. It would be nice if it was faster, but as it's kinda lardy, I accept it. If the decision is made to keep it then it'll be getting bumped to 500bhp as a minimum, however.
Here are some more pics, although please excuse the condition. I'm much more interested in driving it than cleaning it, and so it's pretty much perpetually filthy.
I've had a fetish for driving through fords recently, and here's a couple of snaps from the ford in Shilton, in the Burford area. This is long enough to get some good splash going, I might have to come back with a photographer friend for some action shots.
Fresh out of the ford at Shilton by Alex D, on FlickrFresh out of the ford at Shilton by Alex D, on FlickrI'd like to try and keep it looking like this:
IMG_20200521_121836 by Alex D, on FlickrBut really, it spends most of it's time looking like this:
At rest in Burford by Alex D, on FlickrHere's some assorted random photos. I've got a long way to go before being able to get a decent shot of the car, but I'm trying.
Brothers by Alex D, on FlickrTaking in the sunrise by Alex D, on FlickrStill working on the angles, ahem by Alex D, on FlickrSunrise Silhouette by Alex D, on FlickrLooks great Alex, and really good going on the 10months so far - puts most Lotus owners to shame!
After reading your comment but before seeing the weigh scale picture I was expecting it to be much heavier by the way you built up to it - 1400kg has still got to be pretty damn good (in class) when you consider just how much more liveable an Evora is compared to the contemporary Exige at only a couple hundred KG lighter.
After reading your comment but before seeing the weigh scale picture I was expecting it to be much heavier by the way you built up to it - 1400kg has still got to be pretty damn good (in class) when you consider just how much more liveable an Evora is compared to the contemporary Exige at only a couple hundred KG lighter.
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