Could Lotus actually be on the verge of a revival? The famed sports car firm, once dominant in F1 and one of the great motoring innovators, has fallen badly off its perch in recent years and came within an ace of being closed down for good not long ago. Now though, under the leadership of new Chairman Jean-Marc Gales (formerly of PSA Peugeot Citroen) the Norfolk-based company seems to be turning something of a corner. Sales are up by more than 50 per cent this year and for the Geneva Motor Show in March, Lotus is launching this, the Evora 400.
As the name would suggest, it's an Evora with 400hp and thanks to tweaks to the supercharged Toyota 3.5-litre V6 engine torque has been brought up to 410Nm. There's a restyled body, which looks rather more dramatic than the old Evora, but which is, in proper Lotus tradition, actually lighter. In fact, the whole car is 22kg lighter, which contributes to a 4.1-second 0-100km/h time. Top speed is 300km/h and Lotus claims that it's a full six seconds faster around its Hethel test track than the old model.
There's proper flat-floor aero tech at work too, which means the Evora 400 actually generates real downforce - 32kg at 250km/h in fact. Lotus hasn't ignored comfort and practicality either - the cabin layout has been improved, there are new, comfier seats and the door sills have been made narrower and set lower to make getting in and out a lot easier.
It won't be cheap though, potentially topping €100,000 if you want to import one here. Would you be tempted out of a 911 or Jag F-Type for one of these?
Well, some people must be, given Lotus' increased sales. Gales said at the launch that: "A requirement for all Lotus cars is to be a benchmark for handling, to be the quickest car from A to B and to provide the driver with a pure and involving driving experience. The Evora 400 is the fastest road-going Lotus that we have ever produced, possessing performance that can only be matched by cars costing significantly more. It delivers supercar looks allied to supercar performance."
"We have always said that to make a car better, you must make it faster and lighter. We have achieved this, of course, but we didn't stop there, as the considerable number of changes in the interior, chassis, engine and body design have warranted emphatically, the title of a new Lotus Evora."
"Our dealer network stands at 168 worldwide, which is still growing to reach 200 dealers by the end of 2015, while our sales volumes have increased by over 50% in the last 10 months. The new Lotus Evora 400 will make its mark as a significant milestone in the history of Lotus. Looking to the future, the Lotus Evora 400 will remain core to our product line up for many years to come, with more exciting derivatives planned within the next few years."