Hello lotus evora!
 

So....

It's been like forever since I've been on here.

I will be buying a Lotus Evora this weekend and an trying to decide what to do with my rx8.
Even after 126k miles she runs like the day we met. I've had so much fun, despite the six or seven (lost count) tickets I was awarded by the local "officials"

Not sure what she'll sell for but I really don't want to give her up even though I should. I'm basically rather emotionally attached to her.. It hurts big time. She has given me so much joy I can't seem to let her go. My parking only has space for one car so I'm going to have to street park her (!!!!!)

The new car in my life will be Evora. she's sophisticated and hot, and handles phenomenally.

My 8 has is an 04 lightning yellow gt with grand touring upgrades, clear shield, and upgraded wheels (19's with 275/45zr rear 255/45zr front)




Don't know what to do!!!

Nice upgrade! Definitely post some pictures when you get it!

well squidward, you have officially become on of my fave ppls!

A.) Lotus is my dream car (someday...)
B.) LY GT is what I'm in the market for....Yellow is my fave color

Gratz on the new car! tell me what it's like when you get it, they're so sexy!

And advice, if you still love both cars, keep both, but if you find yourself driving the 8 less and less and the lotus more and more, it'll be evident when the time comes *pat pat*

wow! wish I could afford one.

wow great way to upgrade... post pics

Sounds like a dream come true! Post pitures and a video sound:)

definitely post pics

Does the Evora have a different tranny than the one used in the Elise/Exige?

Subscribing for pics/video of your new car.

Regarding the RX-8...there's plenty of parts you can sell us ;) lol

hey squidward good job :)

now answer the door! thats me wanting to drive your Evora :D:

I am so jealous!

Congrats on the new car! That's definitely going to be a blast to drive.

I'm assuming you're not hurting for money if you're buying a lotus, so it's really up to you what to do. I dont know if the rarity of the yellow will change the resale value much, but an 04 with over 100k miles, you're honestly not looking at getting a whole lot if you do sell it.

nice upgrade.... waiting on pics

I'll save people time googling it:


276 hp 3.5 liter V-6 engine with VVT-I S. Evora's 3.5-liter V6 is from Toyota, a carryover in transverse form from Camry but with ECU software upgrades developed by Lotus Engineering.

Pricing:

2010 Lotus Evora 2+2 $73,500
Destination $1,175

Options:
Curb Weight, 2976 lbs


It looks like a bad ass car, and definitely will be rarer than driving around in another benz/porsche/merc... but the specs seem underwhelming for over 75k.

Anyone looking at the specs would agree that it's overpriced. At least on paper. But no one buys a car this expensive based on metrics.. Until you drive the car you can only measure on data that's available. So it's understandable. I felt the same way and was on the fence until I saw her up close.


Here's a summary of my test drive :

Last Saturday I went to the dealership to see the car. When I arrived I was stunned. The car is gorgeous up close. The photos on the Lotus website do it absolutely no justice. The car simply gorgeous, what more can I say.. It's a baby Ferrari (that was my first thought). Coincidentally, I later learned that Lotus' CEO, Director of Design, and Director of Motorsports all came over from Ferrari last year .. I guess this would explain the direction Lotus is going.

[Sidenote: I read Lotus confirmed that the next Evora (S or SC) will be supercharged to 350+HP (or 400HP), much lighter and 0-100 in under 4 secs. It will certainly be priced considerably higher. No estimate on when, but I suspect in 2 years. Given the size of the engine and trunk room, I have no doubt that there will be supercharger kits available for the Evora well before this beast is out.]

Anyway, the salesman approached me and asked me the usual questions, Looking to upgrade, what are you driving, buying now or just looking, etc... I didn't really say much only that I thought the car looked amazing. After our short chat, he had to close up, so I called them and talked with a different sales man who set me up with a second appointment for the upcoming weekend. When I came in, he walked me around the car in detail. It was an Arctic Silver Evora Launch Edition. By looks and specs, reviews alone, at this point I was VERY interested.. He saw this in my eyes and mentioned that they had a black one coming in that looked amazing. He said they were in the process of prepping their test car and that it would be ready the following week, and that the current cars were accounted for already. So I came back the following week with my girlfriend. The black one present as I walked into the show room. I decided against it because from the side it looked bulbous (the shadows of the curves didn't show well black paint). He greeted us, gave me the keys and told me to meet him out front. When we did, he opened the passenger door for my girlfriend. I was a bit confused because I thought he was going to ride with me, but instead he opened the door for me also and told me to start her up. He said I wouldn't be able to experience it fully since he wanted me to keep it under 4500 RPM, but at least I could get a feel for the car. I asked him how long, and he said, "10, 15 minutes?" I grinned and pulled out of the lot.

Now, my perceptions of the drive:
The Recaro seats were incredible. They were very comfortable, yet weren't super soft like the a Corvette's seat. Also, I noticed plenty of head room given how low the seats were. Unlike the tiny Elise interior, the Evora didn't feel cramped and would easily accommodate an individual with a 6.5' frame. As I sped along, the steering responsiveness and feedback was superb, almost unreal. I've never felt a steering wheel that felt so light and agile, and getting it to go where you want seemed almost effortless. A few times (hope he's not reading this!) I accelerated quickly and she was *definitely* not lacking in terms of pep. Throttle response was near instantaneous, whereas on my RX-8, you really had to prep the engine with high revs to get her going. I never felt connected to a car so quickly than I did with the Evora. This was my first drive and I felt like I've driven her before. Most cars I've driven previously would take a bit of effort to get a feel for the car and even my RX-8 took a few weeks to get really comfortable.

To give you some perspective on my experience driving different sports cars, a few years ago I had the privilege of being invited to participate in a competitive study held by Nissan to test several competing sports cars in a one month period. We got to take each car home and swap every 3 days. These cars included the Corvette C6, BMW Z4 3.0i SMG, S2000, 350Z Track, 350Z Roadster, SLK350, RX-8, Porsche Boxster S. That gave me a wealth of experience on what I liked and didn't like as a sportscar enthusiast.

Anyway, we drove around a bit longer completely aimless in my direction, I got lost :). We had to pull into a lot to figure out where we were. Unfortunately, we made it back to the dealership :)

Regarding sound, starting up sounded rather tame. Not great like a muscle car (given the engine is Toyota's 3.5L V6), but a little better given the exhaust system. At idle, the Evora is virtually silent. Normal speeds are also very quiet (much more so than the RX-8). It was very clear this car was built to be a very capable daily driver. The nice thing though is that when you punch the throttle and the Evora comes to life with a throaty growl. It sounds great on acceleration. I really love the sophistication of this car. I look forward to long trips in this car, and being able to use my iPhones voice dialing feature. In my RX-8, it was usually too loud to use it.


Anyway, when I got out, we spoke a little more, sharing my feedback with the sales man. He told me they just got notice of an orange one coming in next week, and asked if I wanted to put down a deposit. Orange just happens to be my favorite color, and for an exotic sports car, flash is ok. Having made my decision, I gave him my deposit. He called me on Wednesday letting me know "my car" would be available by next Monday or Tuesday. Can't wait!

I've attached a few pictures I snapped of the Evora earlier... I can imagine how incredible it will look in the Burnt Orange premium paint selection :)))))

Congrats man! I'm completely jealous, great color choices too (inside and out)

really happy for you. its one of the few cars that is a true upgrade from the rx8 in everyway. i can only hope that oneday i too can own a lotus.

i love the evora; it's probably my #1 dream car right now. i saw a titanium color one at the detroit autoshow, it was gorgeous and everything i imagined it'd be. personally, i'd have to get one in br green with black wheels. hopefully someday =P congrats and do post photos when yours arrives

Nice car, and enjoyed the story... post many pics.

Being a Longhorn, I vehemently approve your choice of orange.

I'm glad you took my comment the way I intended it - many people also think the RX-8 is overpriced. I paid 32k for my GT/Navi when I could have gotten a WRX type car. Yet I would never trade one for the other :)

There's just something about the 70k+ price point that makes me think 400 whp!

The car looks amazing.

Dude you are SO living my dream! But I want one in the sick green they show on the website.

Congrats and +1 on "pics or GTFO!!!"

Alright guys... I picked up my Evora on Friday and had not been at my desk since :)

I didn't want to post pics because they do justice. So I'm attaching a video link instead so you can see the character of the color better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-i1l...=youtube_gdata

Dude!!!! Omfg!!! Nice man glad you like your baby! Lol I want one now in blue! Lol omg!!!

hmmm lotus of newport beach eh? you should hit up the next the LAX meet with the beautiful car. my best friend and his gf would be with me if i can go and his gf would fliiiiiiiiiip if she saw this lol

Nice car, Squidward! I went to the Porsche dealership yesterday to look at my next car, but gotta get the kids through college before that becomes reality, and my kids are only 5 & 7!