Loquacious Lew

Comfort makes you sore? That's a new one for me! My comments relate to use on the street, not in pukka racing. The problem I have with the 916 is that like most Duacti race reps, the clip ons are lower than the saddle. This in turn puts much greater weight on your wrists so it's a rack on the road in stop and go and makes things like seeing traffic signals much more effort. Once at speed it's somewhat less an issue but for use as a daily it's out for most people. Sure, being too upright puts extra weight on your tail, raises the center of gravity, and messes with mass centralization, but there are compromises that work for the street a lot better than the 916 or 999. The 999 was of course a more successful racer but doubles down on the 916's dodgy street egos. For brief blasts on the right road, sure but I don't think there are too many 916 owners who see their rides as everyday drivers.

O to be in England!

916s are very pretty but in a long history of making racks, they are the most uncomfortable street bikes Ducati ever produced.

James: I don't think you'd miss this particular problem, seal failure. You'd spot the oil mist on the outside of the car immediately. You can also see it through the rear light as it spatters up there too. It was obvious. If you never looked at your car you'd still notice it when filling with fuel. I'd think your issue is something to do with the actuator and by that I mean: electrical or code glitch. To be honest, I have no idea but it's not the supercharger seal failure we've experienced.

Hi Yao sun from Indiana! This is pretty much the same post you put up on Lotus Talk (can I mention them?) so I think it's appropriate to post something similar to you by way of reply. There was a bad batch of superchargers and a good number of them ended up in the States. My car suffered the same failure at 1500 miles, three weeks into my ownership. It is known what the cause is (a bad seal in a run of superchargers) and what the cure is. My car was returned to me in five working days with a new supercharger. In my case, I noticed an oil mist on the exterior of the lift gate which caused me to take a glance at the motor. I could see that there was some oil flung about coming from " the top end." I immediately called my dealer and he told me to bring the car in right away. A week later I had it back.....that was today. It's cleaner than when I collected it and runs fine, just great and a delight to be in. Edelbrock, the famous US manufacturer of performance components makes the supercharger for the 400 so getting a new one was a matter of a couple of days. I don't think this is a design or build flaw per se. Well, to be fair it's a problem an OEM had, but it's known and there is a permanent fix. I suspect you didn't notice the oil on your car and drove the supercharger and/or it's drive mechanism to failure. Although that shouldn't have happened, things do happen to all cars of course. To me it's reassuring when a problem is already identified , a simple fix is known and the issue is corrected in a realistic time frame by people who impress me that they care. Really, that's as good as it ever gets. Enjoy your 400. I love mine. May I rather boldly suggest an Uber to the dealer to collect your car now that it's repaired? You're missing out when you're not driving it.

I liked the 400 more than the Carreras and 718s I drove so that's what I bought but the GT4 is special. Flaunt that Porsche, baby. Regarding buying new series production cars as collectibles: People who buy a great car and then save everything including the new car smell for somebody else are very silly.

I just had this occur with my car. Lotus are replacing the supercharger and I should have it back in my hands tomorrow (Friday, Aug 18). Symptoms: I saw a light misting of oil and small droplets on the lift gate. When I opened it to reveal the motor, I could see oil collecting at the base of the supercharger. I was told there have been some failures of seals on a certain production run. My car was built in February, 2017 (as were many of the US cars) so if this is an issue it will presumably affect cars from around that time. A benefit to Us owners is that the Edelbrocks are made here so turn around time was only three days.

Perhaps my view is somewhat cynical but to me this collection speaks more to gluttony than taste. And that's just the beginning of some of my darker thoughts about what could be done towards the good with such resources.

I have a '12 Multistrada S and an '05 BMW Boxer Cup. The Multi is all the touring ride I'll ever need and the Evora is all the sports car I require so for the first time in decades I'm not looking for anything. I'm thinking about letting the BMW go though.

Haven't seen dark bezels on any US cars. That doesn't mean there isn't one but I have not seen them yet and I keep my eyes peeled.

Don 't forget there are Americans watching this forum! Americans who are prepared to squeeze into undersized British cars and squeal with joy while covering vast expanses and "YOUGE" distances. That's not to say that Americans don't gravitate to big cars. Embarrassing, but true. In a nutshell, the superficial fluff based on self appointed experts is always going to create clutter. One learns to pick the wheat from the chaff and there's a bit of both on You Tube and in the referenced vid but overall, he seemed very enthusiastic as I would expect of anybody who loves cars and just drove an Evora for the first time. I thought the tone and enthusiasm here were positive but agree it's annoying to see the car being described as a track weapon when owners know the 400 is perhaps best enjoyed as the cocooned scalpel of over the road machines. It lives to make driving on public roads a joy and an event and at that it is as good as it gets. I think it suggests he may not have driven it enough.

I checked the seat frames on my car and they are indeed the new style with an added brace. As for the differences between the package without airbags and those with them, that's not something I can comment on. In any event, they don't rock or make noise and feel secure in their mounts.

@ James: In your latest video, you mention that the Air/Con unit required replacement. Has this been a relatively common fault or was it unique to your car (which being the worlds most videoed 400, I have named old Yeller)? For the record, I don't name my own cars but that needn't stop me from naming yours.

Are the UK cars not delivered with.a maintainer? New cars in the US are delivered with a Lotus rebranded Battery Tender Plus as well as a pigtail already attached to the battery. This is listed as a no cost option on the price sheet.

Thank you Dan. Pleasure to be here!

Thank you Bibs! Dream car..

Is it possible that the Sparcos fitted to US cars are different to the seats fitted to yours? I ask because of the US specified side airbags which I assume are not required in Great Britain. I am as big as a Lotus driver nominally ever gets and my seat is not squeaking. I am surprised to find it works on long trips well enough that I have no aches or pain when I get out of the car, and the passenger seat is not creaky either although I only have 1000 miles on my car. Since few of you across the pond from me will have experience in the extreme heat of the US Southeast, I'd like to mention something else for the record. This may be of only passing interest to most on this forum but to anyone in a tropical clime or with severely hot summer weather, the air conditioning holds its own in 100 degree (F) and high humidity conditions. It sometimes lags just a bit in heavy traffic in temperatures over 100 degrees F if the car hasn't moved for a while, but inside you still remain cool and dry . Air conditioning was a major concern for me as I live where the summers are brutal but it has proven to be fine overall.

Yes. so by that measure, Lotus is in the ballpark, The torque is specified low, and I reckon accurately. Once the car is spun up towards redline, the power is there. But as we all know Lotus is not about drag racing. You must buy this car despite the numbers. The punch of the Corvette's naturally aspirated V8 was something I had to willfully give up when I decided I simply had to have the Evora. For we here who can buy much more torque (and horsepower) for much less money, that torque specification created a lot of smoke from my ears as I pondered the decision. Most decide for a Corvette, fewer perhaps for a Porsche of one stripe or another and very, very few for an Evora. I will do some runs and report them here after I have my running in service and once the summer heat has subsided. It's pointless to make runs in 100 degree heat, which is what we have at the moment.

I thought I should round out my introduction to you with a photo of the car I picked up last week. Here it is in my garage keeping the BoxerCup and Ducati Multistrada company.

None of the reading I've done suggests whether Lotus rates HP at the rear wheel or not. "BHP" would suggest a rear wheel rating but Lotus rates the car as follows: High power, 400 hp. 3.5 litre V6, 24 valve, water cooled, all aluminium engine, with Edelbrock supercharger As I interpret it this suggests a rating without accessories and at the crank's output, Therefore, any car that achieves 375 BHP (at the rear wheels) is going to be within spec as Lotus writes it since we'd expect around 15% loss to accessories and the drivetrain. I think the relatively low torque specification is what makes us think our cars don't have the punch we'd have expected. By the way (I'll write up a separate thread on this) I picked up my new Evora 400 in Detroit Michigan on July 15 and drove it home to Nashville two days later. I love it regardless if it makes 375 or 400 HP, but 400 ia of course better. In my introduction to the forum while I was still struggling with my choices I mentioned how difficult it was for me to justify a Lotus here in the States where we can buy a Corvette Grand Sport with a proper standard transmission and all the extra technology trimmings for tens of thousands less. In the end, the allure of the 400s fantastic driver qualities and its charm and uniqueness clinched the deal for me. I'm an outlier here, but I'm not the only one. A note on dynes, although you all know this: They're like mechanical watches. No two read exactly the same, and they don't even read the same on different days or at different times of the year. Dynos are best used to establish baselines so to be able to compare the results of fiddling and modifications. That said, it would be nice if Lotus' specs were reliably conservative.

Thank you each and everyone! It's a pleasure to join this community and to receive its support. Ramjet, my car is metallic green/black pack over the tan leather pack. It's a manual, well optioned including black forged wheels, cruise, paint protection, battery maintenance, subwoofer as well as the standard features Lotus includes in the US spec. It's true that many of the early cars Lotus delivered here are auto boxes but I wanted a stick. There were none available at my local dealer who is new to the marque so I bought it off the floor at Detroit's store, Audio Europe. I think the car looks fine in any number of liveries but as green (which my wife reminds me isn't BRG, strictly speaking) was a traditional color for this spirited English car, it works for me. I'm fond of them in most of the bright colors and was open minded as the car had a manual trans and forged wheels and wasn't black as I find that harder to maintain. The car looks good in most colors. The darker colors are nicely subdued and conservative whereas the bright ones are fun and exciting. In the end, any Evora 400 is going to be an event on American roads. I'm over the moon and can't wait to get it home and of course will proudly post my photos as soon as I have it in my hot sweaty hands! If only enthusiasts would take the time to seek out a 400 and give it a drive, I know many more would be swayed as I was from taking the easy choice of a Porsche or Corvette. I can't say anything bad about those options but if one's priority is fun at any pace in any place, I think the Evora holds an edge. I had a lot of questions going into this but once I decided I was buying the car for myself and my own driving pleasure, I was able to reduce the problem to a single question. Would I buy another option and then always wonder if I should have gone with my heart's desire? When I realized the answer to that question was "yes, the only remaining issue was where to find and how to best negotiate an Evora purchase. The info I gleaned here and elsewhere regarding the Geely deal helped ice the decision for me. Special mention must be made of Jay Em's videos which went al distance to bolster my decision. I took the time and opportunity to suss out the best drive for me,. I examined most of the available choices, and when I was satisfied that nothing made me feel the way the Evora did, I was able to move forward with some confidence. The car's reputation is certainly fortified by universal high praise from people who actually own or have driven the 400. Yet one needs to believe in one's own findings and feelings and that's where you find yourself on your own when it comes to buying a Lotus in the USA. Thanks again for a warm welcome. Cheers! A final thought: this Yank hopes that the Geely deal works out splendidly but also wants to express a strong desire to see all of Lotus' halo cars continue to be designed and manufactured at Hethel and any other Lotus sites around Great Britain. While the cars will surely benefit from shared technologies, when you buy a Lotus you buy into the unique perspectives of the Lotus point of view. I'd hate to see that changed in any way except for the ones that will fortify and solidify Lotus' heritage and success.

I just joined the forum although I've been monitoring it for the past several months. I recently purchased a new 400 which I will be collecting in a week. It's been a long wait as I bought the car almost a month ago. A knee surgery has prevented me from collecting it until mid July but I'm doing my best imitation of a man who can be patient. Test drives convinced me it was the car I wanted although I came very near buying a Corvette Grand Sport. As most of you will know, Corvettes are tremendous value on this side of the pond and they are also great fun to drive. I considered several 911 variants as well but the Evora won me over with its amazing road feel and balance. Whatever faults the Evora may have, it more than compensates for them with the feelings it imparts to its driver and the sense of 'enlightened design' that is the Lotus trademark. However rare Lotuses may be in Britain, they are far more so in Tennessee. Buying one here takes a willingness to swim against the current but as we all know and can't say too often, it's a fantastic machine with qualities that can only be best appreciated from the driver's seat. Which, even if that's on the left side, is a delicious place to be. Photos forthcoming after I collect the car on July 15 in Detroit.