Future of the Evora in the USA

[Julian73]

please please put this one on scales w/ full tank of gas if you could, since we have a 95 lbs weight discrepancy right now.

[pharriso]

Carfection review - Car & Driver article with Youtube video

 

I'm really confused between the various models!  In the US we only have the new Evora GT, the Lotus website mentions the Evora 400 & Evora GT, both I believe are UK models.

So what is the Evora 410 GT Sport? I also assume the 430 is gone?

Edited July 1, 2019 by pharriso

[tim_marra]

aFor UK and Europe we now only have the GT410 Sport. The 400 is discontinued, and the GT430 and GT430 Sport was limited to 60 examples of each.

The US GT appears to be a mix of 430/410/400 that updates the 400 without all the re-test malarkey.

[C8RKH]

Oh, so the carbon is screwed!  That's a real shame.

12 hours ago, tim_marra said:

aFor UK and Europe we now only have the GT410 Sport. The 400 is discontinued, and the GT430 and GT430 Sport was limited to 60 examples of each.

The US GT appears to be a mix of 430/410/400 that updates the 400 without all the re-test malarkey.

And takes a significant chunk out of the MSRRP for more kit and performance!

[brian.s.henry]

27 minutes ago, C8RKH said:

Oh, so the carbon is screwed!  That's a real shame.

And takes a significant chunk out of the MSRRP for more kit and performance!

@C8RKH - not sure why you think it’s screwed?  US license plates cover any ‘exposed’ area. Unless you’re planning on running a car with no plates? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Edited July 2, 2019 by brian.s.henry

[ken2020]

Feeling very lucky today.  The very first Evora GT sold in America and the world. It was amazing time enjoying the day driving the only one.  Lotus really listened and stepped up their game.  Lotus completely manned up and worked out all the problems.  They have shown to me that they are the company that I wanted to buy a car from for so long.  This has really become the fairy tale ending. Well it's the fairy tail beginning for me and my Evora!  

The first day with the car and I am more than impressed.  The build quality is 100% perfect, The Radio is better than I could have imagined. The Apple play in the Alpine works perfectly and integrates seamlessly. The power is exceptional. The motor sounds like a symphony. (Are they sure it's from a Camry and not a Toyota Grand Prix car!)  The clutch is the perfect amount of effort and feedback. The shifting is silky and smoother than the 400 with 2nd gear completely solid.  It rides like a slightly big Elise. The A/C AirCon was a iceberg on a 98 F day. The attention and response from people seeing the car was overwhelming.  

Compared to the 400 this car is another level.   All the quirks of the 400 are gone.  I'm completely in love! Worth all the lost nights sleep and every penny.  After one day with this car I don't mind that I didn't get exactly what I had ordered. It's 95% there and the rest will come. 

Last night I watched the Stingray premier and they really put on a show.  It was almost Tesla like(almost).  The car is going to appeal to a lot of buyers. However, Make no mistake. The Evora is the right choice!  This car has leaped over my expectations and small little company from Norfolk has build a world class car. If you've been waiting to see how this car turns out.  The answer is it's Amazing.  So go get in line. It's worth the wait! 

So I just have to raise my glass and say "Cheers"

[C8RKH]

@ken2020 that is a stunner mate. The red calipers and interior touches just make it ping. Congratulations, lovely car. Now go drive some more! 

[au-yt]

Fantastic colour That would have been my choice. I suspect and my guess is  there may be a reason for the exhaust and other changes as the 400 is what was homologated for the US. my suspicion is the GT is a 400 variant with options. Lots of manufactures are paying the price for lying to the US.

[blindside]

Many congrats @ken2020. Your car looks fantastic! Great colour and I love the contrasting red highlights. It sounds like things have moved on significantly from when you were so disillusioned with the whole buying process a few months ago! Lotus have clearly listened and pulled their finger out. I’m really pleased that you are blown away by your car after all the uncertainty you’ve faced.

As they say in this neck of the woods “health to drive” 😎

[Champale]

Congratulations ken2020!  So glad to hear that Lotus has been good about things and that you are enjoying the car!  Please keep updating us as you can (maybe start a new thread?) .  

Am curious about what you meant when you said "All the quirks of the 400 are gone."  In driving dynamics, ergonomics, or what?  

[ken2020]

The 400's that I have driven are just a lot different than the GT.  First and foremost. The shifting feels greatly improved.  The car feels much more planted. I'm sure a lot of it comes down to wheels and tires but the car drives different in a good way. It feels more weight forward with less oversteer. Then again it could just be my senses being overwhelmed.  Either way I love the car. 

[ken2020]

9 hours ago, blindside said:

Many congrats @ken2020. Your car looks fantastic! Great colour and I love the contrasting red highlights. It sounds like things have moved on significantly from when you were so disillusioned with the whole buying process a few months ago! Lotus have clearly listened and pulled their finger out. I’m really pleased that you are blown away by your car after all the uncertainty you’ve faced.

As they say in this neck of the woods “health to drive” 😎

I was not disillusioned with the whole buying experience. In fact I was completely right in my opinion of what was happening. However, Lotus has made complete amends as far as they can and I'm very happy with the end result. Case closed.  In the end they have won back my loyalty(as if I could bring myself to buy a different car)  and they have given me everything that I wanted including the personal apology.  

[Champale]

Ah ok got it.  The shifter in my 400 is so nice and precise that if the one in the GT is even better, it must be a real treat!

 

[Ccd]

I would not expect you to regret getting done GT after the C8 unveiling.  The Evora GT is one of the last great analogue cars and the Vette is definitely NOT analogue.

[The Pits]

Fantastic, stunning car inside and out, many congratulations.

[ByJoveByJingle]

43 minutes ago, Ccd said:

I would not expect you to regret getting done GT after the C8 unveiling.  The Evora GT is one of the last great analogue cars and the Vette is definitely NOT analogue.

Not to mention to mention ugly. It reminds me of Diet Coke/Coke Light . . . when you first take a sip, it seems to be a pretty good sugar substitute; then the aftertaste kicks in and you realize you couldn’t possibly choke down a whole can of it. The Corvette seems alright when all you see is the overall form-factor. But the longer you look at it, the worse it looks. 

Edited July 20, 2019 by ByJoveByJingle

[Julian73]

21 hours ago, ken2020 said:

The 400's that I have driven are just a lot different than the GT.  First and foremost. The shifting feels greatly improved.  The car feels much more planted. I'm sure a lot of it comes down to wheels and tires but the car drives different in a good way. It feels more weight forward with less oversteer. Then again it could just be my senses being overwhelmed.  Either way I love the car. 

Exact same shifter and transmission between 400 and GT, in fact all mechanical components are the same between the cars except of different dampers (rate and lower spring height), baffling in oil pan and rear wheel width.

[C8RKH]

The shifter may be the same but the secret sauce is in how the cables have been fettled/adjusted and I am sure Lotus are just getting better at it...

[Julian73]

Oh definitely true with respect to variablity.  But I don't know if that is a continual improvement trend or a random process.  I had a 12MY with perfect shifter, I lay this to the improved cables which were less susceptible to variations due to heat and perfect install setup; I never suspected my shifting =was great, just commented that is wasn't bad and other Evora owners unanimously stated it was the best they had run across.  My 2017 is 99% of my personal '12.  I think what Lotus has achieved is not a perfection of the linkage system but rather removed a lot of the variability such that the past was good +/-15% by setup now good +/- 3% by setup and pre '12's were OK +/- 20% with operating heat adding another variable of +0/-25%

[Bruss]

10 minutes ago, Julian73 said:

Oh definitely true with respect to variablity.  But I don't know if that is a continual improvement trend or a random process.  I had a 12MY with perfect shifter, I lay this to the improved cables which were less susceptible to variations due to heat and perfect install setup; I never suspected my shifting =was great, just commented that is wasn't bad and other Evora owners unanimously stated it was the best they had run across.  My 2017 is 99% of my personal '12.  I think what Lotus has achieved is not a perfection of the linkage system but rather removed a lot of the variability such that the past was good +/-15% by setup now good +/- 3% by setup and pre '12's were OK +/- 20% with operating heat adding another variable of +0/-25%

I think the big change was in to the 400 set up, with one of the cables now lighter gauge and operating from below, rather than both coming over the top. That plus the more rigid centre tunnel mounting of the cable grips. I have the later S1 set up and cable adjustment is key to a good shift, but I think the 400 shift is lighter and less liable to variation with cable stretch. If anyone is interested, look at the internal gearbox shaft and pin to see what is actually moving in to place. Not much room for error there.

 

 

[ken2020]

On 20/07/2019 at 17:01, Ccd said:

I would not expect you to regret getting done GT after the C8 unveiling.  The Evora GT is one of the last great analogue cars and the Vette is definitely NOT analogue.

I watched the C8 unveiling the night before I picked up the car from the dealer.  It was very confidence inspiring that I had made the right choice.  To think they have done all that work and they could have just bought a Lotus!

 

[Julian73]

6 hours ago, Bruss said:

I think the big change was in to the 400 set up, with one of the cables now lighter gauge and operating from below, rather than both coming over the top. That plus the more rigid centre tunnel mounting of the cable grips. I have the later S1 set up and cable adjustment is key to a good shift, but I think the 400 shift is lighter and less liable to variation with cable stretch. If anyone is interested, look at the internal gearbox shaft and pin to see what is actually moving in to place. Not much room for error there.

 

 

I indirectly said this, that the human setup up variability has been reduced in the equation, precision of the S1 gen 2 ('12+) was +/- 15%, and now on S2 (4xx/GT cars) +/-3%, implied that average 400 was better than vast majority of S1's

Edited July 22, 2019 by Julian73

[Ccd]

Ken2020:

The Vette is a different car from the Lotus.  From what I’ve read, GM tried to address several issues.  One was their reaching the limits of what the current platform could do and the other was to try to get a younger demographic interested in the car.

GM wasn’t trying to make a Lotus and Lotus sales so far are hardly something GM would want to emulate.  Remember that GM typically sells around 20,000 units just in the USA (probably lower this year because many were waiting for the C8).

Let’s just call it different cars for people with different tastes.  Now where thing get interesting is the Vette’s price point.  How many potential Lotus customers will opt for the Vette because it costs around half that of an Evora GT???  I have no thoughts on that other than to say potential NSX, R8 and maybe i8 customers may be asking a similar question.

[ken2020]

I wonder how much work was farmed out to "Lotus Engineering"?  I never said that GM was trying to make a Lotus.  I'm just saying that the GM engineers could have made life easy for themselves and went out and bought a Lotus.   They would have had more fun on the test track.( It's called sarcasm)     I will say at the price point of the new C8. I wouldn't mind having one for a trackday car that I could crash and ding up. At that price I wouldn't care. 

 

[NC25T]

Wouldn’t different alignment specs, springs/shocks and tires result in a big difference in feel between the 400 and GT?

i would think just a newer set of the same tires can make a big change in steering feel as well as handling on any car 

To me the only advantage the c8 has over the GT/400 is that it can hold two sets of golf clubs vs one in the lotus.  Then again since I haven’t played golf in years it isn’t really a advantage for me!  Then there is the looks of the back of the c8......   

 

Ken2020 - wow... stunning car!