The end for the Evora

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

I was out and about the other day and saw a Cayman parked up in a lay-by opposite. It was a GTS version, but really didn’t look very interesting. I certainly wouldn’t consider buying one.

[Cdm2018]

38 minutes ago, jep said:

Really? The reason I own a Lotus is for the way it drives. As it is for every car I own be it Renault, Jaguar or Lotus.

If I liked the way a 911 drove, I'd own one. 

I hope I see a Lotus on every street within 10 years from now. 

Justin 

 

Justin

please don’t mistake my love that Evora is fantastic drivers car equally I prize the rarity of the lotus brand too 

having never driven or likely be able to afford newer 911 or macca or alike the Evora was Best Buy according to my buying tick box  

[jep]

@Cdm2018 well, don't worry, you have one of the finest drivers cars ever made. And at a budget price. 

Use it as much as you can - don't trickle (charge), treat yourself.

Justin 

 

[Cdm2018]

Now I have to clear the sooting I think is trigged the check engine light by giving it a big blast today as advised by my lotus garage yesterday 😀🚗

[rudolphwolven]

*****

I like my new Evora GT 410 Sport IPS now just as my Esprit Turbo SE for 28 years and find my personal motivations for ownership at both occasions typically reflected in talks with other Lotus car enthousiasts....... the handling, the looks and the exclusivity.

1) -The number of registrations of the Evora in the Netherlands is 29 x of the 2009 > 400 models; 1 x GT 430 (not registered but driven on a dealer's registration) and only 3 x GT 410 Sport, incl mine; the last new GT 410 Sport available / sold in this country...

2) -(Dutch Dealers list price 2019 for a fully equipped GT 410 Sport IPS = GBP 165.000,-)

This { 1) and 2) } makes the Evora extremely exclusive.....and that suits me enormously....for instance; from all Mac Laren types over 200 are registered over here.....Ferrari's in the thousands and Porsches in the 10-housands.

In a 1/2 hour trip from Amsterdam to the beach in Zandvoort generally I count 5-10 Porsches crossing my way and another 5 x Porsche parked at the Beach promenade........oooh I love my Evora. 

 

Imho people buying / interested in Lotus are a kind of car enthousiasts (generally with a financially "limited" budget / versus a top budget over 200-300k GBP) and with a rather specific taste, different as the potential buyers of several other sport cars as Porsche etc..

I truly hope that the Emira will be a succes for Lotus, however personally I doubt if with the new Emira Lotus is able to find it's way outside the borders of the typical Lotus enthousiasts in considerable sales numbers.

Frankly speaking, if the new Emira shows to be successful outside the typical Lotus crowd it actually would not be a Lotus any more as it has to be......

I hate to say this, mainly because of the fantastic work of the Lotus manufacturing crew, however I feel it can happen (again).

The number of people which in first instance consider a Porsche and finally switching over to the Emira will be very limited.......imho. 

[Lotus-Alfa]

I have owned a Cayman GTS (driven a GT4)…manual and in almost every single measurable way is a better car than an Evora and I have no doubt the the Emira will also be better , given  the investment its had. It will need to sell in volume, which for the long term health of Lotus we should all wish for. However the Evora has been developed by real enthusiast over 10 years  and when you drive the latest Evora you can feel that. It is this that you are buying…that feeling, the way it drives…find me one report by a professional that does not reflect this.   It is the feeling why I just bought a GT410  Sport… the last true analog car in my mind (and maybe an investment?).  For reference I also have a convertible i8 which is one of the first digital cars…also very special in a different way. 

[scotty435]

Thanks for your honest insight to Porsche ownership, me for one have never doubted the Cayman is a fantastic car and all rubbish that is spouted about all Porsche drivers are 🛎ends, well sure some lotus owners could fit into this category. Totally agree about the Emira with the timescale and investment I am hoping it’s going to be a Porsche beater and what a great two car garage you have there, a Evora in a stunning colour and i8 in a stunning colour as well, always been a fan of the the said car, never driven one or for that matter sat in one but would love the opportunity to in the near future.

[EGTE]

Porsches may be "measurably" better (although I don't believe they have better steering or ride anyway), but it's the immeasurable that Lotus wins on and the Evora is one of Lotus' very best. Even the humble NA beat the 997 GT3 (and the Noble M600...!) in EVO Car of the Year 2009, let's not forget.

Edited June 20, 2021 by EGTE

[Loquacious Lew]

The lack of even a mention of the 400 as the base car the later cars  are all built upon tells us  how little attention Motor Trend has paid to what has  been the progress of the Evora.  In my opinion, they are the least connected US magazine to enthusiast vehicles and values.    Their (too) belated recognition of the Evora as a viable option is typical of their focus on American style performance to the exclusion of the feel and emotion cars like the Evora command.  .  

[Cdm2018]

I watch a load of u tube videos on the Evora some of the US are actually affiliated to a driver car ethos but many of the reviews both private owners or dealers and some u tube versions of US car mags tend to focus on how the car does its 0-60mph times and overall horsepower of the car. 
I guess US culture is still weighted towards the quarter mile drag times in between the lights as a measure of a car.

Some of reviews focus on the handling capabilities but I don’t they truly connect with how car feels on the twisters as the US folk refer    

[Greg | ValetPro]

On 18/06/2021 at 07:59, DaveC72 said:

I'm genuinely sad to see the end of the Evora.

It never quite managed to convert it's promise in to the sales needed. and I really think they missed a trick by not offering a Final Edition.  As convinced as I am that I will buy an Emira, a run-out Evora model would have been an extremely tempting proposition.

What has been fascinating to me with the Evora is just how much everyone who has been in or driven one has fallen in love with it.  

It generates overwhelmingly positive responses on the road - and I can attest to the fact that it's proven to be largely bomb proof with regular use.

If - and it's a mighty big if - the Emira doesn't float my boat, then I will be buying one of the final iterations without hesitation - and I won't be disappointed with that choice.

I really do feel that the Evora will be looked back on as something of a benchmark, a special car in Lotus' and Sports Car history.

Brilliantly Put. I really miss my Evora N/A Sports Racer.  

On 19/06/2021 at 11:40, jep said:

@Cdm2018 well, don't worry, you have one of the finest drivers cars ever made. And at a budget price. 

Use it as much as you can - don't trickle (charge), treat yourself.

Justin 

 

Love that saying. Don't Trickle (charge), Treat Yourself.  That should be a TLF T-Shirt.  Bib's if you make this design i'll buy one.

[Loquacious Lew]

On 20/06/2021 at 13:29, Cdm2018 said:

I watch a load of u tube videos on the Evora some of the US are actually affiliated to a driver car ethos but many of the reviews both private owners or dealers and some u tube versions of US car mags tend to focus on how the car does its 0-60mph times and overall horsepower of the car. 
I guess US culture is still weighted towards the quarter mile drag times in between the lights as a measure of a car.

Some of reviews focus on the handling capabilities but I don’t they truly connect with how car feels on the twisters as the US folk refer    

Matt Farah is one of my favorite reviewers and his 400 and GT reviews are almost perfect from an owner's point of view.  He shows what is for a reviewer, a complete understanding of the details.  

 

I have been planning to keep my Evora but may place an order for an Emira depending on how impatient I am.  I would prefer to monitor the arc of development and buy the "430" version of the Emira assuming there is one but the car is compelling to me as is.  The AMG is not my preferred option, at least not as presented so far.

[au-yt]

Is it just me or is all the rhetoric about the Emira should have been labeled at the Evora some time ago, all bar big the big screens.

 

[Yan]

On 19/06/2021 at 12:33, Likuid said:

Most Lotus are cars they need to be test driven enthusiastically to be truly experienced. Without that test drive there is almost nothing, besides maybe the looks, that will get people to drive the 2+ hours to their closest dealer to give it a shot.

I never really thought about this, but it's true. I am fortunate to live 5 minutes away from my dealer. Had I test driven around my traffic congested suburbs I probably would have been underwhelmed. 

However my first experience of driving the Evora was on a supercar drive day on some of the best country roads outside of the city. The fact I drove it back to back with some other more expensive machines that didn't drive any better absolutely sealed it for me. 

I've always scratched my head wondering why others don't feel the same. Unless you have a very well trained seat meter, it's because of the nature of the test drive. A 20 minute cautious jaunt in traffic isn't going to seal it for most people. A Porsche in that environment will win every time.

Lotus cars need to be tested in their natural element, that is, on track for Elise/Exige, and country B roads for Evora/Emira.

[au-yt]

I'm hour 45 minutes drive from SSC for a test drive.  but I did a lot of research before deciding to drive the 400. but even just driving the car up the lane from SSC the car felt special and yes it was a cautious city drive but  that's the thing a bout the EVORA it feel magic at slow and at speed.

[au-yt]

Controversial comment however, Ive been sitting back and browsing through the new LOTUS and the Company direction have come to the conclusion the EVORA is a keeper. over decades I have watched great motoring companies get swallowed up and get watered down and sell cars on history.

I do acknowledge that the future is bright, but the cars will be bought by a larger client base as marketing will rule and the LOTUS as we know will go the way of other Marques.

[richhickey]

I picked up an Evora GT to tide me over until the Emira (I'm on the list), and in case the behind-seat storage of the Emira is insufficient for my dog. I agree, the Evora is feeling more and more like the keeper. I love the analog feel and am not wanting for creature comforts. The drive is amazing. The dog loves it. I certainly prefer the interior/seats and 2+2 over what I've seen of the Emira. The Emira seems to represent a lot more risk given the novelty/tech vs the known quantity of the Evora.

[jep]

Commuted in the Evora today........so special. Bonkers it did not sell many 1000's per annum, 10s of 1000s frankly. But it didn't and Lotus rightly have to move in a different direction.

The more I drive the old ones, the more I think the appeal of them will just grow and grow.

Justin

 

[MJON]

For anyone searching for a Evora, this looks like an interesting buy, it’s been for sale a while now. I didn’t know the history of this limited run, apart from the write up given. Anyone able to add?

http://www.parkwayspecialistcars.co.uk/stocklist/lotus-evora-stratton-gt-438-bhp-2dr-manual/

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

It’s all here. They’ve been for sale for years.

 

[MJON]

Thanks, an interesting history but looks like it wasn’t such a good project and they were not at all successful in moving this one onto an end user. Does look great though, aside from the fact I totally missed it was LHD 🙄 would still leave it where it sits.

[JimH]

3 more still for sale here :- https://www.strattonmotorcompany.com/listings/?meta_make=Lotus&meta_year=&meta_trans=&meta_fuel=&meta_type=All&meta_con=All&meta_order=&meta_price=0+-+479940&meta_price_max=479940&submit=+Search&CarDealer_post_type=cars&postNumber=&CarDealer_search_type=page

And I believe that the previous owner of the black 2011 NA that they currently have on the same page may have been a certain Russell Carr as well....

[au-yt]

14 hours ago, jep said:

Commuted in the Evora today........so special. Bonkers it did not sell many 1000's per annum, 10s of 1000s frankly. But it didn't and Lotus rightly have to move in a different direction.

The more I drive the old ones, the more I think the appeal of them will just grow and grow.

Justin

 

Justin, When I listen to the comments about the EMIRA I constantly refect on how relevant they are to the EVORA, no money for decent marketing is more than likely the reason

[jep]

@au-yt perhaps............that has often been a conclusion of those who love Evora and cannot understand why it failed to sell sufficiently well. The view at dealer B&C was that infotainment was a major block to get from test drive to sale. 

Bearing in mind Evora only needed to sell, I think, 3000 per annum to be viable, I would have hoped it could do that without a massive promotional budget. Emira is basically an attempt to go more mainstream, so naturally will have to have a weighty PR machine behind it. Geely is I assume balancing this with the long-term objective of selling 100,000+ Lotus pa as part of Vision80.

Justin

[au-yt]

The other side to the Infotainment is in the EVORA it can be easily upgraded, and if people didn't buy the car on that reason alone they weren't LOTUS people.

If it takes a info system to attract people they will from my experience have the car for a lease period and move on.