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2020 Lotus Evora GT Road Test | Don’t forget about Lotus

Slipping into the leather, carbon fiber-backed seats and turning on the engine is an event in the 2020 Lotus Evora GT. Stick the stubby, unmarked key in the ignition, turn two notches; press a button on the remote; push the clutch in, and hold the “Engine Start” button down. The tachometer springs to life, zinging up past 2,000 rpm before settling into an even, but emphatic idle. If everybody wasnÂ’t already staring at the little British sports car in the parking lot, they are now. Once the astoundingly complex, but charming start procedure is done, the fun begins. Lotus has sold only one other more powerful version of the Evora in the United States, that being the GT430. This GT is rocking a poked and prodded version of the Toyota 3.5-liter V6 engine found in all Evoras, but as in some other versions, an Edelbrock supercharger has been added to boost output. With the six-speed manual, its output is 416 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. Twist increases to 332 pound-feet with the six-speed automatic, but donÂ’t buy a Lotus with an automatic. Just donÂ’t do it.  The gear lever snicks into first with positive, notch-like action. LotusÂ’ analog gauges stare back, displaying the most important information in a legible size and font. ThereÂ’s a digital speedometer tucked into a little nook under the steering wheel's red center line, just the right height for a quick glance downward. Grippy leather covers the 9 and 3 positions on the wheel, while soft Alcantara contrasts with the leather on the top and flat bottom of the wheel. Lotus clearly knows that sweaty racetrack hands and Alcantara donÂ’t mix.  This clutch is heavy, is the first thought upon setting out on the road. It fits the car and makes the driver work a little to be smooth. Good. Driving a Lotus shouldnÂ’t be a walk in the park. The driving position is bang-on. Those manually-adjustable (and heated!) leather seats are mounted low, their bolsters large enough to be snug, but short enough to slip over getting in. The view forward doesnÂ’t leave much to be desired, but looking out the back is like looking through a mail slot. ThereÂ’s a tiny box of glass, but itÂ’s tinted, making it difficult to see whatever might be visible. Side mirrors it is, and those are plenty fine, even allowing a view of the wide rear hips.  At speed, racecar vibes abound instantly.

Lotus supposedly working up a new Elan, again

Geely's investment in Volvo, and giving Volvo the freedom to do what Volvo knows how to do, propelled the Swedish automaker to another level. This could be the year English automaker Lotus begins the same climb. Late last year, Bloomberg said Geely committed an initial $2 billion to the Lotus renaissance. That number was low, the Financial Times reporting Geely planned to invest billions over the next five years. In May this year, Lotus announced it was hiring 200 new engineers and opening a new engineering center to develop a new range of SUVs, GTs, and sedans that would expand consumer appeal to triple its current annual volume. Sports cars are a vital part of the new mix as well, Autocar citing Lotus insiders for a report that a new Elan convertible sports car has "a strong possibility of being revived in the next few years" as a nameplate.    Lotus made a splash about bringing back the Elan — along with a new Esprit, Eterne, Elise, Elite, and city car — at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. That was a very different Lotus, when Malaysian automaker Proton owned the English outfit and ex-Ferrari marketing honcho Dany Bahar manned the helm. In spite of promises of funding, the team at Hethel lurched through years of corporate drama and dire finances until Geely took over in 2017. The latest Elan whispers sketch a convertible targeting the Porsche 718 Boxster - Lotus in general has Porsche in its sights. The car pictured above is from the first re-animation of the Elan badge, from 1989 to 1995. A coming Elan would sit above the Elise in the lineup, with more space, amenities, and luxury, at the same time as it would focus on being the lightest and most agile in the segment. Before that arrives, however, Lotus needs to finish developing the sports car platform that will help carry the brand's new range for the next decade; The Lotus SUV uses Volvo's SPA architecture that carries the XC90 and XC60. CEO Phil Popham's Vision-80 program — which now seeks to grow annual volume not merely triple but six-fold to 10,000 cars by 2029 — will be centered around the multi-material architecture that replaces the Elise and Evora architectures presently employed. Due in two years, the rivet-bonded "alloy-core" chassis will likely include carbon fiber and other advanced materials.

The Lotus 3-Eleven 430 is the fastest street-legal Lotus built

You're looking at the fastest street-legal Lotus ever built. Weighing in at 2,028 pounds, the new Lotus 3-Eleven 430 can hit 60 mph in just 3.1 seconds and continue all the way to 180 mph. It's a fitting tribute for 40 years of Lotus cars. As expected, the "430" in its name refers to its power output. There's no four-banger screamer in the 3-Eleven 430: The supercharged, Toyota-sourced 3.5-liter, 24-valve V6 produces 430 hp and 324.5 lb-ft. of torque. There's a lightweight carbon-composite body on an extruded-bonded aluminum chassis, and the carbon side panels are partially exposed for that cool carbon look. You also get variable, six-position traction control, with five levels ranging from 1 percent slip to 12 percent slip to off. Lateral acceleration while cornering is a respectable 1.5 g. At the Hethel test track, the new 3-Eleven 430 has reportedly beaten previous Lotus efforts. With a lap time of 1:24, it's 0.8 seconds quicker than an Exige Cup 430, and it also completely obliterates the previous, 2015 3-Eleven by shaving off 2 whole seconds. Only 20 units will be built, so few people will get to experience the 430 at maximum attack. Lotus has priced the 3-Eleven 430 at GBP102,000 on the road in the UK, which corresponds to $142,525. Related Video: Featured Gallery Lotus 3-Eleven 430 Lotus Convertible Performance lotus 3-eleven