Even though I'm a Lotus fan, I was somewhat lukewarm when I first saw photos of the new 2009 Lotus Evora. Would a car whose styling is nearly eight years old (search "Lotus M250" if you don't believe me) still look contemporary and fresh today?
The answer, I'm happy to report, is in the affirmative. I had a look at the car during the 2008 Los Angeles auto show, and the Evora looks finely sculpted and well balanced. I do find the front fascia a bit conservative (then again, the car was parked next to a wild 2-Eleven), but everything from the A-pillars on back looks nicely toned.
This car was designed from day one to be sold in the U.S. (unlike the similar Europa), which helps to explain the extra room inside the nicely appointed cabin. We doubt the minute jump seats in back will see much use (in fact, you can opt to delete them altogether), but Lotus claims there's enough room up front for two 6-foot adults. Perhaps there's hope yet for the Lotus enthusiast who can't manage to squeeze into an Elise...
It'll be most interesting to put the Evora through its paces, given it's using a Lotus-tuned version of the same 3.5-liter V-6 found in the Toyota Camry. That's hardly exciting or exotic, but we've seen Lotus' take on Toyota's 1.8-liter I-4 in the Elise, and we've walked away impressed. Preliminary specifications rate the Evora's mill at 276 hp and 252 lb-ft of torque, which may be enough to briskly move the 2976-lb car.
We'll know for sure when the Evora arrives on our shores in late (i.e. third-quarter) 2009.