We might have some fancy cars over here in the USA, but there are quite a few vehicles overseas that we can’t help but think are desperately missing from our shores. More than a few are niche market models perfect for auto-enthusiasts, while others are more stylish or practical than what’s currently available in the US. And some are both.
It’s the most hard core Lotus ever, which makes news that it likely won’t ever go on sale in America that much more depressing.
Ahead of its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show tomorrow, we have the very first photos of special, special edition Lotus.
Caught uncovered on the show floor, the Lotus F1 Limited Edition Evora GTE is a unique example of a car that’s already in limited supply. No specific details about this particular model have been revealed, but it’s easy to see that the car’s most obvious trait is its complete carbon fiber body.
That should help this street legal race car shed even more weight, an incredible feat when you consider the standard GTE model (think of its as the Lotus version of a Porsche GT3), already weighs over 200 lbs less than a conventional Evora S. Making it look even more imposing are dimensions borrowed from the endurance car car with a width that is several inches greater, plus a substantially longer nose.
With the GTE model already billed as the most powerful Lotus ever, if this latest creation pushes the power from the car’s supercharged 3.5-liter V6 past the 444 hp mark, there will once again be a new Lotus to lay claim to that title.
Look for more info tomorrow, when F1 star Kimi Raikkonen will be on hand to unveil that car. And until then, take a peek at the few snaps we managed to grab of what appears to be the new Lotus LMP endurance race car.
Lotus Motorsport and Alex Job Racing (AJR) will partner to compete for the GT championship in the American Le Mans Series, starting with the race at Long Beach on the weekend of April 14.
The factory-backed Lotus Evora GTE will feature a black-and-gold painted car reminiscent of JPS Lotus F1 cars. The team will also be be backed by Battery Tender, William Rast and Yokohama in 2012.
“We are focused on winning,” said Dany Bahar, CEO of Group Lotus. “Alex Job has one of the best records in sports car racing. We look forward to working together and developing a top-tier team over the coming years. Racing is a core component of the Lotus brand, and we are thrilled to have this new partnership to further enhance our winning racing heritage.”
Alex Job, the team principal, confirmed that IndyCar driver Townsend Bell will partner with two-time ALMS Founders Cup winner Bill Sweedler for the entire season.
“Lotus has made a lot of racing news lately with significant programs announced in multiple categories of motorsport,” said Scott Atherton, ALMS President and CEO. “After a full evaluation of all options we are proud they selected the ALMS for their factory-backed GT racing platform. This represents the best possible opportunity for Lotus to race what they sell and to showcase the technology and performance of their cars against the benchmark examples of the industry.”
Knowing that the 444-hp Lotus Evora GTE will be making its way to America makes us giddy. So naturally, when we saw more photos of the most powerful Lotus ever made, we had to share them with the rest of the world.
Up until now, we’ve basically been treated to seeing the Evora GTE under the typical auto show floor lighting. Now we get to see the retina-burning, bright yellow in its natural environment with its 3.5L V6 powerplant ready to rock. These photos really show off what the Evora GTE’s all about, the overall wider vehicle sporting plenty of carbon fiber throughout.
The GTE weighs in slightly over 230-lbs lighter than the standard Evora model and features Lotus’s Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) racing gearbox. Forged center-lock wheels adorn each corner of the street-legal racer, while the inside packs lightweight carbon fiber Recaro seats.
Now we’ll just anxiously await to hear its price tag.
It’s billed as the most powerful Lotus ever made. Based on the brand’s Le Mans racing car it’s also the most hard core. And now you’ll be able to buy one, in America!
Speaking with Ian Fry, platform manager for the Evora at Lotus Cars Limited at the car’s unveiling at the Frankfurt Motor Show, he confirmed that the 444-hp street legal race car will be homologated to U.S. standards and could be on sale in as little as six months. Exactly how Lotus plans to do this, is still uncertain says Fry, indicating that it may be offered as a modification kit to the standard Evora in order to get around certain regulations.
Unveiled at the Frankfurt Auto Show in production trim, the Evora GTE is powered by a supercharged 3.5-liter V6 and shares it’s widebody with the brand’s Evora race car. In addition it gets wild aerodynamics, light weight wheels, a stripped-down interior that is almost entirely coated in carbon fiber and a sequential 6-speed transmission with paddle shifters. Initially offered only for sale in a limited number of just 25 units (and only in China), Lotus has since given the go ahead to sell the car in both the U.S. and Europe.
Watch video of the Evora GTE from Frankfurt after the jump:
After having showcased numerous new concept cars at the past several auto shows, one might expect that Lotus had dried up its reserve of new car news. Not so. At the Frankfurt Auto Show the British manufacturer had on display six new or newish models. Many won’t make their way to North America, but some will – including one particularly exciting sports car.
To find out more, watch the video after the jump:
After being revealed in concept form at Pebble Beach, just a few weeks later Lotus has rolled out the production version of the Evora GTE Road Car at the Frankfurt Auto Show today. In many ways a road-going version of the Evora GTE race car, the road car holds the title of the most powerful Lotus street car ever, with a supercharged 3.5-liter V6 pumped up to 444-hp.
Using the same aluminum tub as the regular Evora, but with a significant wide body (by several inches), the production model gets plenty of functional aerodynamics, including a large rear wing – that we’re glad to see has replaced the highly-stylized, but rather un-functional one found on the concept.
According to Lotus an initial production run of 25 units was offered in China, but having sold out immediately the British automaker has decided to offer the car to fans in markets elsewhere. What exactly those markets are isn’t yet clear, but out past discussions with Lotus Cars USA PR Boss Kevin Smith have indicated that meeting strict U.S. crash and emissions regulations is unlikely.
Amid all the historic autos on display at the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the Concept Lawn is a look at modern works of vehicular art – not all of them concepts either.
Vehicles on display at this year’s event included the the Infiniti Etheria concept, the SSC Tuatara concept and the Lotus Evora GTE Road Car Concept. The SSC car represents the next generation of the Ultimate Aero and will look to take back the title of the world’s fastest production car from Bugatti. As for the Lotus, it’s essentially a look at a possible street-legal track machine, merging the Evora road car and the GTE Le Mans race car together. Yet another concept was the Lexus LF-Gh – a design study that lead to the Pebble Beach reveal of the new 2013 Lexus GS350.
Other highlights included a rolling chassis of the new Lamborghini Aventador, as well as the Jaguar C-X75 concept. See all these, and even more in the video after the jump:
Any Lotus enthusiast will tell you that the brand would be wise to stop pumping resources into Formula 1 and IndyCar, an instead get more heavily involved in road racing. After all, in many respects it represents a better bang-for-the-buck for the marketing folks, with a direct correlation between the cars that race and the cars sold through dealers.
Lotus has already initiated a sports car racing program in Europe with several renditions of the Evora, including the most recent Evora GTE, which competed first at the 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium and then at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Lotus has now confirmed with AutoGuide that it is planning a U.S. stop this year, where it will look to challenge the Ferraris, Corvettes, Porsches and BMWs at the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
Lotus did not give any indication of how many vehicles it would run at the 10 hour endurance race, which will be another step in the Evora GTE’s development as Lotus looks to seriously take the fight to its rivals and cease to be an afterthought in the exotic and sports car segment.
Taking the idea of a track-focused street car to the next level, Lotus has unveiled the GTE Road Car Concept at Pebble Beach. Named after the GTE class cars that Lotus is currently racing in Europe, this concept is essentially a blend of that competition racer with a street-legal Evora. In many ways it’s not as far from reality as one might guess, with the race car based heavily on the Evora road car and even sharing the same aluminum tub.
Thanks to a near excessive use of carbon fiber the concept weighs between 200 and 300 lbs less than the production Evora S, while the engine gets a healthy bump in power. With a modified version of the Evora S’s supercharged 3.5-liter V6, power is raised from 345-hp to 420-hp. No acceleration figures have been provided by Lotus, but with the stock car running 4.3 seconds to 60 mph and this concept also sporting a sequential transmission, a high 3.0 second time is certain.
Along with a significantly more aggressive front-end design, much of the Evora GTE’s look comes from a wider body, which is between two and three inches wider per side. (We could, however, do without that rear wing).
Inside, the car is coated almost entirely in carbon fiber, with no carpeting to speak of, while carbon-backed seats are swathed in ultra-grippy Alcantara.
Lotus has yet to confirm if the Evora GTE Road Car Concept will go into production but PR boss Kevin Smith assures us it’s not as distant an idea as it seems, and that a race car inspired Lotus street car could hit the market as early as next year. Don’t get too excited, however, as Lotus could face big problems getting it certified for sale in the U.S.
Watch the video after the jump:
Don’t let the Swizz Beatz involvement fool you: Lotus still wants you to know that they build sports cars. Case in point: at the swanky Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance this year, Lotus will unveil a GTE-class race car based on their Evora.
The Evora GTE Road Car Concept is designed to race in the GTE class, including a stint at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And as such, it packs 420 horsepower in its 3.5-liter V6 engine, channeled through a sequential AMT racing gearbox. It gets this power to the ground via center-lock forged-alloy wheels, wrapped with Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tires. Lotus reassures us that it “isn’t merely a paint scheme or homage to a race car—this is a serious race car that makes for a very serious road car.”
And if you’re heading down to Monterrey next week, you can catch the Evora GTE at Lotus’s dedicated exhibit by the Lodge, starting on August 18th—if you can get past Swizz Beatz’s entourage, that is.
It might not have the ultra-high production quality of Audi’s “Truth in 24″ documentary, but Lotus has just released a short video detailing the British sports car maker’s journey to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The four minute featurette aptly named “The Road to Le Mans” follows the factory Lotus team and the development of the Evora GTE race car. The team then hears to the 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium for the car’s first running before heading to Le Mans for a solid finish – especially considering its only the car’s second race.
Perhaps most impressive is that from starting the project to crossing the finish line at Le Mans (an accomplishment regardless of where you place) the entire journey takes just six months.
Watch the video after the jump:
