Lotus introduced the Evora in 2009 as a new car on a 2+2 platform, based around a Toyota-sourced V6 engine and gearboxes. The Evora was intended to be a street driven car aimed at a more main stream market than their more track-focused contemporary offerings like the Elise. Fitted with a manual or automatic transmission paired with a Toyota V6. A specific design requirement for the car was that it must comfortably accommodate taller passengers, as the then CEO of Lotus was too tall to fit in the Elise. As an up-trimmed model intended for regular use, it had more creature comforts that hadn’t been seen in Lotus cars since the end of the Esprit, such as air conditioning and a trunk sized to be able to fit the ubiquitious set of golf clubs. Initially the Evora was a fitted with a naturally aspirated engine but with the introduction of the Evora S in 2010, the engine was supercharged, with further boosts to performance at various points until the line was discontinued in 2021. In the United States, there was no 2015 model, as the previous Evora S design no longer complied with changes in safety and emissions laws and needed to be reworked, which happened with the release of the Evora 400 in 2016. We purchased this car new from a dealership in Arizona, where it had been used as a showroom demonstrator, having nearly a thousand miles on it by the time we acquired it. Fitted with a push button automatic, it was used as an occasional daily driver for Amanda for a number of years before being absorbed into the collection for preservation. It drives and handles with much of the legendary Lotus quality. Although heavier and not as quick as the preceding Elise, it is a comfortable car to be in and drives quite well even over long distances. Although a production car, like many Lotuses, it borrowed heavily from various sources for parts, and there are minor fit and finish issues in the assembly that make it feel a bit more like a kit car than a fully developed platform, perhaps highlighting Lotus’s struggles to stay afloat and relevant in an era when cars started using integrated infotainment systems. For a daily driver, the car can be made to work but is far from ideal. The back seats are still really too small for all but the smallest of children with a full grown adult in front. The trunk space is reasonable with a fair amount of depth. Fitted with a factory alarm, the car would drain the battery completely in two to three weeks if not kept on a trickle charger. In spite of all this, however, it is still a great car to drive with excellent performance and a bulletproof Toyota drivetrain.
