Lotus Model Views
The company also acts as an engineering consultancy, providing engineering development—particularly of suspension—for other car manufacturers. The lesser known Powertrain department is responsible for the design and development of the 4-cylinder Ecotec engine found in many of GM's Vauxhall, Opel, Saab, Chevrolet and Saturn cars. Today, the current Lotus Elise and Exige models use the 1.8L VVTL-i I4 from Toyota's late Celica GT-S and the Matrix XRS.
Not long after we experienced the 2010 Evora, Lotus announces two new variations on the Evora to be launched at the upcoming Paris Motor Show. One model, the Evora S, gets more power and makes the optional Sport package from the original Evora standard. The other model replaces the standard six-speed manual with an automatic, a move sure to cause dismay among Lotus purists.
The Evora S uses the same 3.5-liter V-6 as the standard Evora, but gets 69 more horsepower, going from 276 to 345. Likewise, torque in the S model is up at 295 pound-feet versus the 258 pound-feet in the Evora. Although Lotus' announcement did not mention it, the Evora S most likely uses a supercharger to achieve this power, similar to how the company's Elise and Elise SC models compare.
The Evora represents an attempt by Lotus to broaden its model lineup, providing a car that is more of an everyday driver than the track-tool nature of the Elise. But in the past, Lotus has also shown a small SUV, the APX, as a concept to demonstrate the versatility of its extruded aluminum chassis design.
Lotus Model Images
