What’s New for 2018?
The 2018 Lotus Evora Sport 410 GP Edition debuts. This lightweight version retains the Evora’s engine and suspension, but drops nearly a 135 pounds. Only 150 units will be produced worldwide, making this a highly desirable car for Lotus fans.
What We Like
Reliable engine; surprisingly good gas mileage; fairly practical (for a Lotus); great driving experience
What We Don’t
Styling isn’t as wild as the Elise; still not practical by most standards; Lotus’s future is uncertain
Overview
For several years, the midengine Evora has been Lotus’s flagship model. Now it’s the brand’s only model, as the Elise and Exige left the market a few years back. And while we thought the Lotus might be gone for good after the Evora skipped the 2015 and 2016 model years, the Evora 400 revives the sporty coupe with a vengeance. For 2018, the Evora Sport 410 GP Edition ups the ante, offering a real challenge to the Porsche 718 Cayman and Audi TT RS.
The Evora 400 and 410 feature either 2- or 4-seat configurations and a 3.5-liter V6 sourced from — this is actually true — the Toyota Camry. But the Evora is otherwise un-Camry-like in every way, touting 400 horsepower thanks to a supercharger and some massaging under the hood.
It isn’t just extra power that makes the 2018 Lotus Evora 400 stand out compared to its predecessor, as the model also offers a 92-lb weight reduction from the outgoing version — along with an improved interior. There’s also the impressive top speed of 186 miles per hour, and the 0-to-60 time of around 4 seconds.
The only drawback is price: While we appreciate the Evora and its excellent driving experience, the Evora 400 starts close to $95,000 (just over $105,000 for the Sport 410 GP) with shipping — big money for a V6-powered car from an automaker whose future (including future parts supply, should things go wrong) is decidedly uncertain.
