Wired has a profile of the latest monster machine from the British minds of Lotus. They break down this treat of automotive sex appeal a little like this …
Lotus is a quirky little company, always has been. As any enthusiast will eagerly tell you, its bantamweight track rats score off the charts in the areas of handling, acceleration, aerodynamics and lightweight construction. But the cheeky British sports cars have never quite “made it” when it comes to fit and finish. Lotuses lack the interior refinement displayed by higher-volume manufacturers like Porsche.
The Evora S, although markedly more civilized than the Elise or Exige, is not much different. Sure, there’s soft, Paprika-colored leather covering nearly every visible surface. And there are luxurious amenities one would never expect to find inside of a Lotus: heated seats, a machined-aluminum instrument panel and GPS. But you’re still riding mere inches off the ground in what’s essentially a street-legal race car — just ask my fiancée, who needed a few hours to recover from her nausea after we reached our destination. That sort of raw-edged driving dynamic might appeal to 30-year-old, car-obsessed adolescents like me, but will it hold the same appeal for a wealthy 50-year-old dude looking to add a little spice to his daily driving experience? Likely not. It’s also worth mentioning the same 50-year-old dude would need to be a contortionist to finagle himself inside the tight cockpit.
With a 3.5 liter V6 and a Harrop HTV 1320 supercharger bringing the horsepower up to an eyebrow raising 345 (which is a 69 horsepower gain over the base model), this machine gets you from zero to 60 miles per hour in 4.3 seconds. If that doesn't get you going … we don't know what to tell you …
[Source: Wired]