Eric

Can't wait to see how the new Elise is shapng up. Who knows, new investment from Geeley might just help accelerate (or at least solidify) the new model programme. And, if the new Elise is half as desirable as the 2010 Donato Coco mock-up, it'll be ultra desirable!

Anyone else heading down south for the Goodwood FOS? We're going on Sunday 2nd July this year after discovering (shock, horror) that all the Saturday tickets had already sold out weeks ago. I also made the rash decision to buy a SuperCar parking pass too - yehaaa. Only trouble is, I'm not sure the Evora will enjoy being surrounded by filthy McLarens, Lambos, Porkas and Ferraris..... but, I guess we can give it a try and see how she gets on . Stand by for the photo diary!

I reckon that the back end of the Evora 400 reminds them so much of their beloved Volvo V40 that they just had to buy the company . Lets just hope that its a "hand off" majority stake and they'll let Lotus get on with it.

Hello Benny1235, Take a quick look at this recent MLOC thread for opinions on Evoras in general (including my own!). Evora NA vs S Unfortunately, I really don't rate the 400 at all, having driven one for a day, and needing back surgery afterwards (ahem, slight exaggeration). But those Sparcos really are hopeless, and I can't think of any reasonable justification for ditching those ergonomically perfect Recaros. Saves weight I hear you shout! I say you'll never notice the difference, except when it comes to booking your next chiropractor appointment (for Sparco spine correction therapy). So, the vital man-machine interface (seats) - ruined. Then there's the gearshift action - every Evora 400 comes with a free weight lifting course to build up your biceps - ruined. Then there's the noise - christ, why is it so loud? - ruined. Then there's the dashboard - from pure and simple, to lego land - ruined. Then there's the styling - that front end (what front end, it only has holes), and that back end (erm, Volvo 40 anyone) - ruined. I think its fair to say that Lotus have ruined the Evora! Such a shame because I love my N/A Sports Racer and will never, ever part with it (not even if you offered me a huge bag of gold..... ooooh, well I might stop and think about it for a while - ha).

What a dumb comment. Diesels always were, and still are, the selfish choice. Folks buy them because they're only thinking about their back pocket and not about the harm they're doing to everyone else, and the planet. Where do all those minute particulates go? Into your sodding lungs that's where - and they aint coming out again.

I wouldn't let a few dodgy diesel fuel figures cloud your thinking. No-one should be buying sh1tty diesels any more anyway. On individual merit, VW's petrol engined performance cars are now brilliant, and setting the standards by which all other (hot hatches) are measured.

Definitely going down again - brilliant day out for the previous two years. You get to "fly" on Concorde if you want (for small fee). And you get free entry into MB World. And you get to see pretty much every model of Lotus ever produced... plus a few ultra rare Evora GTEs - ooooooh! I'm already booked in as Ericski on the TLF attendance ticker. Evora now freshly detailed and chomping at the bit :-).

Speaking of Q cars and daily drivers, I bought a brand new Polo GTI last August after getting a bit fed up with my Corsa VXR daily driver. Its Flash Red (what else :-) ) with a huge panoramic sunroof accompanied by gloss black surround, and decent sound system. Ok, 189bhp from a 1.8-litre turbo motor might not sound much, but it also shoves out 236lb ft from just 1450 rpm! I have to admit that the standard GTI seats (hmmmm, seats - my favourite moaning subject!!!) are pretty crap with poor support and poor damping, sooooooooo, I bought and fitted a pair of (wait for it.....) Recaro Sportster CS seats - yay - and........ wow, what a transformation. So, now, rather than feeling like I'm perched on the car (old seats), I now feel like an integral part of the car and able to really feel everything that its doing (new seats). That, coupled with flat, grippy cornering, a zingy turbine smooth engine with loads of low down grunt that still loves to be revved out, a slick gearbox, and perfect pedal spacing for heel-and-toe shifts, means that for me, this is the perfect daily excitement (erm, daily driver I mean) that is also descrete enough to qualify as a Q car (the GTI badging is reasonably descrete too - ha). Yep, at long last, VW is making damn good cars again!

I see that the latest facelift has also discarded the signature quad tailights in favour of big twins with tiny cousins . Well, at least they're now consistent with the rest of the range . Still not sure about that front end though. Not as successful as the Exige S facelift in 2010.

It all depends on what you want out of your Evora. The N/A V6 suits the car to perfection (in my ultra biased opinion - ha) and does everything you'd from a beautifully honed GT sports car. Sure, it doesn't accelerate as quickly as an S, but blimey, it DOES accelerate and has that lovely, natural elasticity to its torque delivery that you'll never get tired of. And the V6 does give you goose bumps with a gorgeous mix of harmonics and more than enough volume thanks to that "Sport" button. The N/A is also considerably more real-world fuel efficient than the S (despite how close they may look on paper), and, as for the 400 - forget it - I've driven it and its horrid. Ruined in the pursuit of unnecessarily chasing higher power-to-weight headlines to make it attractive for lardy US buyers. Saving a few kilos by swapping the world's best seats (Recaros) for the world's most average seats (Sparcos) was one of Lotus's BIGGEST blunders in recent years. Anyway, rant over, I now like to offer this assertion: That the N/A Sports Racer is the finest version of the Evora that Lotus has ever produced - thank you Lotus!!

Welcome to Evora ownership - you'll love it, I'm sure. One of those extraordinary cars that can not only mop up huge distances with ease, but also instantly transform into a fantastically capable sports car, whenever you want! BTW I have a Venon Red interior and, whilst not quite as bright as Paprika, it does work really well with dark paintwork .

Superb looking Exige mate - still one of the most successful facelifts that Lotus has ever done. Mine was a red one, reluctantly traded-in back in 2015, but have very fond memories of some fantastic drives through Wales (They do have a big appetite for rear tyres tho )

Blimey, do you guys have grape vines growing on the car sales grape vine ?

Sadly, I have to report that Hennessey has now ceased production of the much loved (and ever so slightly unhinged) Venom GT, but has bowed out in style with production of one last build (which is already sold, sorry guys) - The Final Edition.... http://www.venomgt.com/ The good news is that they already have plans for the Venom F5, an extraordinary piece of automotive art which, spookily, comes complete with the "new face of Lotus" from the pen of Donato Coco back in 2010 - yay!

Welcome - there's a cracking article in this month's CAR magazine, comparing the Exige Sport 380 with many of the significant Lotii from the beginnings of time (starting with Guy Munday's S3 Seven). Amy (one of the featured owners) has provided her S1 Exige (with HPD K-Series engine) that she's owned for 12 years. There's a chuck away line that says she'd ask 35 grand for it to sell. It is original and bloody immaculate, so might be worth investigating?