Lotus Evora evolves
Lotus has released its first new Lotus
since the Elise ten years ago, the top-shelf Evora coupe.
Amongst other firsts, the new Evora is powered by a V6
engine. The Evora is also Lotus’ first two-plus-two seating
configuration since 1992.
The new Evora was released last year (2009) and the initial
build projection is for 2000 Evoras to be built each year
once production ramps up.
The development of the Evora has been rigorous, over a 27
month period, racking up a total of 920,000 development
kilometers.
Lotus
Evora
The first prototype was built in late 2007, with traction
testing done at the Bosch Lapland facility and wet handling
at the UK Mira test facility. Brakes were developed using
Italy’s renowned Stelvio Pass for testing, while hot-weather
testing was done in Arizona and in Australia.
The engine is sourced from Toyota, being the 2GR-FE VVTi 3.5
liter V6, which in the Evora develops 206 kW of power at
6400 rpm and 350 Nm of torque at 4700 rpm.
While the main engine components are shipped in to the UK
factory from Toyota, fuel, exhaust and clutch systems were
all developed by Lotus. The ETCS-i Lotus throttle control
unit is managed by a Lotus T6 engine management system,
while a Lotus-developed AP Racing clutch and flywheel are
used, along with a unique exhaust system.
The EA60 six-speed manual transmission originates from the
Toyota’s Avensis diesel, with Lotus offering two sets of
ratios - standard and optional sports ratios - the latter
employing the same first and second gear ratios, but closer
ratios for third to sixth.
No automatic transmission is available yet, but Lotus is
developing a six-speed paddle-shift unit, which is due for
release in 2011.
Acceleration is brisk, without being ‘supercar’ with a 0-100
km/h time of 5.1 seconds and a top speed of 261 km/h, with
either set of gearbox ratios.
It is a fairly frugal car, despite 3.5 liters, with a
combined fuel consumption figure of 8.7 L/100 km. This is
due in no small way to the lean all-up weight of 1382 kg.
The brakes are four-piston calipers with ventilated rotors
(350 mm diameter on the front and 332 mm at the rear), which
are also cross-drilled on the Sports Upgrade Pack. The
braking package also features ABS, electronic brake-force
distribution and hydraulic brake assist.
Lotus says that under emergency breaking the Evora has
achieved a 2.5 second, 36.8 meter stopping performance from
100 km/h.
An electronic differential lock, traction control and
stability control are standard, while steering is a
hydraulic power-assisted set-up made by TRW and developed by
Lotus.
Suspension is a lightweight forged aluminium double-wishbone
design, with Eibach coil springs and Bilstein dampers tuned
by Lotus ride and handling engineers.
Lotus claims the body is two times stiffer than that of the
Elise and uses Lotus’ first Low Volume Versatile Vehicle
Structure, a chassis that will be used in other upcoming
Lotus models.
The Evora uses lightweight composite body panels bonded to
the chassis, contributing stiffness to the safety cell
around the cabin. At the front and rear of the cabin,
composite clamshells are bolted to the chassis, which Lotus
says enables easy removal for repair.
The chassis structure itself weighs a little more than 200
kg, and features a front sub-frame made of extruded and
bonded aluminium bolted to the main chassis tub.
One of the main problems with the Elise has been the
difficulty of getting in and out of the car over the wide
sill and the cramped quarters inside - and the limited
seating capacity of two seats.
With the Evora, Lotus has enlarged the space in the cabin to
95th percentile American man (1.86 m) in the front seats and
a fifth percentile American woman (1.52 m) in the back seats
at the same time. Not quite two plus two legless midgets,
but the rear seats are obviously not built for large adults
for long distances.
While the nose section is fixed, taken up with cooling vents
and radiator (except for an opening hatch to access the
windscreen washer reservoir and brake fluid reservoir), the
rear hatch opens to reveal a 160 liter boot - which Lotus
says can accommodate a set of golf clubs.
Standard equipment includes keyless entry with alarm and
immobilizer, remote hatch locking, air-conditioning, a
height-and-reach -adjustable steering wheel, Recaro black
leather seats, heated/powered door mirrors, cast-alloy
wheels (18-inch diameter front, 19-inch rear), an Alpine
audio system with CD/MP3/WMA compatibility, auxiliary input
and iPod docking.
The switchable sports mode is activated via a sport button
on the dash. It sharpens throttle response and increases the
engine rev limit from 6500rpm to 7000rpm. Traction control
is adjusted to permit an increased slip and yaw angle before
activating, and it also removes the understeer recognition
component of the stability control.
The price? Expect something around 18-20 million baht.
Scandinavian electric
car-maker to produce Think in the US
The Think people have recommenced production of
its electric micro-car in Finland, and now the Scandinavian
EV maker has continued its global expansion by announcing it
will also produce the Think City in the US from early 2011.
Thinking
about a Think?
Indiana’s Elkhart Country was named as the location of
Think’s North American production facility in a joint
announcement by Indiana governor Mitch Daniels and the Olso,
Norway-based company.
Think says its $US 43.5 million investment in building
improvements and equipment in the US will create up to 400
jobs by 2013, with stateside production expected to start
early next year.
Before then, however, the Think City - which made its US
debut at the Detroit motor show in January this year and is
claimed to be one of the world’s first highway-capable urban
EVs - will be launched in the US later in 2010.
Think says its all-electric City can travel at highway
speeds for more than 160km on a single charge, giving it
market-leading range, drivability and recyclability.
The City hatchback employs technology developed by Think
over 19 years, becoming the world’s first EV to meet
European CE certification and EU homologation requirements.
While the Think City initially will be imported to the US,
the Elkhart County assembly plant will have a production
capacity of more than 20,000 vehicles a year. (Now that’s
what I call optimism!)
Think joins Indianapolis-based lithium-ion battery maker
EnerDel in choosing Indiana for a North American
manufacturing location. EnerDel’s parent company Ener1 is a
31 percent equity stakeholder in Think.
Think last month resumed production of the City at the
Finnish assembly plant owned by Valmet Automotive, which
also produces the Boxster and Cayman sportscars for Porsche
and is Think’s newest shareholder and industrial partner.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week’s
Quiz bike
Last week I mentioned motorcycles. I
asked which automaker built this one? It was Chrysler
(Dodge) with the Viper’s V10 in the middle. It does have
four wheels, so if you want to be pernickety it isn’t a
motorcycle, but it sure isn’t a car either!
So to this week. In 1971, what was the heaviest private car
in current production?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Depreciation after 12
months
It is difficult (read well-nigh impossible) to
quantify depreciation of new cars after they appear on the
local secondhand market, but with the much greater number of
vehicles in the UK, it is possible to get some worthwhile
figures.
The car which depreciated the least in the UK was the Honda
Jazz, and is one vehicle which also holds it head up high in
Thailand.
In this survey it uses the value of cars, as if they were
being sold privately, in good condition with 16,000 km on
the clock and compares this to their cost as new, 12 months
earlier.
Small cars showed they are certainly the safest bet for the
least depreciation, taking 35 of the top 40 places in the
index.
The 10 best performers of 2009:
1 Honda Jazz (08 on)
2 Fiat 500 (08 on)
3 SEAT Ibiza (08 on)
4 Hyundai i10 (08 on)
5 Mazda 2 (07 on)
6 Kia Picanto (04 on)
7 VW Fox (06 on)
8 Suzuki Swift (05 on)
9 Toyota Aygo (05 on)
10 Mitsubishi i (07 on)
Unfortunately, we do not get many of these vehicles in
Thailand, but the basic message is there. Size does matter -
and the smaller the better!
The biggest losers of 2009:
1 Maybach 62 (03 on)
2 Maybach 57 (03 on)
3 Rolls-Royce Phantom (03 on)
4 Bentley Arnage (98 on)
5 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti (05 on)
6 Mercedes-Benz SL Class AMG (02 on)
7 Bentley Cont. Flying Spur (05 on)
8 Aston Martin DBS (08 on)
9 Bentley Continental GT Coupe
10 Ferrari F 430 (05 on)
Most of these vehicles can be found in Thailand, often in
the ‘grey’ market, but I suppose that if your piggy bank is
big enough to hold the millions of baht necessary to buy one
of these, you don’t care about depreciation, or fuel
consumption or taxes. I’ll have the AMG Mercedes-Benz SL
(after saving up), and in the meantime I’ll just have to
keep the Daihatsu Mira running for the next 50 years.
Sorry, you can’t buy
it!
How do you get the world to talk about your
supercar? Well, Lexus (Toyota in a party dress) says the way
is to tell the world “You can’t buy it!”
The Wall St Journal reports that the Japanese car maker has
opted to hand-pick LFA buyers rather than take the
traditional route of selling to anyone with the cash to buy
one.
According to the blurb and hype, Lexus wants the buyers to
be good ambassadors for the brand, parking outside all the
right restaurants and cruising along the right boulevards,
rather than keeping a low profile.
What they are happily ignoring, is people with that sort of
money have more than one car and might instead take the
Ferrari to dine at Enzo’s Pizza Parlor.
Apparently, buyers will have to lease the car for the first
two years, before being offered the chance to buy it
outright. The Journal says Lexus will ask prospective owners
to apply to an authorized Lexus outlet if they are
interested in the $US350,000 Japanese supercar.
The Lexus is powered by a 4.8 liter V10, matched to a
six-speed dual-clutch transmission. This will produce 413 kW
of power and 480 Nm of torque, which Lexus claims will
propel the car to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds.
The whole LFA concept is merely a marketing exercise to give
the Lexus brand some additional cachet. I’m not putting my
name forward!
Lexus LFA -
Not For Sale
