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From the Distiller of Single-Malt Sports Cars, a Premium Blend.
First you scan the options list -- touchscreen navigation, premium leather trim, rear parking sensors, iPod adapter, Bluetooth hands-free phone connectivity, backup camera, Alpine audio system, power-folding mirrors. Next you check the badge on the nose. Then you're sure you're looking at the wrong car.
Except you aren't. The arrival of the new mid-engine Lotus Evora, due on our shores in January, may mark the first time in nearly two decades that the words "Lotus" and "shoehorn" haven't been used in the same sentence.
Following the demise of the much-unloved Excel in 1992 ("mercy killing" might be a better term), Lotus Cars stopped building two-plus-twos to concentrate instead on unleashing a steady volley of tiny, minimal-frills two-seaters -- Elises and Exiges and assorted variations thereof. Each has offered a driving experience akin to grabbing hold of a live high-voltage wire. And each has coddled its two occupants with all the comfort and luxury of a discount motel's Guantanamo suite.
Well, I'm in rainy Scotland today, and I've just finished a three-hour drive in the new Evora across green hills, past wave-swept lochs, down battered two-lane carriageways, and...I'm fine. Great, in fact. No post-go-kart stress disorder. No residual engine ringing in the ears. No lingering embarrassment at having poorly executed my dismount from the driver's seat and ended up sprawled across the asphalt with a foot caught in the steering wheel. What's more, I could've brought my wife and daughter along and they'd have thoroughly enjoyed it, too.
The Evora marks a turning point for the British maker. This may be the first-ever Lotus built for everyone.
Full Story: Motor Trend - First Drive: 2011 Lotus Evora
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