Evora Australis

LOTUS’ first all-new model since the Elise of 1995 will be one of the headline attractions at the Melbourne International Motor Show late next February, about six months before deliveries are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2009.

The Evora is also making its southern hemisphere appearance at the Melbourne event, where pricing and final specification details will also been announced.

As the world’s only two-plus-two-seater mid-engined coupe, the Lotus will be positioned above the ‘volume-selling' Elise and its Exige and Europa derivatives, as the Malaysian Proton-owned firm’s answer to the Porsche Cayman S.

Up until its unveiling at July’s British International Motor Show in London, the Evora was known as ‘Project Eagle’ and grew out of the ashes of Lotus’ aborted M250 concept car exercise of 2000.

Like the Elise, the Evora employs a super-stiff, self-supporting bonded and riveted aluminium structure with forged aluminium double coil-over shock absorber wishbone suspension at either end.

Behind the rear seats beats Toyota’s 2GR-FE 3.5-litre quad-cam petrol V6 familiar to Aurion, RAV4 Kluger, Tarago and Lexus RX350 owners.

Extensively modified by Lotus, this engine produces 206kW of power at 6400rpm, 342Nm of torque at 4700rpm, and 225 grams of carbon dioxide emissions per kilometre, and drives the rear wheels via a specially modified six-speed manual gearbox.

Top speed is claimed to be 256km/h, with the standstill-to-100km/h-dash possible in a Porsche 911-equalling five seconds flat.

According to Lotus, the Evora has also garnered the support of a number of high-profile celebrities since its reveal.

Buyers in line for an Evora after production commences in early 2009 include present and past James Bond movie actors Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan, Hollywood stars George Clooney, Kevin Spacey and Patrick Dempsey, entertainers Jennifer Lopez, Kelly Rowland, Beyoncé, Jay Kay and David Grohl, US night-show mainstay Jay Leno and supermodel Jodie Kidd.

Interestingly, recently elected London mayor and Tory member Boris Johnston has also ordered an Evora, in stark contrast to his mayoral predecessor Ken Livingston, who introduced London’s controversial Congestion and CO2 carbon dioxide charges, overhauled the public transport infrastructure, promoted bicycle use and championed environmental vehicle causes.

Other notable buyers include Top Gear UK presenters Richard Hammond and James May.

Lotus Cars Australia sales and marketing boss Jonathan Stretton stated that there is “…a significant number of expressions of interest for the Evora.” “We delighted to confirm that the Lotus Evora will make its Australian – and southern hemisphere – debut at the Melbourne motor show in February 2009, where we believe it will be the star of the show.

“It is a very important car for Lotus in Australia and is also the biggest milestone for Lotus globally since the Elise was born 13 years ago.

“The fact we are one of the first international markets to have the Lotus Evora on display shows the commitment that Lotus pays to the Australian market,” he added.

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