Colin Chapman was a brilliant race car builder who entered his cars in every conceivable European race series right on up to Formula One. His practice of building his cars as light as possible paid dividends in terms of speed and agility, but fragility was an ongoing issue. As far as Chapman was concerned, if a winning car blew apart ten feet past the finish line, it was considered a crowning achievement turned in by a perfect race car.
The question of fragility has been thoroughly addressed but Lotus maintains Chapman's logic that lightweight cars translate to great handling and enjoy decent speed and acceleration. This car proves that adage in spades. The Lotus Evora S is swift and goes around sweeping bends like a slot car, yet, no wind or road noise, no rattles, squeaks, thumps or creaks. Not what you would expect from a lightweight British hot rod. It also boasts working A/C, great sound system, rear view camera, leather seats and really cool alcantera dash and door coverings.
The Lotus racing heritage is proudly displayed on this S model by way of the John Player Special livery, used on Emmerson Fittipaldi's 1972 Formula One Championship winning Lotus 72. This race car and the ones that followed were widely regarded as the most alluring F1 cars ever built. This paint scheme reflects the most recent F1 car to wear the paint, specifically the 2011 Lotus Renault GP team.
And yes, it's quick. Zero to sixty in 4.4 seconds and a top speed of 178 mph. You have to sit in a Porsche 911 Carrera C2S to match that performance but that will cost handy to twice the price of the Lotus. The mid mounted six cylinder engine is pulled from the straight from the Toyota Camry but is fitted with a supercharger that boosts output to a whopping 345 horsepower.
Daniel Leblanc from Clare County, Nova Scotia was considering a 2012 Corvette ZR1 but decided on the Evora S. He told me he would get more bang for the buck with the Lotus. I remained skeptical until a spirited drive through the local twisties, torturing the Pirelli P Zero tires, convinced me that he was so right. I am a consummate Corvette fan by the way. Daniel isn't likely to cross paths with another Evora S JPS any time soon either. At the time I took these photos, there were no more than three examples in Canada, each owner having been invited to the Lotus test track at Hethel, Norfolk, Enland for a performance driving weekend. Hmmm, GM doesn't do that ???? Nice car.
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