Of course I’m talking about the latest Lotus – the Eagle. In a Porsche rivalling move, this is their new 2+2, that’s fully ready to take on the Porsche Cayman (though not the pricier 911). So what sort of powerplant do you get for your circa £45,000 hard earned cash? Naturally, sir will be wanting a 3.5litre V6 with 276bhp.
The wheelbase of this incredible looking machine is 280mm longer than the Elise (which leaves one wondering if this is a permanent replacement for the aging car), that gives rise to enough room for 2 rear seats. I assume that these will be similar to other 2+2’s, in other words just about bearable if you’re ten years old or younger – otherwise you might just prefer to walk. Rumour has it that the boot space is reasonable too – just don’t expect to fit more than a few bags of shopping (or apparently one set of golf clubs) in there.
What about the interior of the car? Well, to be fair, Lotus is not known for their high quality dashboards, but then that’s not what their machines are about. Nonetheless, the Eagle should be one of the most luxurious cars they have ever made, with a touchscreen sat nav with connectivity for your iPod and Bluetooth. There should also be soft touch plastics where necessary and hopefully swathes of leather too, given the price hike over even an Exige.
The big V6 has been sourced directly from Toyota, which should mean a pretty good state of reliability, even with British weather and wear. However, modifications have been implemented by Lotus that sees the addition of variable valve timing – something that I’m quite a fan of. Essentially, it means that you should have greater efficiency and power when on the gas. Can’t be bad now can it? If you’ve driven a Celica you’ll have experienced VVT. The Lotus Elise 111S also has VVT (quite a few other cars do too for a more even power/torque split).
What about performance? Well, as is the trend these days, the thing is going to be shuttled around the Nurburgring until the guys at Hethel are happy that this aspect of the car matches the frankly astonishing looks. Rumour has it that there’ll be a 0-60 sprint implemented of less than 4 seconds; meanwhile you’ll be able to race all the way up to and beyond 160. Mind you, top speed is never the objective in a mean Lotus like this. You’d have to have nuts of sold, 440 stainless to manage that.
A prototype is going to be shown at the British Motor Show, as well as the name of the vehicle that for the meantime remains to be the Lotus Eagle. With six more months of development and spring 2009 before first order, this is one car that folks should be awaiting with baited breath. I know I am.
It of course comes back to the question of Lotus. What does it mean? Well until you drive one, you’ll never know. It means, at least for me, a pure, unadulterated, driving experience. It isn’t watered down and it won’t pander to your whims. You’re slung low, the car hard-charges through the gears and if you have any passion for driving at all you’ll spend almost all the journey with a big grin on your face. So do I think that this will be special? Damn right. There’s even somewhere to put the groceries when you take it to Asda.
I’d like to highlight the fact that this vehicle is no longer known as the ‘Eagle’ but it has been revealed as the ‘Evora’.