Lotus wins 2 EVO magazine car of the year awards
2010 Lotus Evora - click above for high res image gallery
Lotus has managed to snag two car of the year honors from EVO magazine for two different machines. The new Evora came out on the top of the heap among the new road going cars, while the Evora went into production earlier this year and as of last month, Lotus has apparently delivered about 800 examples. EVO did their testing in Scotland at the Isle of Skye and the Lotus bested the likes of the Ferrari 458, Aston Martin V12 Vantage and Porsche 911 GT3.
EVO also evaluated track cars at the Bedford Autodrome for their own award and here Lotus again took the top prize. Running against an assortment of competitors from the Ford Focus RS and Mitsubishi Evo to more extreme machines like a Lamborghini Gallardo and the latest Arial Atom, the Lotus 2-Eleven got the best score. The 2-Eleven had the second best time and was found to be the most fun to drive. Considering the 2-Eleven looks more like a pure race car, it's astonishing that under British rules you can actually get single vehicle type approval to drive them on public roads. 'Scuse me Lotus? We'd love to try out the 2-Eleven!
Gallery: Lotus Evora
Gallery: Entry-Level Lotus 2-Eleven
[Source: Lotus]
press release
Lotus Scoops EVO Car of the Year Double
The Lotus Evora takes the title of 'EVO Car of the Year 2009', with the Lotus 2-Eleven winning the prestigious 'EVO Track Car of the Year 2009' competition.
For the 'EVO Car of the Year 2009' test EVO Magazine took a fleet of the world's most desirable driving machines to the sensational roads of the Isle of Skye in Scotland, to evaluate the cars over a three day and 1000 mile test route.
The Lotus Evora, along with cars from manufacturers including Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin were put through their paces on the challenging and technical roads by the EVO team.
In the Car of the Year test, the group of 13 cars were whittled down to the top 5 and then scored out of 100, with the Lotus Evora beating all other entrants with an impressive score of 96.0.
John Barker, Motoring Editor said of the Evora "It's a magical thing across the ground, deft like an Elise, with exceptional poise and feel. What was telling for me was that, getting into it after any of the other finalists, it was even better than I remembered: a bit smoother, a bit quicker and even sweeter dynamically, too. It's a beguiling car."
David Vivian, Contributing Editor, commented, "A quite brilliant car and worthy winner."
The 'EVO Track Car of the Year 2009' event swapped the dramatic scenery and challenging gradients for the more familiar, but fast and demanding West Circuit at the Bedford Autodrome.
The Lotus 2-Eleven along with eleven other cars competed for the title of 'EVO Track Car of the Year 2009'. The test group contained some of the most exciting track cars on sale today, including hot hatches, track focused supercars and exotic track machines.
In the Track Car of the Year competition the cars were each timed around the West Circuit and compared subjectively to find a winner. On the way to winning the competition the 2-Eleven posted the second fastest time and closely matched the criteria set by the judges of providing entertainment, being rewarding and a challenge to drive.
Roger Green, Track Test Editor, when commenting on the 2-Eleven said "Every single judge described (the 2-Eleven) as 'superb' in their assessment notes."
Henry Catchpole, Road Test Editor, stated that "It's fabulous. It takes the habitability, finish and dimensions of the road car and adds the dynamics and awesome gearbox of a race car."
Luke Bennett, Operations Director of Lotus Cars Limited said that "I am delighted that the Evora took the title of "EVO Car of the Year 2009" and it is made even better that at the same time the 2-Eleven has won the Track Car of the Year competition. The Evora and 2-Eleven offer very different ownership propositions; however both have the same Lotus DNA and each reward the driver with a great Lotus driving experience."
Luke went on to say "It is a great endorsement for Lotus cars that the most refined car in the product line up is picking up awards at the same time as the most extreme car in the range, illustrating the great wealth of engineering and manufacturing expertise at Lotus."
Lotus Evora:
205 g/km CO2 32.5 mpg (8.7 litres / 100 km) - Combined Cycle 22.8 mpg (12.4 litres / 100 km) - Urban Cycle 43.5 mpg (6.5 litres / 100 km) - Extra Urban Cycle
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Taylor 8:04AM (11/12/2009)
This car, specifically the photo along with the post, is the first in a while to really make me stop and say,
whoa.
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JimBob 10:09AM (11/12/2009)
I'm not sure I completely understand all of the context behind that "whoa", but the exterior design isn't really working for me. I mean, it looks fine and all, and I'm sure that the Evora is a great car, but the looks are just "meh". This car doesn't hold water style-wise compared to the other cars mentioned.
zamafir 11:00AM (11/12/2009)
@JimBob - I take it you've not seen one/ sat in one?
JimBob 11:22AM (11/12/2009)
Not yet :)
zamafir 11:49AM (11/12/2009)
check it out. it's one of those odd shapes that doesn't do as well in photos but in person is pretty awesome. so clean, restrained, as though they hew it from a single block of aluminum, and the interior is spartan yet very well designed (for a lotus lol).
Tim 8:51PM (11/12/2009)
Have any of you actually driven a Lotus Evora?
If you have not, your comments mean very little. Looks are NOT what Lotus is about - it is about the DRIVING experience.
If all you're interested in is looks, go get a VW Beetle Cabrio or some other fashion friendly car to match your purse.
Hazdaz 8:49AM (11/12/2009)
Really? The Lotus won a UK-based magazine award. Who would have thunk it?!?
I love the Elise/Exige and appreciate how Lotus is hell-bent on keeping cars lightweight, but this Evora does nothing for me on a visual-level.
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Martin 12:45PM (11/12/2009)
it is in fact the first time a british car has won the award since Evo magazine started in 1998. In the last decade the award for car of the year has been given to porsche 6 times, ferrari, ford, honda nissan and pagani have won once each.
timwang2006 9:04AM (11/12/2009)
It deserved it, the Evora is the new NSX.
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Affalterbach 9:18AM (11/12/2009)
Actually the Audi R8 is the new NSX but your comment is still valid.
Nateb123 1:17PM (11/12/2009)
How is an AWD, V8/V10-powered Audi the next NSX? Do you even know what an NSX was and what they were about. The NSX was crazy light due to lots of aluminum and RWD (like the Evora), relatively underpowered because it focused more on handling qualities (like an Evora), V6-powered (like an Evora) and usable as a daily driver (like...oh, a 4-seat Lotus).
nastinupe 9:06AM (11/12/2009)
This car is souless...
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Affalterbach 6:26AM (11/13/2009)
And judging from your previous comments only German cars have soul right, good sir?
CaptPugwash 9:47AM (11/12/2009)
And you know this because you have driven it?
nastinupe 10:22AM (11/12/2009)
@ Affalterbach
My dislike for this car has nothing to do with the fact that it was made from a British car company. In fact I absolutely love basically every car that AM, Jag, Bentley, and RR has out right now.
In fact, the Esprit is still one of my favorite all time sports cars.
I am just not feeling this one. Sorry. And from the remarks that not only this thread, but other threads around the internet, people don't seem to have that "connection" to this car the way that they should.
Heck I feel the same way about the GTR. I don't care how good that car drives, it's souless as well.
Joao Rodrigues 9:22AM (11/12/2009)
Thank you for giving the result before I read the magazine!!!!
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james 10:04AM (11/12/2009)
I did a driving experience day last october at Silverstone and had a passenger ride in a 2-Eleven.
I'd just managed to spin their Ferrari 360 at Stowe corner so wasn't in their best books, and the instructor leant in to the strangely silent test driver and murmured something.
He then proceeded to drive around the club circuit entirely sideways - even on the straights! I think they told him to give me the 'special treatment'! And he'd just done countless slightly less erratic laps, shredding the tyres to the point of threads poking through.
The craziest thing about it were the brakes though - he'd sail right past all the marked braking-points and slam them on at the last minute - cue me not actually touching my seat and hanging forward in my harnesses.... it was like hitting a wall. Literally.
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Redline 10:11AM (11/12/2009)
2-Eleven reminds me of a modern Se7en
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zuccarsp 10:35AM (11/12/2009)
The 458 wasnt a part of the ECOTY.
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Martin 12:42PM (11/12/2009)
it is in fact the first time a british car has won the award since Evo magazine started in 1998. In the last decade the award for car of the year has been given to porsche 6 times, ferrari, ford, honda nissan and pagani have won once each.