2017 Lotus Evora 400 First Test: Upshift

The last U.S.-legal Lotuses sold were 2014s, and apparently the gnomes in Hethel have not wasted the intervening years. The 2017 Evora 400 looks like a minor freshening, but two-thirds of its parts are spanking new. The old car was a slowish, fragile, ergonomic disaster with Jeckyl/Hyde corner-entry oversteer and corner-exit push that earned it a last-place finish in our 2011 Best Driver’s Car contest. The new one is speedier and better assembled and has more neutral handling, and you drive it with your feet in front of you.

The speed comes from a new Edelbrock supercharger that ups boost from 2.9 to 8.7 psi and adds an intercooler, bumping output by 55 hp and 7 lb-ft to 400 and 302. A low-inertia flywheel improves responsiveness, too. The redesigned aluminum tub lowers and slims the castle-rampart door sills by 2.2 and 1.7 inches and widens the pedal box by 3.3 inches to fix the pedal-offset problem. Chassis tweaks include doubling the negative front camber, increasing toe in the front and reducing it in the rear, halving the bump-steer, stiffening the rear Eibach springs (by 16 percent), stiffening the powertrain mounts, and significantly upgrading the tires, from Pirelli P Zeros to Michelin Pilot Super Sports (which also get 10mm wider in the rear).

2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear three quarter in motion 07

2017 Lotus Evora 400 vents 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 headlamp 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 tail lamp 2017 Lotus Evora 400 wheels 02 1

How’s it all work? Acceleration times drop by 0.3-0.5 second throughout the quarter-mile run. Lateral grip matched our last Evora S at 0.97 g, and braking (from enlarged two-piece AP Racing discs) trailed by a couple feet at 104 from 60 mph. But based on a vehicle tested in Michigan and California, grip on our Michigan surface appears to be 7 percent lower, so we expect 1.0-plus g and a solid sub-100-foot stop on our usual surfaces. A 25-minute lapping session of Gingerman Raceway revealed fear-free dynamic handling with strong turn-in bite, gentle and controllable corner-entry rotation, and sure-footed corner exits.

2017 Lotus Evora 400 cabin 03 2017 Lotus Evora 400 instrument panel 03 2017 Lotus Evora 400 gear shifter 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 seats 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front end 04 2017 Lotus Evora 400 door sill 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear three quarter 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 engine 03

Starting at $93,785, the Evora 400 roughly competes on price and performance with an optioned Cayman GT4 or GTS. Our test car’s build quality even approaches Porsche’s. Where Lotus wins is on exclusivity—with only 400 Evora 400s bound for North America, it may eclipse mid-engine Brit rival McLaren on that score.

2017 Lotus Evora 400
POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS
DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT Mid-engine, RWD
ENGINE TYPE Supercharged 60-deg V-6, alum block/heads
VALVETRAIN DOHC, 4 valves/cyl
DISPLACEMENT 210.9 cu in/3,456 cc
COMPRESSION RATIO 10.8:1
POWER (SAE NET) 400 hp @ 7,000 rpm
TORQUE (SAE NET) 302 lb-ft @ 3,500 rpm
REDLINE 7,000 rpm
WEIGHT TO POWER 8.0 lb/hp
TRANSMISSION 6-speed manual
AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIO 3.78 (1-4), 3.24 (5,6,R):1/2.79:1
SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR Control arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar; multilink, coil springs, anti-roll bar
STEERING RATIO 16.0:1
TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK 2.9
BRAKES, F; R 14.6-in vented, drilled disc; 13.8-in vented, drilled disc, ABS
WHEELS, F;R 8.0 x 19 in; 10.0 x 20 in forged aluminum
TIRES, F;R 235/35ZR19 91Y; 285/30ZR20 99Y Michelin Pilot Super Sport
DIMENSIONS
WHEELBASE 110.4 in
TRACK, F/R 61.6/62.0 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 172.6 x 72.6 x 48.4 in
GROUND CLEARANCE 5.5 in
TURNING CIRCLE 33.3 ft
CURB WEIGHT 3,200 lb
WEIGHT DIST, F/R 39/61%
SEATING CAPACITY 4
HEADROOM, F/R 36.5/29.0 in (est)
LEGROOM, F/R 43.0/25.9 in (est)
SHOULDER ROOM, F/R 49.2/46.5 in (est)
CARGO VOLUME 5.7 cu ft
TEST DATA
ACCELERATION TO MPH
0-30 1.4 sec
0-40 2.0
0-50 3.2
0-60 4.2
0-70 5.2
0-80 6.9
0-90 8.4
0-100 10.0
PASSING, 45-65 MPH 2.1
QUARTER MILE 12.6 sec @ 111.0 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 104 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.97 g (avg)
TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH 2,180 rpm
CONSUMER INFO
BASE PRICE $93,785
PRICE AS TESTED $104,085
STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL Yes/Yes
AIRBAGS Dual front, front side/head
BASIC WARRANTY 3 yrs/36,000 miles
POWERTRAIN WARRANTY 3 yrs/36,000 miles
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE none
FUEL CAPACITY 15.9 gal
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB ECON 16/24/19 mpg
ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY 211/140 kW-hrs/100 miles
CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 1.03 lb/mile
RECOMMENDED FUEL Unleaded premium
2017 Lotus Evora 400 front view in motion 11 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front view in motion 10 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front view in motion 09 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front view in motion 08 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front view in motion 07 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front view in motion 06 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front view in motion 05 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front view in motion 04 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front view in motion 03 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front view in motion 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front view in motion 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter in motion 11 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter in motion 10 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter in motion 09 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter in motion 08 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter in motion 07 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter in motion 06 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter in motion 05 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter in motion 04 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter in motion 03 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter in motion 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter in motion 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter 12 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter 11 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter 10 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter 09 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter 08 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter 07 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter 06 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter 05 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter 04 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter 03 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front three quarter 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front end detail 05 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front end 03 1 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front end 04 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front end 05 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front end detail 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front end detail 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front end detail 03 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front end detail 04 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front end 02 1 2017 Lotus Evora 400 front end 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 exterior detail 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 exterior detail 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 exaust 2017 Lotus Evora 400 engine start push button 2017 Lotus Evora 400 engine 03 2017 Lotus Evora 400 engine 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 engine 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 door trim panel 2017 Lotus Evora 400 door sill 2017 Lotus Evora 400 door handle 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 door handle 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 dashboard indicator panel 2017 Lotus Evora 400 climate vents 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 climate vents 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 center console control panel 2017 Lotus Evora 400 cabin 09 2017 Lotus Evora 400 cabin 08 2017 Lotus Evora 400 cabin 07 2017 Lotus Evora 400 cabin 06 2017 Lotus Evora 400 cabin 05 2017 Lotus Evora 400 cabin 04 2017 Lotus Evora 400 cabin 03 2017 Lotus Evora 400 cabin 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 cabin 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 badge 03 2017 Lotus Evora 400 badge 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 badge 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 gear shifter 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 gear shifter 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 headlamp 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 headlamp 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 instrument panel 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 instrument panel 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 instrument panel 03 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear three quarter 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear spoiler 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear spoiler 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear seat 2017 Lotus Evora 400 interior door handle 2017 Lotus Evora 400 instrument panel 05 2017 Lotus Evora 400 instrument panel 04 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear three quarter 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear three quarter 03 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear three quarter 04 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear three quarter 05 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear three quarter 06 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear three quarter in motion 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear three quarter in motion 02 1 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear three quarter in motion 03 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear three quarter in motion 04 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear three quarter in motion 07 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear three quarter in motion 08 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear three quarter in motion 09 2017 Lotus Evora 400 side profile in motion 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 seats 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 seats 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 seat detail 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 seat detail 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear window 2017 Lotus Evora 400 rear three quarter in motion 10 2017 Lotus Evora 400 side profile in motion 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 side profile in motion 03 2017 Lotus Evora 400 side profile in motion 04 2017 Lotus Evora 400 side profile in motion 05 2017 Lotus Evora 400 side profile in motion 06 2017 Lotus Evora 400 side profile in motion 07 2017 Lotus Evora 400 side profile 1 2017 Lotus Evora 400 wheels 02 1 2017 Lotus Evora 400 wheels 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 vents 02 2017 Lotus Evora 400 vents 01 2017 Lotus Evora 400 tail lamp 2017 Lotus Evora 400 tail lamp and badge 2017 Lotus Evora 400 steering wheel controls

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