Lotus Evora GTE Road Car Concept (2011) news

Lotus will show the most sporting, toughest Evora yet - the GTE Road Car Concept - at the 2011 Pebble Beach car show this week.

As the name implies, it's borne out of the Evora GTE race programme, which sees Lotus's mid-engined 2+2 compete at races across the globe, culminating in the 24-hour race at Le Mans.

The roadgoing GTE show car has 420bhp from its race-fettled V6 petrol engine, driving through a sequential gearbox. A Lotus spokeswoman confirmed it was the roadgoing model's Toyota V6 modded to produce a wodge more power.

The exterior has been heavily fettled, too, with an aggressive front splitter and U-shaped rear spoiler sprouting from the boot. Wheels are forged alloy items shod in Pirelli P-Zero Corsa rubber.

Inside you'll find leather and carbonfibre trim galore: the seats are by Recaro, made from composite to trim weight and look the part for posing.

Although not yet confirmed for general sale, we hear Lotus has serious plans for a production run of the Evora GTE. Watch this space for more news.

The new Lotus Evora GTE Road Car Concept will be shown at the McCall’s Motorworks Revival event on Wednesday night at the Monterey Jet Center.

But Lotus will also show a US-only Exige Matte Black Final Edition to mark the end of American production. It gets a 257bhp power hike, a subdued black paintjob and matching Alcantara sports seats. Just 25 will be sold.

By Tim Pollard