Lotus Evora GTE road car heading for Europe

Lotus Evora GTE - going on sale in Europe after Frankfurt debut

We’ve decided we weren’t really on the ball with the Lotus Evora GTE at Pebble beach. Yes, we reported the most powerful Evora yet was heading to Monterey, but we assumed it was just another limited run Lotus. Turns out, apparently, that Lotus intended the Evora GTE would only be sold in Asia.

We confess we didn’t know that at Pebble – and we fail to see the logic of it either – but Lotus now say that’s what they had planned. But those plans have now gone out of the window, it would seem, due to ‘unprecedented demand for the Evora GTE’ which saw all 25 cars sell out and orders for 100 more come in.

Pragmatically Lotus are now going to build a lot more Evora GTEs and sell them anywhere they can take an order (what the original buyers of a very small limited edition think of that we can probably work out). Which is probably good news.

The Evora GTE is the quickest Evora to date thanks to its track-derived 3.5 litre V6 now producing a meaningful 438bhp, a huge 162bhp up on a regular Evora. That powerful V6 also gets mated to an AMT racing ‘box – an automated manual.

Lots of carbon fibre means a drop in weight of 105kg (that’s the equivalent of a 16.5 stone passenger) from a car that already doesn’t weigh much. Which means there’s a very good chance the interior will be one of those daft, stripped-out interior so beloved of lightweight Porsches. You know the stuff – bits of rag to close the doors and a compulsory hair shirts all round.

In the looks department, this is an Evora on butch pills; it’s been to the gym and grabbed the steroids on offer in the changing room. There are new aggressive air intakes at the front, a meaner set of hips and a spoiler that could shame a 1980s Porsche 911 Turbo at the back. Oh, and a thumping great stripe up the middle and a contrast roof.

So if you want a mean Lotus, the Evora GTE is your baby. But what will it cost? We dread to think, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see it arriving at something awfully close to £80k.

Which is a horrible amount of money for an Evora, however quick and butch it is.

By Cars UK