2017 Lotus Evora GT430

What makes the Lotus Evora GT430 so special?

Anytime a car is accompanied with this many superlatives, it’s easy to assume that it’s special in a lot of ways. On that end, the Lotus Evora GT430 doesn’t disappoint, in large part because it validates all the plaudits thrown its way. Take its exterior for example. At the heart of it is still the Lotus Evora, a car that’s as distinctly known for its style as it is for being incredibly light. To help give the Evora GT430 that special edition look, Lotus went about slashing even more weight from the sports car’s already svelte figure, fitting it with an extensive aerodynamic body kit made up of exposed carbon fiber. Check out the table below to see how the Lotus Evora GT430 compares in weight to its two predecessors, the Evora Sport 410 and the Evora 400.

Consider this then: the Lotus Evora GT430 is not only 26 kilos lighter than the Evora Sport 410, but you can take it a step further and say that it’s a staggering 96 kilos (211 pounds) lighter than a car – the Evora 400 – that packs 400 horsepower, can go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, and hit a top speed of 186 mph. If its looks don’t wow you, then consider how light this car is and that just might do the trick.

Now, let’s step inside the interior of this so-called fastest and most powerful production Lotus ever and we’re treated to a surprisingly well-dressed cabin. It may not feature fine wood from God-knows-what forest or the skin of an alligator, but it does have plenty of premium leather and Alcantara. In fact, a case can be made that the interior is drowning in the two fine materials. The steering wheel, dashboard, door panels transmission tunnel, and center console are all dressed up in either of these two materials. There are certain areas that weren’t given the full leather and Alcantara treatment. The Sparco racing seats, for instance, features elements of carbon fiber while the optional integrated touchscreen infotainment system is left to its own devices. The system does come with iPhone connectivity, Bluetooth, satellite navigation, and a reverse camera, all of which should be mighty useful for whoever ends up owning any one of the 60 units Lotus plans to release.

Safe to say that a full-spec Lotus Evora GT430 looks a lot busier than its Evora Sport 410 and Evora 400 counterparts. I suppose that comes with being an evolution of the sports car that itself evolved from something else.

As much as the Evora GT340 is considered a landmark achievement for Lotus, it earned its status in large part because of its power. At its core, he Evora GT340 features the same 3.5-liter supercharged V-6 engine. The only difference with the Evora GT430 is that it produces 430 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque. Mind you, the figures are indicative of the fastest and most powerful production Lotus title that the Evora GT430 has earned. The engine is mated to a six-speed manual transmission and is also complemented by a standard titanium exhaust and a Torsen limited-slip differential. All together, Lotus says that the 60-piece sports car is capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds on its way to hitting a top speed of 190 mph.

How do the Evora GT430’s numbers compare to the Evora Sport 410 and the Evora 400? We’re glad you asked because you can check out the tale of the numbers below. While we’re at it, we’re also including the Lotus Evora S for a much better comparison of how these three recently released, special edition Evora models compare to the much-older Evora S.

The numbers paint a pretty clear picture of what the Evora GT430 is fully capable of. But like every Lotus that has had its time in the spotlight, this limited edition sports car comes with its own bag of tricks, one of which is the dynamic driving modes that owners can get as an added option. Avail of these settings and the performance abilities of the Evora GT430 opens up with four modes on offer, including Drive, Sport, Race, and, well, Off. Depending on the setting, owners of the sports car will able to play around with the car’s variable traction control function that’s linked to the ECU of the supercharged V-6 mill.

Talk about being in charge of your own driving destiny, the Lotus Evora GT340 makes sure that you can maximize its full potential, provided of course that you can handle it.

Should you be interested, Lotus has said that it plans to build only 60 units of the Evora GT430, much lower in supply compared to the 150-unit Evora Sport 410 and the more readily available Evora 400. No mention has been made regarding the sport car’s price and scheduled launch date, although on, the subject of the price, we can safely assume that the fastest, lightest, and most powerful production Lotus ever made will be a little bit more expensive than the car it took that title from. Remember, the Evora Sport 410 retailed for £79,900 in the U.K. and averaged about €108,000 in a number of European countries. Those prices can at least be considered baselines for what the much more limited Evora GT430 is going to go for. Would price tags of about £89,900 (U.K.) – €115,000 (Euro) – $120,000 (U.S.) be considered safe estimates? I’d think so.

Source: Lotus