Lotus developed the Evora GTE for the Le Mans circuit, but this concept suggests it may offer a version of the 2-seater for the street.
The tony communities of California’s Monterey Peninsula look a lot like a used car lot this weekend – albeit populated some of the world’s highest-priced “previously-owned” vehicles as the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance rolls into town. But while most of the attention focuses on classic cars, a number of high-line makers are hoping to grab some of the spotlight for their own, newer offerings.
Among the many products to be previewed in the next few days, Lotus will lift the covers off its latest entry, the Evora GTE. At last year’s Paris Motor Show, the maker announced plans to introduce a half-dozen new products in the next few years – its biggest roll-out ever – and, as TheDetroitBureau.com more recently reported, Lotus also is developing an all-new V-8 engine to power some of those offerings.
The GTE fits in with the mandate of legendary Lotus founder Colin Chapman to “add lightness” to every vehicle. It starts out as a standard Evora tuned for the track – and redubbed the Lotus Evora GTE. The concept version of the car coming to Pebble Beach, meanwhile, would be street legal if put into production.
In the concept form it features a 420-horsepower V-8, power delivered through a track-spec sequential AMT gearbox. Power reached the pavement through ultra-light forged alloy wheels shod with Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tires.
Considering the fat wallets found on the Peninsula this week Lotus will also be looking to sign up customers for the final version of its small Exige sports car, which will disappear from the U.S. market later this year due to increasingly stringent crash standards the model can no longer meet.
The Lotus Exige Matte Black Final Edition will, as the name suggests, be offered solely in a matte black finish, with complementing alcantara interior. Horsepower from the Toyota-derived four-cylinder powertrain bumps to a full 257, a significant figure for the relatively lightweight 2-seater.
Only 25 of the Final Edition sports cars will be produced, all bound for the North American market.