For someone my age (pushing 40), any mention of Lotus brings to mind the Esprit – white in colour, driven by James Bond and able to travel underwater. Designed by the great Giugiaro, the Esprit was accorded supercar status by impressionable boys, who put up posters of it next to those of the Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari 308.
Today, the Esprit is no more. So, the old Lotus fanboy in you has been eyeing the Elise (since the missus has her own ride), but she’s not too keen on you spending over $220k on a minimalist roadster. And she cannot drive a manual car to save her life. Well, Lotus now might have an answer to your little predicament.
The Lotus IPS magic trick includes a modified instrument cluster to display the drive mode.
Consider the Evora, which has been around for nearly two years. It is targeted at Lotus enthusiasts who want a more mature and less extreme “Exige” with two-plus-two seating. Sounds good in theory, but only a handful of Evoras have been sold in Singapore so far. The lack of an auto gearbox has been a major deterrent for these potential customers who care more about weekday tractability than weekend track-ability.
The Evora IPS (Intelligent Precision Shift) pinches a 6-speed torque converter automatic from Toyota, while everything else about the coupe remains unchanged. Of course, there are new metal “horns” behind the three-spoke steering wheel and a five-button array has replaced the manual gear lever on the centre console.
This quintet of console buttons operates the Intelligent Precision Shift (IPS) system.
The 3.5-litre 280bhp all-aluminium V6 is also sourced from Toyota, but tweaked by Lotus. From the driver’s seat, the car doesn’t feel that rapid – but a glance at the speedometer will remind you that you’re gaining velocity at a steady clip.
The automatic no doubt plays a role in downplaying the build-up of speed – the shifts are imperceptible and almost Lexus-smooth. In case you’re wondering, the more powerful supercharged 351bhp Evora S is not available with the autobox.
Paddle shifters allow you to work the automatic while keeping both hands on the sublime steering.
Getting into the Evora requires less gymnastics compared to the Exige. You sit low, with excellent visibility to the front but nearly none towards the back (thankfully, there’s a rear view camera that uses the audio display). Lotus has a knack for designing seats without massive bolsters, which still somehow manage to hold their occupants snugly in place. The driving position is great and now that there is no longer a clutch, the remaining pedals feel less offset to the left of the footwell.
There are four buttons to work the gearbox (P, R, N and D), with a fifth (Sport) that has the engineers at Hethel earning their keep. In this mode, the auto holds onto each ratio longer, shifts are quicker and the throttle is blipped on every downshift. Furthermore, if you manually change gears with the paddles, the transmission will refuse to shift up even with the revs bouncing off the limiter.
The Lotus Evora IPS’ 3.5-litre V6, like the 6-speed automatic gearbox, is sourced from Lotus’ friendly Japanese partner Toyota.
On a day-to-day basis, the IPS works like a charm, with a lovely ride. The Evora is as easy to drive as a (very low-slung) family saloon. You would be getting far more admiring glances in the British sports car, of course, especially with orange paintwork.
Start pushing the Evora harder, though, and the kinks in the IPS start to show. Yes, the gearchanges are decently fast, but there is still too much “slip” in the torque converter and not enough “thump”.
And there is no launch control, so traffic light grand prix is not the Evora’s forte despite Lotus claiming a century sprint time of 5.5 seconds – merely 0.4 of a second slower than the manual variant. Despite its performance figures, however, the Evora IPS might still have to look out for those pesky hot hatches.
When it comes to the ride and handling, the Evora IPS will live up to your boyhood driving daydreams. The ride is nowhere as harsh as a classic supercar’s, although the front end bobs up and down over imperfect tarmac.
At just over 1.4 tonnes, the Evora IPS is no featherweight Elise, but it corners flatly, with steering that is communicative and constantly “chatting” away.
With IPS, the striking Evora has become more practical as a daily driver, and it still handles beautifully. But it doesn’t quite evoke the same lust I felt for that white Esprit when I was a boy.
Lotus Evora IPS 3.5 (A)
ENGINE 3456cc, 24-valves, V6
MAX POWER 280bhp at 6400rpm
MAX TORQUE 350Nm at 4700rpm
GEARBOX 6-speed automatic with manual select
0-100KM/H 5.5 seconds
TOP SPEED 25okm/h
CONSUMPTION 11.2km/L (combined)
PRICE INCL. COE $278,800 (as of October 2011)
Checkout the latest Lotus Evora models
Son of Lotus founder once again behind the wheel of a Lotus sports car
