"This is the first picture of the Lotus Evora race car in action, driven during a shakedown at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk by F1 driver Jarno Trulli.
However, the final specification of the car, and specifically Dallara designed aerodynamic enhancements, have yet to be tested, as they will be unveiled at the Geneva motor show in March.

After driving the car Trulli said: "The car will continue to be developed with new updates coming soon, but even after the initial drive it is obvious that the car has huge potential."

Trulli, who will race for the Lotus F1 team this season, spent his time at Snetterton working with Gianluca Pisanello, his race engineer at the F1 team. Both are expected to be involved in further development work on the Evora later this season.

The Evora Cup race car will cost £120,00 plus taxes, and will be eligible for racing in the GT4 category and an innovative one-make Lotus Evora Cup.
The race car is powered by a 4.0-litre V6 with 'more than 392bhp' according to Lotus - the road car has a 276bhp 3.5-litre V6 powerplant. The racer also has a dry sump and Cima six-speed sequential paddle shift dog gearbox.

Other motorsport tweaks include adjustable dampers, six-piston front brake calipers and two piece aluminium belled brake discs, plus standard safety equipment.

The Dallara developed aero package includes a number of updated carbonfibre parts for greater downforce and improved cooling. It also helps bring the racer down to less than 1200kg - more than 200kg less than the production car.

The one-make Evora Cup series will employ an unusual structure; points will be awarded to competitors for entering events, and being in the top five competing Evoras to finish.

The season will then culminate in two Lotus Festivals, with provisional dates for Donington Park in the UK (16/17 October) and the second at Vallelunga in Italy (21/22 November 2010). All Evora competitors from around Europe will be invited to race at these festivals and there will be double points on offer.

The championship winner will be the driver who accrues the most number of points from a maximum of six races over the season, and a prize fund of 'at least 100,000 euros' (£89,000) is being offered.

In 2011, Lotus says it intends to introduce a pan-European one-make race series for the Evora Cup."

Source - Autocar

 

great find DJ....

More pics please!!!!

 

Good read. I am still not liking the looks of the Evora, but maybe it will grow on me over time.

 

The evora is stunning in person, pictures fail to do it justice. I think this will be a very big hit and bring Lotus into the mainstream, if that's possible...

 

Lotus Strengthens Management Team

By Pablo Elizalde
Tuesday, February 16th 2010, 12:57 GMT

Lotus Racing has announced a strengthening of its senior management team, with S M Nasarudin and Dato' Kamarudin Meranun joining Tony Fernandes as deputy team principals.

The duo are shareholders of the Norfolk-based squad.

Lotus, returning to Formula 1 after an absence of 16 years, said it hopes the changes will give the team a strong leadership to tackle the challenge of racing in Formula 1 again.

"We made this dream possible, turning it from a simple Malaysian dream to reality," S M Nasarudin.

"This was all made possible through passion, hard work and team spirit. As with all the challenges that we have had to face to get to where we are now, we embraced these challenges as a team and now are even more determined to finish what we have started.

"We are realistic of our goals and by no means will it be easy from this point onwards, but the belief is there. We will consistently bring with us a professional and confident set up to each of the races for this season.

"As team owners, and in our Deputy Principal's roles, it further reflects our continued belief and commitment to this team."

Fernandes added: "Our goals and objectives are clear but, as mentioned earlier, there is still a huge task at hand. We have 19 races to go through and, with the three of us assisting each other in our roles, we believe that the management has all the necessary resources to bring the team to the forefront."

Lotus is taking to the track at Jerez tomorrow for its first public outing with the new T127 car.

 

12000 pounds only :P awesome, I want 3.