British sports car maker Lotus has revealed the Evora GT430, the car it calls the most powerful road-going model it has ever produced.
The GT430 uses the same Toyota-sourced 3.5L supercharged and intercooled V6 as its lesser brethren, but tweaked to produce the 430 horsepower (and 325 lb-ft of torque) that lends the car its numerical designation.
Lotus says this is also the lightest Evora to date, tipping the scales at 1,258 kg (dry weight), which helps the car deliver "tremendous real-world speed and handling unheard of in its class."
To put that curb weight into perspective, the original Evora was a 1,350-kg car with a bit less than 300 hp. That evolved into the 22-kg lighter Evora 400; and the Evora 410, which cut another 70 kg from the car's mass; and finally, this GT430, measuring 22 kg more svelte than that.
It stands to reason that, as the most powerful and lightest Evora variant, the GT430 would be the quickest too, and Lotus says it is. It claims the GT430 will crack off a 0-60 mph (96 km/h) run in 3.7 seconds (0.2 seconds sooner than the 410) and is the first road-going Evora to break the 300-km/h barrier with a top speed of 305 km/h.
Some of the Evora GT430's weight loss is thanks to bespoke body panels with exposed carbon weave that work with larger front bumper openings, carbon fibre splitter, air blades and louvers above the front wheel arches, aero ducts behind the rear wheels, a rear diffuser and carbon fibre rear wing to generate 250 kg of downforce.
The GT430 puts its power through a six-speed manual transmission and staggered 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels. A driver-selectable stability control system offers Drive, Sport, Race and Off settings, as well as an additional variable traction control function available in Race and Off modes that lets the driver choose from five pre-set thresholds.
Lotus's latest lightweight creation is not entirely focused on performance. A full leather or Alcantara interior is available, as is a touchscreen infotainment system with navigation and Bluetooth.
To highlight the GT430's specialness, Lotus has limited production to just 60 cars worldwide, with North American models to reach customers in spring of 2018.
