Finally, a Lightweight Special-Edition Lotus Is Coming to America, Sort Of

The Lotus Evora Sport 410 is lighter, faster, and more powerful, and a version of it will come to the U.S. eventually.

It's always bad news when Lotus announces a special-edition car. Don't get us wrong: We absolutely love it when Lotus takes an already-great car, cuts some weight, adds some power, and sharpens up its handling. 

But far too often, those racy Lotuses never make it to the U.S. market. The Elise Cup 250 announced a few weeks ago is a perfect example: It's the fastest Elise ever made, but it won't be imported to U.S. shores.

Don't fret, though. The Lotus Evora Sport 410, the lightweight yellow screamer you see here, sounds like an absolutely fantastic sports car. And Lotus promises us that "a specific North American version" will be announced later in 2016.

Until then, we can satisfy our curiosity by poring over the details of the Euro-spec Evora Sport 410, which was just announced today. This newest version picks up where the last special edition, the Evora 400, left off, extending the "add-lightness-and-boost-horsepower" ethos even further.

Lotus says it's trimmed a significant 70kg (roughly 154 lbs) from the already-lightened weight of the Evora 400, thanks to extensive use of carbon fiber. The five-piece rear hatch of the regular Evora has been re-cast as a single carbon-fiber piece; the interior door panels are now one-piece, no-armrest, no-pocket affairs; the touchscreen entertainment system is optional. All told, Lotus claims a curb weight of 1325kg (2921 lbs). 

The 410 in the name comes from the 10-horse bump in output from the supercharged 3.5-liter V6, which now makes 302 lb.-ft. of torque. Lotus claims a 0-60 time of 3.9 seconds with the automatic transmission, 4.0 with the six-speed manual, though the automatic variant's 174-mph top speed is down by 12 compared to the manual.

Just 150 examples of the Evora Sport 410 will be built, at a price that converts to roughly the $110,000-$120,000 range. Again, that's for the European market only—though we hope the U.S. version, due later this year, sticks to exactly the same formula.

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