The Lotus Evora beat strong competition from 29 other cars to win the title of Performance Car of the Year 2009. The prominent competition included cars from some of the greatest Marques in the world such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin.

The 2009 Performance Car of the Year comprised 30 cars, and included exhaustive subjective and objective testing. The feature incorporated testing on some of the greatest driving roads in Britain, with objective testing at the Rockingham Motor Speedway, where Darren Turner, a Le Mans winning racer, put the cars through their paces.  

Chris Chilton, Assistant Editor at Car Magazine was so taken with the Lotus Evora during the first drive activity in Scotland that he said he would eat his Apple Mac if the Evora didn't win this year’s Performance Car of the Year.  

In saving his Apple Mac, Chris commented, "There are executive saloons that don't ride this well, supercars that don't turn in so crisply, and surely no car on the planet steers like this". To further safeguard his constitution, Chris added, "Lotus has managed to transfer everything that we love about the Elise to a bigger, more refined, more grown up platform...It couldn’t really be much better to drive - the Evora is nigh-on perfect. A winner on every conceivable level".  

Roger Becker, Vehicle Engineering Director said that "It is very rewarding to win the well established Car Magazine, Performance Car of the Year award against such tough competition. I am personally very pleased that Chris Chilton so accurately informs on the character and performance that we set out to achieve in the Evora: They are all you would expect from a modern everyday Lotus. The Evora is a great ownership proposition, offering the great Lotus driving experience in a very comfortable, practical, refined and efficient package.”

He added “It is a great validation of the expertise at Lotus to win this title against incredible competition from such a highly regarded publication and very pleasing to continue Lotus’ outstanding record in this competition".

Lotus Evora:     
205 g/km CO2
32.5 mpg (8.7 litres / 100 km) - Combined Cycle
22.8 mpg (12.4 litres / 100 km) - Urban Cycle
43.5 mpg (6.5 litres / 100 km) - Extra Urban Cycle

The Lotus Evora takes the title of ‘EVO Car of the Year 2009’, with the Lotus 2-Eleven winning the prestigious ‘EVO Track Car of the Year 2009’ competition.

For the ‘EVO Car of the Year 2009’ test EVO Magazine took a fleet of the world’s most desirable driving machines to the sensational roads of the Isle of Skye in Scotland, to evaluate the cars over a three day and 1000 mile test route.

The Lotus Evora, along with cars from manufacturers including Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin were put through their paces on the challenging and technical roads by the EVO team.

In the Car of the Year test, the group of 13 cars were whittled down to the top 5 and then scored out of 100, with the Lotus Evora beating all other entrants with an impressive score of 96.0.

John Barker, Motoring Editor said of the Evora "It's a magical thing across the ground, deft like an Elise, with exceptional poise and feel. What was telling for me was that, getting into it after any of the other finalists, it was even better than I remembered: a bit smoother, a bit quicker and even sweeter dynamically, too. It's a beguiling car."

David Vivian, Contributing Editor, commented, "A quite brilliant car and worthy winner."

The ‘EVO Track Car of the Year 2009’ event swapped the dramatic scenery and challenging gradients for the more familiar, but fast and demanding West Circuit at the Bedford Autodrome.

The Lotus 2-Eleven along with eleven other cars competed for the title of ‘EVO Track Car of the Year 2009’. The test group contained some of the most exciting track cars on sale today, including hot hatches, track focused supercars and exotic track machines.

In the Track Car of the Year competition the cars were each timed around the West Circuit and compared subjectively to find a winner. On the way to winning the competition the 2-Eleven posted the second fastest time and closely matched the criteria set by the judges of providing entertainment, being rewarding and a challenge to drive.

Roger Green, Track Test Editor, when commenting on the 2-Eleven said "Every single judge described (the 2-Eleven) as 'superb' in their assessment notes."

Henry Catchpole, Road Test Editor, stated that "It’s fabulous. It takes the habitability, finish and dimensions of the road car and adds the dynamics and awesome gearbox of a race car."

Luke Bennett, Operations Director of Lotus Cars Limited said that "I am delighted that the Evora took the title of “EVO Car of the Year 2009” and it is made even better that at the same time the 2-Eleven has won the Track Car of the Year competition. The Evora and 2-Eleven offer very different ownership propositions; however both have the same Lotus DNA and each reward the driver with a great Lotus driving experience.”

Luke went on to say "It is a great endorsement for Lotus cars that the most refined car in the product line up is picking up awards at the same time as the most extreme car in the range, illustrating the great wealth of engineering and manufacturing expertise at Lotus."

Lotus Evora:       205 g/km CO2
32.5 mpg (8.7 litres / 100 km) - Combined Cycle
22.8 mpg (12.4 litres / 100 km) - Urban Cycle
43.5 mpg (6.5 litres / 100 km) - Extra Urban Cycle

Lotus Evora Wins BBC Top Gear Magazine Sports Car of the Year 2009 Award

The Lotus Evora was selected by Top Gear magazine and online teams as the best Sports Car of the last 12 months.

The Top Gear Awards, now in their 10th year, searched for the most exciting and innovative sports car of this year. The awards are not only well established, but are also truly global, running across 24 international editions and Top Gear websites in the UK, US and Australia.

Conor McNicholas, Editor of BBC Top Gear magazine commented “It’s pretty, quintessentially British, fast and handles like a dream. Evora takes Lotus to a new place in terms of quality but more importantly delivers a sports car rush that puts other marques to shame.”

Dany Bahar, CEO of Group Lotus plc said, "I am delighted that the Evora has won the Top Gear award for Sports Car of the Year 2009. Top Gear is very well regarded around the world and it is a fantastic achievement for all who have worked on the Evora to win such a prestigious award.”

Dany continued, “I am particularly pleased that the Top Gear team commented on the huge improvements in quality at Lotus, confirming that the Evora is an exciting supercar that can also be used for every day driving.”

This accolade adds to the awards haul for the Evora, which includes:

• Autocar magazine – Britain’s Best Driver’s Car 2009
• Car magazine – Performance Car of the Year 2009
• European Aluminium Awards 2008 - Overall Jury Prize - Lotus Evora Aluminium Structure
• EVO magazine – Car of the Year 2009
• iMotor - Overall Winner - Most Rated Car of 2008