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

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

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

ENDS

NOTES For more details about the Top Gear Awards please check out the Awards Issue of the magazine or www.topgear.com. About the Lotus Evora The Evora enters the sports car market as the world’s only production mid-engined 2+2, and provides a tremendously rewarding driving experience; the mid-engined layout gives exceptional agility and the Lotus engineered suspension ensures incredible ride, handling, and steering performance. Powered by a Lotus-tuned 3.5-litre V6 engine producing 280 PS/ 206 kW / 276 hp @ 6400 rpm, and weighing 1382 kg, the Evora delivers an exhilarating experience true to the Lotus DNA characteristics. With the zero to 60 mph sprint taking 4.9 seconds (100 km/h in just 5.1 seconds) a top speed of 162 mph (261 km/h) and an Official European Combined Cycle fuel economy of 32.5 mpg (8.7 litres / 100 km) and emissions of 205 g/km CO2 the Evora stays true to the ethos of performance through light weight. The other economy figures are Official European Urban Cycle of 22.8 mpg (12.4 litres / 100 km) and 43.5 mpg (6.5 litres / 100 km) for the Official European Extra Urban Cycle.
About Lotus
The main operating subsidiary of Group Lotus plc is Lotus Cars Limited, which has two operating divisions - Lotus Engineering and Lotus Cars. Lotus Engineering is an internationally recognised automotive engineering consultancy based in Norfolk, UK. Global facilities include those in Michigan (USA), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), China and offices in Germany and Japan.
Lotus Engineering provides comprehensive and versatile consultancy services to many of the world's OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, offering a full engineering service from initial concept and project design through development and integration of the complete vehicle to meet all worldwide market and customer requirements to full production. This includes third party 'niche vehicle' engineering and manufacture worldwide.
Lotus Cars builds world class, prestige, high performance sports cars for sale in 37 countries. These include the iconic Lotus Elise, Exige, Europa and Lotus’ latest model, the Evora. Lotus is a global high-tech company, expanding rapidly and committed to driving forward technology for both Lotus Cars and its Engineering clients, spearheading research into such areas as hybrids, electric vehicles and renewable fuels.
For more information about Lotus please contact:
PR Department; Group Lotus plc,
Potash Lane, Hethel, Norfolk, UK, NR14 8EZ
Tel: +44(0)1953 608264;
Email: pr@lotuscars.co.uk