No beating around the bush, I rushed at the chance to go pickup this $260,000 Lotus GT-430 sports car while our Motoring Editor was off in the Blue Mountains driving a Ford:)
How great does a Lotus look!
This is the wing heavy crazy version of the Evora called the GT-430 – there’s only 60 of them going to be made. When you join that exclusive club you get that crazy rear wing.
If you missed out on one of the four being sold in Australia, fear not, for $20,000 less or there about you can get the “GT 430 Sport” which goes faster, but doesn’t have the crazy aero on the wheel arches, rear wing and front splitter.
This thing goes like the clappers, 0-100 in just under 4, and boy oh boy does it stick to the road. Driving down the Old Highway at Berowra at 80kph and trust me, even on the twisty bits I felt comfortable there was more.
The cabin fit out would cop a hammering from the kind of people who bag Tesla for their panel gaps because it doesn’t feel like a car with 70 years of heritage. On the road, it does. And thats ok with me. You buy a Lotus to have a car that handles and drives well, not because of the breed of cow from which the dashboard was made.
It doesn’t have a stereo, the Alpine unit fitted to this vehicle is after market, but again – who cares, it works. Taking phone calls is a punish because of the cabin noise – but hang up on them, enjoy the drive.
Would I buy one – every day of the week. As my track car. Owning a car like this is a complete and utter waste if you don’t get out and give it a proper fang on a race track regularly. It’s raw, direct and brutal in it’s handling that makes it perfect for the track.
Also, surprisingly comfortable on the road as you drive to the track.
Trev is a Technology Commentator, Dad, Speaker and Rev Head.
He produces and hosts two popular podcasts, EFTM and Two Blokes Talking Tech. He also appears on over 50 radio stations across Australia weekly, and is the resident Tech Expert on Channel 9’s Today Show each day and appears regularly on A Current Affair.
Father of three, he is often found down in his Man Cave.