Faster versions followed, including the S, the 400, the Sport 410, a GT410 Sport and a GT430, the last with a top speed just shy of the 200mph mark.
When it was refreshed in 2012, the cabin gained the Premium Pack as standard, improved door locks, better sound deadening and a new infotainment system.
Standard Evoras also gained the S’s thicker rear anti-roll bar, stiffer wishbone bushes and a more compelling exhaust note.
But, look, a Lotus – any Lotus – is about more than just comfort, straight-line speed and sound. It’s about handling finesse, and here the Evora excelled.
It’s one of those rare and wonderful cars that is happy to corner in whichever way its driver wants it to.
Double-wishbone suspension, Eibach springs and Bilstein dampers, brake parts by AP Racing and standard-fit Pirelli P Zeros (18in items at the front, 19s at the rear) make sure of that.
The steering has a lovely linear feel with perfect weighting, not an ounce too heavy and not too light. Without excess provocation, the Evora will grip soundly until its front wheels start to slip.
It can be provoked into a predictable, wonderfully forgiving slide. (There’s an electronic lock for the open differential.)
Switching out the traction control’s intervention completely is the point from where the Evora’s chassis really shows its mettle. In our eyes, no other production car of the time handled as well as an Evora once beyond its limits.
It rode well too, at least in its original form. In faster driving, the Evora maintains a supple ride across crests and bumps, with high levels of body control.
Only the loose, vague gearshift of the early cars lets it down, but no serious reliability issues have raised their head. The engines are still doing a shift, as is the Eaton supercharger on S models.
The Toyota-derived six-speed IPS (Intelligent Precision Shift) automatic transmission arrived in 2010. Although it exacts slight penalties on performance and efficiency, it is more reliable than the trouble-prone manual, with its slack cables.
