The original Lotus Esprit S1 as seen in the Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. On this occasion, Lotus has decided to honour its most famous ancestors, the Lotus Esprit S1 with the creation of a one-off Evora Sport 410.
This one-off Evora Sport 410, commissioned by a customer through the Lotus Exclusive program, features many unique design touches. A special, colour-coded bumper modifies the car’s front end, while the one-piece carbon-fibre tailgate is part keyed white to give the illusion of a traditional liftback. In addition to a black coach line, delineating the car’s waist, it sports a unique badge script on the B pillar – in the style of the original Esprit’s graphics.
Nods to the Lotus Esprit S1 from The Spy Who Loved Me continue inside, with the insert panels of the carbon-fibre sports seats and door cards trimmed in the popular heritage Tartan, while red contrast stitching complements the Alcantara dashboard and console finish.
Mechanically, this one-off Evora Sport 410 is effectively unchanged from the standard model. It is powered by the same 3.5-litre 6-cylinder engine, producing a total output of 410 hp at 7000 rpm and 420 Nm of torque at 3500 rpm. All that power is channeled to the wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox, allowing the car to propel from 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds. Unfortunately though, being a standard 410, it does not have the ability to travel underwater.
The Evora Sport 410 feature highly advanced aerodynamics, which deliver up to 64 kg of downforce. The use of hand-made carbon fibre components has been key in keeping mass to a minimum, with each specifically designed to enhance the car’s performance. Covering the car from nose to tail, they include front splitter, revised front access panel, roof section, tailgate, rear quarter panels, as well as the rear diffuser.
These lightweight carbon components not only reduce the kerb weight of the Evora Sport 410 to 1,280kg but also help lower the centre of gravity, allowing for the recalibration of the suspension which, along with re-valved dampers and a reduced ride height, provide better body and roll control – but not at the expense of comfort and composure.
Jean-Marc Gales, CEO, Group Lotus plc said, “So many of us recall the impact of the Lotus Esprit when it hit the big screen in The Spy Who Loved Me, and we wanted to honour that with a special Evora Sport 410. It’s the perfect tribute to such an influential Lotus, but a world away in terms of its abilities and performance. Supremely fast and agile, rivals’ cars look overweight and underpowered in comparison. Lotus was founded on the principle of lightweight engineering and, even today, nobody does it better.”
