Lotus Evora GT430 is the most powerful production Lotus ever

Following the successful introduction of the Lotus Evora 400 and Evora Sport 410 to global markets, Lotus has unveiled its most powerful road-going model ever – the Evora GT430.

The flagship is powered by the same 3.5-litre V6 supercharged engine sourced from Toyota, but tweaked to produce 430hp (320kW), 24hp or 19kW more than the standard Evora.

Like Lotus’ other offerings, the Evora GT430 is underpinned by the company’s renown lightweight engineering, weighing in at a new benchmark weight of just 1,258 kg. The combination of high power output and light weight allows the GT430 to dispatch 0 to 100km/h in just 3.7 seconds, en route to a top speed of 305 km/h.

There is heavy focus on aerodynamics, evident by large front apertures, carbon fibre splitter, air blades and louvers positioned on top of each front wheel arch. At the rear, aero ducts behind each wheel reduce pressure in the wheel arch, and a large rear diffuser provides a sharp visual finish. Both are crowned by the large, profiled carbon wing. The aero panels on the GT430 is claimed to generate up to 250kg of downforce.

Damping is provided by Lotus-tuned, Öhlins TTX two-way adjustable units, with 20 click-adjustment compression and rebound settings and saving 10kg in mass compared to the Evora Sport 410 set-up. New, ultra-lightweight, low-sideload Eibach springs provide an increase in spring rate and the car’s handling is improved further through the use of front and rear anti-roll bars.

As standard, the Evora GT430 also features a titanium exhaust, cutting 10 kg from beyond the car’s rear axle and further amplifying the car’s aural presence.

Also fitted as standard, the Evora GT430’s six-speed manual gearbox features a low-inertia, single-mass flywheel, to help ensure swift changes, while a Torsen-type limited slip differential (LSD) is designed to give better traction, and faster exit speeds, when cornering.

To harness the increased downforce and power, mechanical grip is provided by 10 mm wider Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres, with 245/35 R19 at the front and 295/30 R20 at the rear, on one inch wider 10.5J rear wheels. Ultra-lightweight forged aluminium wheels are standard, in either black or silver, with optional finishes available in gloss red or a gloss black machined rim design.

The Evora GT430 uses two-piece J-grooved and ventilated brake discs at the front, paired with AP Racing four-piston calipers all round, while the rear uses three-piece discs with lightweight aluminium centres saving 2 kg.

A range of driving modes can be selected, this includes ‘Drive‘, ‘Sport’, ‘Race’ and ‘Off’ settings. New to the Evora GT430 is the variable traction control function, linked directly to the ECU, which allows the amount of wheel slip to be set by the driver whilst in ‘Race / Off’ setting, with five pre-set traction levels (1%, 3%, 6%, 9%, 12% slip) and ‘Off’ displayed via the instrument cluster.

Like the exterior, the GT430’s interior is carbon-fibre intensive, with carbon race seats, new carbon door sills and a new lightweight carbon instrument binnacle cover with a new design of graphic on the instrument panel.

Newly-designed carbon-backed Sparco seats with a unique trim design can also be ordered, whilst customers looking for a more race focused cabin can specify an optional driver and passenger four-point harnesses and titanium rear frame.

The steering wheel, dashboard, door panels, transmission tunnel and centre console are all trimmed in a combination of black Alcantara and perforated leather, with a full leather or full Alcantara trim option available at no additional cost. All trim choices are complemented by contrast twin colour stitching, in red and white, and matt black interior panels.

An integrated touch-screen infotainment system can be specified, including iPod connectivity and Bluetooth functionality, satellite navigation and reversing camera.

The Lotus Evora GT430 is limited to just 60 editions worldwide and is available for order now.