In a move that would have impressed Harry Houdini, Lotus has made one thousand pounds of vehicle mass seemingly disappear – yet we still know it's there. We're high in the mountains above San Diego, challenging corners in the 2010 Lotus Evora, and the larger and more luxurious two-plus-two is emulating the moves of its lightweight race-ready Elise and Exige siblings.
What gives the Evora its supernatural powers? How does the all-new Evora fit into the Lotus lineup? And, most importantly, is this the first Lotus you can park in your garage without having to explain it to the neighbors? Find out after the jump.
Lotus has become synonymous with lightweight, no-frills sports cars thanks to its ass-kicking Elise roadster and Exige coupe – arguably two of the world's best driver's cars. Yet, despite their impressiveness on the track, the Elise and Exige are about as practical as a gutted Spec Miata when it comes to daily drivers.
In an effort to put more sophistication on the menu, and capture a larger market share, Lotus has rolled out its first all-new car in 15 years. Like the Elise and Exige, the Evora is a lightweight, aluminum-chassis, mid-engine sports car that puts a premium on driving dynamics. But unlike its smaller, harder siblings, the Evora offers more interior space, a host of luxury amenities, two-plus-two seating and a six-cylinder powerplant.
The chassis of the Evora is manufactured by Lotus Lightweight Structures Limited in Worcester, United Kingdom, as three main components. The main chassis – an extruded and bonded aluminum safety monocoque tub – is where the passengers and fuel tank reside. In front of that is an all-aluminum subframe containing the front suspension, cooling system and steering rack (it's bolted to the main chassis for easy repair). The rear subframe is galvanized steel and contains the rear suspension, engine and gearbox (likewise bolted to the back of main chassis). The whole assembly weighs just over 440 pounds and is more than twice as stiff as the chassis in the Elise, says Lotus. All body panels are composite, either bolted or bonded to the chassis depending on location. The curb weight comes in around 3,000 pounds with 39 percent of the mass over the front wheels and the other 61 percent hovering over the rear, nearly mirroring the weight distribution of the unflappable Elise and Exige. And just like the Elise/Exige twins, the Evora is packing a Japanese-sourced powerplant mounted amidships.
You can go anywhere, just take a look, it's in a book. From the African jungles in Michael Crichton’s Congo to the farmlands of China in Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth to right at home with the magazine Martha Stewart Living, books expand horizons. We’ve all heard since shows like Wishbone and Reading Rainbow that books have the power to take us anywhere. One library, so many possibilities.
eBook readers take it one step further. One device holds about a library and gives you as many of your favorite book titles at your fingertips as you could ever really want. Plus, they make it easy to take notes, save clippings of quotations and highlight passages we want to be able to find again. They’re convenient, portable and good for the environment. In fact, the only real downside we can see to an electronic book over a real paper book is that you’ll have a few more problems if you accidentally spill your coffee on it or get splashed at the pool.
Find out if an eBook reader is right for you, in this site we give you some of the reasons for switching to digital. Here at TopTenREVIEWS you’ll find reviews and comparisons of the best eBook readers out there some of the content that can be available. Because, at TopTenREVIEWS, we do the research so you don’t have to.™
What to Look for in an eBook Reader
Most people only know Kindle. But there is a variety of eBook readers available, some with other features that may be more attractive than the Kindle. Here are the factors we considered to effectively compare these electronic books.
* Features: From touchscreens to LED backlights to the Read to Me feature on the Kindle 2, there are a lot of features that will help your eBook reader disappear so it’s just you and the text. Features like the touchscreen, screen size and type and the wireless capabilities were given more weight.
* Content: Some of the eBook readers have hundreds of thousands of titles available from a dedicated service while others can support a few files found on the internet. We rated the number of content available for the device and how many different types of book files each device can support.
* Value: We rated the price over the features set. Does the price really reflect the number of important features you are getting?
* Tech Support: With every electronic device there is a potential for problems, or you may really spill your coffee on it. Before you purchase an eBook reader, know what kind of support you can expect.
The best eBook readers will have a good combination of each of these and will disappear as you read, just like a normal book would.