Lotus Evora 400 Roadster planned

This Autocar image shows how the open-top Lotus Evora 400 could look

Roadster version of the hottest Evora in the works, with 400bhp and a chassis as stiff as the coupé’s

A roadster version of the Lotus Evora 400 will be launched, boss Jean-Marc Gales has revealed, and is likely to account for more than half of the company’s sales in America.

The new model will follow the introduction of the 400bhp V6-powered Evora 400 coupé, which is set to go into production in August.

“We are working on it now,” said Gales at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Gales said the Evora 400 would lose no structural rigidity when converted from a coupé to a convertible, due to the design of its extruded and bonded aluminium tub chassis.

“It’s a quicker build,” the Lotus boss said. "The chassis is a tub, so there’s no impact with the roof off.”

The roof of the Evora roadster will be made up of two removable panels weighing 3kg each. The panels can be stored on board behind the front seats.

Gales says the body’s torsional stiffness of 27,000Nm/degree and weight of 1395kg won’t be compromised by the change, because the roof of the coupé doesn’t currently add rigidity.

“It’s so simple it makes you wonder why it wasn’t done six years ago,” said Gales, referring to the launch of the original Evora.

Gales, who has driven the model during its development, said the Evora roadster is crucial for the firm in the US in particular, where half of all sports cars in the Evora segment are open-top. Lotus believes the roadster will follow this trend and account for more than 50% of Evora sales in the US. Gales expects sales to number between 500 and 700 cars a year, following the Evora’s US debut next January as a 2017 model year car.

Lotus has the capacity to build 32 Evoras a week, a level that Gales says Lotus will run at until at least March 2016 in order to build Evoras already ordered by dealers and customers and which the roadster will help to sustain after that.

The Evora roadster is otherwise expected to match the spec of the Evora 400 coupé, including its supercharged 3.5-litre V6.

New versions of the Elise and Exige are also in the works, said Gales. “The next Exige and Elise will be faster and lighter,” he said of the formula that will be true of all future Lotuses under his reign. Cars will also be more practical for everyday use.

Gales said the firm is on track to sell 3000 cars this year, up from just over 2000 last year and around 1200 in 2013. The increase in sales is in part down to an expanded dealer network. Lotus has 50 more dealers now than it did at this time last year, with another 20 planned this year.

On Lotus’s finances, Gales said: “We will be cashflow-profitable in this financial year and profitable in the financial year beginning 1 April 2016 for the first time in 60 years.”

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