Lotus presents Evora Enduro GT

Lotus has presented the Evora Enduro GT, a development of 2010’s Evora GT4 that has been comprehensively re-engineered to form a basis for future GT2/GTE homologated cars. Under the guidance of lead designer Nicola Scimeca, the new car has been built with an eye to endurance racing, and should prove its on-track abilities in coming months.

Team Lotus hope to campaign the car at three major European endurance races in 2011: June’s ADAC Nurburgring 24-hour, July’s Spa 24-hour and October’s Britcar (Silverstone) 24-hour.

Following these events, in early 2012, Team Lotus hopes to campaign the Evora Enduro in Dubai’s and Daytona’s season-opening 24-hour races. Outside of the factory campaign, the Evora Enduro will be offered as a privateer racer; predominantly for campaigning in these and other endurance events.

Beneath the bewinged and bolstered body, the Enduro packs a Cosworth tuned, transversely mounted 4-litre DOHC V6 derived from the road-going Evora. This produces 440bhp of power at 7000rpm and 460Nm of torque 1500rpm further down the rev-range.

Mated to this is an XTRAC 426 – a sequential 6-speed gearbox which uses a lever as standard, with pneumatically-actuated paddles available as an option.

The Lotus Evora Enduro GT Concept runs on 18 inch alloy wheels, hiding a race-orientated braking system offering dual-piece aluminium belled brake discs, 22mm brake pads, six piston callipers for the front wheels and four piston callipers for the rear.

A rigorous stripping of the interior, combined with a glasshouse remade in polycarbonate and doors, wheelarch liners & the car’s roof remade in low-weight GRP, Lotus has dropped the Enduro’s kerb weight to 1160kg – ensuring a power-to-weight ration of nearly 380bhp/ton.

Despite such an extensive weight-saving regime, the Evora Enduro retains electrically-adjustable mirrors and power-assisted steering, with an FIA-approved passenger seat on the options list.

The Enduro is still; however, a clear thoroughbred as it gains a four-point air-jack system, a quick-break fuel filler and a comprehensive aerodynamic makeover – consisting of a front splitter, a diffuser and a rear wing.

There’s no word yet from Lotus on the Evora Enduro’s pricing, although we do know that the standard paint-scheme won’t be the F1-inspired livery displayed at Geneva,