Lotus Evora S Spied Before Paris Show

The Lotus Evora, the first truly new Lotus since the Elise in the mid-ninties, has been universally praised by the press. Balanced, almost supernatural handling, a smooth ride, and the kind of luxury and refinement that has never before been seen in a Lotus vehicle make it worth the crazy $70k+ asking price.  The only drawback?  Although it's not underpowered by any definition, the 3.5L 24v V6 sourced from the Toyota Camry isn't the most exciting or characterful motor on the planet.  Lotus is aiming to fix this problem with the upcoming Evora S, which was recently spied testing near the Nurburgring in Germany.

If the rumor mill is to believed (and these days, it's usually more right than wrong), the Evora S will gain additional oomph and screeee! from a belt-driven supercharger strapped to the top of it's V6 powerplant.  Output is expected to jump to the 350-horsepower range, which is actually a fairly mild gain over the standard Evora's 286 horsepower.  Considering the regular Evora already accomplishes the naught-to-sixty run in under 5 seconds, 70-odd horsepower and a fistful more torque should allow the Evora S to punch well above it's weight like most Lotus vehicles.

As far as visual differentiation, it seems to be limited to an angrier-looking rear diffuser and some larger wheels.  It's not like you need to pimp it out; the Evora is already gorgeous as it stands.  A whole lot of slats and spoilers would do more to ruin it than improve it.

Expect the full public debut of the supercharged Evora S at the Paris Auto Show next month, along with a (snore) Evora Automatic.  Rumor has it that the long-awaited replacement for the Esprit will bow at the show as well, proving that Lotus has been very busy indeed.  Stay tuned for more info.

Photo credits: www.autoblog.com via CarPix.