Five reasons why you should buy a Lotus not a Porsche

We love the Lotus Evora GT430. It’s a berserk, full-on sports car that wants nothing more than to be driven like, as the saying goes, you stole it.

But the reality is, unless Aussies change tack it’s destined to be a bit player in the local $200,000-plus sports coupe market.

That segment is dominated by the Porsche 911, which is a pretty darn decent drive itself. But, we reckon there are five reasons (at least) you could easily convince yourself to buy the Lotus rather than the Porsche.

Rarity

The Evora is much rarer than the 911. In fact, only four Lotus Evora GT430s have been sent to Australia. That means you won’t see another one on your street too often, if ever. There’s another version, the GT430 Sport, which is more readily available but still a lot rarer than a 911.

Focus

The Evora is more focussed than the standard 911. It’s more in 911 GT3 territory and much cheaper.

There’s no distractions from driving in the GT430, not even a radio. That’s a good thing, because the Evora is a great drive.

Okay, softy, you can option a media unit but it’s gonna cost you $5499. Clearly, that pricing has been inspired by Porsche, which is still the King when it comes to gouging buyers for stuff that should be standard.

Looks

It looks horn – admittedly, so does a 911. The basic shape is sharp and sexy and that big wing, all those carbon-fibre bits (including the front splitter) just add to the potency of the package.

All that stuff not only looks good it’s also good for you… When you’re fanging on a racetrack that is.

You can’t go wrong with up to 250kg of downforce. Well, actually, you can go very wrong but let’s not go there…

Noise and names

The sounds the Lotus Evora GT430 emits from its titanium exhaust is incredible. It howls like a crazed giant gorilla doped up on coke (sugary soft drinks, they’re bad for ya!). Not even a 911 does that.

And just for shock value, when people admire the sound you can casually tell them the engine is based on the same V6 that’s in the Toyota Aurion and Camry! Except it sits behind you, is supercharged, makes 306kW and accelerates from 0-100km/h in 3.8sec.

If Toyota isn’t a name that impresses then tell them the GT430 is fitted with adjustable (by hand – how retro chic!) Ohlins TTX shocks, Eibach springs, AP Racing brakes and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber. Serious gear for a serious car.

Percentages

The Evora has the coolest traction control system on earth. It adjusts through six positons with the choice of five pre-set traction levels (1 per cent, 3 per cent, 6 per cent, 9 per cent, 12 per cent slip) and ‘off’.

It’s all displayed proudly in the instrument cluster too. The 911’s grip levels can be tuned as well, but not as specifically or as obviously as this.