Lotus and Mansory create beefed-up Evora

Lotus was one of the headline makers at the Paris motor show, where it unveiled no less than five new concepts, and the British sportscar maker again plans to make a splash at the upcoming Geneva show.

It'll be a much smaller splash this time around though, with the centrepiece being a tweaked version of the four-seater Evora.

The show car was conceived in partnership with Swiss customiser Mansory, which in the past has created outlandish (and seldom tasteful) versions of everything from the Rolls-Royce Ghost to the Bugatti Veyron.

Lotus is at pains to point out that the Mansory Evora is not a facelift, but rather a taste of the future of Lotus product customisation.

In the words of the company, it's "merely the first toe in the water and a showcase of the potential future."

We have to admit the Mansory-tweaked Evora is a far more convincing and well resolved offering than the customiser's past creations, and it's a distinct improvement on the somewhat dainty looking stocker.

The Swiss concern has gone to town with carbonfibre body addenda, and the lightweight material is used for the roof, front splitter and air intakes, rear diffuser, engine cover, mirror housings and fixed rear spoiler.

The extreme makeover gives the Evora a much more aggressive and purposeful stance, aided by the blacked-out alloys and centrally mounted exhaust pipes.

However, what's not yet known is whether the cosmetic upgrades are complemented by any mods to the 3.5-litre V6 or suspension.

Although Lotus says this car is not an Evora facelift, UK magazine Autocar is speculating that some of its design elements may feature in the updated version of the model (when it eventually arrives).

The publication quoted Lotus design boss Donato Coco as saying the existing Evora's design is "too weak" for a modern sports car.

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