Lotus Evora pays homage to Bond’s amphibious Esprit

LOTUS has revealed a special Evora Sport 410 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the iconic Esprit from the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, complete with throwback interior and bespoke styling, but sadly, the one-off car will only operate on land.

Based on the Evora Sport 410 sportscar, only one car will be made as a homage to the submersible Esprit which debuted in the film in 1977 and saw the titular Bond escape the clutches of the villainous henchman Jaws.

Taking its styling cues from the film’s featured vehicle, the British brand’s bespoke Lotus Exclusive division has tweaked the front fascia with a colour-coded bumper, while sections of the rear carbon-fibre tailgate are body colour-matched to give the illusion of a liftback.

A black stripe also adorns the vehicle’s beltline, as well as Evora badging on the B-pillars to match the Esprit’s styling flourishes.

Also referencing the classic car are new interior inserts, featuring tartan patterning along the door trims and seats, as well as more modern conveniences including red-stitched Alcantara dashboard and carbon-fibre sports seats.

Underneath though, the special edition Evora is all 21st century.

A mid-mounted supercharged 3.5-litre V6 develops peak 306kW of power at 7000rpm and maximum 420Nm of torque at 3500rpm, enabling zero to 100km/h sprint times of just 4.1 seconds.

Lightweight carbon-fibre adorns nearly every panel of the sportscar, including the front splitter, roof, rear diffuser and rear quarters, keeping weight down to a mere 1280kg.

With the lower kerb weight and centre of gravity, Lotus engineers have also tweaked the dampers and lowered the ride height in a bid to boost body control.

Lotus Group CEO Jean-Marc Gales said the special Evora is a faultless marriage of the latest car technologies and the styling of the iconic Esprit.

“So many of us recall the impact of the Lotus Esprit when it hit the big screen in The Spy Who Loved Me, and we wanted to honour that with a special Evora Sport 410,” he said.

“It’s the perfect tribute to such an influential Lotus, but a world away in terms of its abilities and performance.”