The Lotus Evora 400 will spawn a convertible version

Lotus is making good progress towards the goals set by its current boss, Jean-Marc Gales. Although more conservative than his controversial predecessor, Dany Bahar, his plan has strung together positive commercial and financial news since autumn 2014, although it first required cutting the workforce from 1,200 to 900 employees.

The first car to emerge from this new direction is the Evora 400, the fastest production model in the Hethel-based brand’s history, presented in March at the Geneva Motor Show. In a few months, the sports car range will be strengthened by the long-awaited convertible bodywork, which will inherit the technical features of the latest update, as Gales confirmed at Goodwood to the English magazine Autocar.

The versatility of its tubular aluminium chassis will allow a quick conversion and, more importantly, will retain the high structural rigidity of the closed bodywork. Nor is any change in performance or handling of the Evora expected. The convertible roof will consist of two panels weighing three kilograms each. Both can be removed and stored in a compartment behind the seats.

This bodywork, which has been speculated about for almost five years, represents a fundamental addition to the new attempt at expansion by Lotus into North America. Convertible versions of this type of sports car account for almost half of the market there, and for the British manufacturer the time has come to finally give the Evora its roof-off version.

This model and the upcoming updates of the Elise and Exige, “lighter and faster” in Gales’s words, as well as more practical, will seek to boost sales towards the 3,500 vehicles per year that the head of Lotus aims for within three years. For now, the British company registered 2,000 units in 2014, 800 more than the previous year.

Via | Autocar