BASE METAL
A YEAR OR TWO AGO IN THESE VERY PAGES, OUR learned colleague Richard Meaden mused on the subject of automotive monogamy: the idea of finding that one car you’d happily keep forever, rather than constantly flitting to the next fresh young thing that catches your eye. Ask the average reader of this magazine to make such a choice and, with a generous budget, the Porsche 911 would probably feature on quite a few lists. It has the perfect confluence of characteristics you’d want to combine if never allowed another vehicle – performance, attractive styling, a desirable badge, driver involvement, and enough practicality to cover most eventualities.
Whatever the latest 992 might have lost to the 991 in some of those areas, it’s undoubtedly gained in others. I’d defy most people to spend a week in a 992 and not come away wishing there was one in their future. Other cars might feature, of course – the Alpine A110, BMW M3s, perhaps Porsche’s own Cayman – but the 992 would be a fine choice.
Lotus has always been there or thereabouts though, with Elites, Esprits and, for the last decade, the Evora. With the same cylinder count and tiny rear seats it’s clearly in the 911 ballpark, not least with its £82,900 price tag, exactly £105 more expensive than the most optionshy 992 Carrera you can possibly order.
The GT410 and basic Carrera, then, are the point at which Evora
