Auto News 5

Those of you who read our magazine religiously might recall the time columnist Ezra Dyer raced - and beat - a FedEx truck from New York City to Miami. In a Bentley Continental GTC. It was, he concluded, "a car that fell out of the awesome tree and hit every branch on the way down." It appears the awesome tree has since grown a few more branches: meet the Bentley Continental GTC Speed.

The Lotus Elise and fixed-roof Exige define sports car purity, but with the recently unveiled new Evora, due here late this year, Lotus will live a bit larger. The Evora retains the brand's trademark aluminum tub structure and mid-engine layout, but the former is stretched to squeeze in an (optional) pair of kid-sized rear seats while the latter switches from four- to six-cylinder Toyota power. Adapted from the Camry, the 3.5-liter V-6 puts out 276 hp and 252 lb-ft of torque, enough to zip the luxe Lotus from 0 to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds (the company claims) on the way to a top speed of 160 mph. This despite the Evora's 2976 pounds, a full 50 percent more than the featherweight Elise. Of course, the Elise, with its bare-aluminum interior, makes zero concessions to comfort, whereas the Evora promises to be a veritable Maybach by comparison. It sports such unimaginable luxuries as navigation, an optional paddleshift automatic transmission, power steering, and - gasp! - cupholders. Not only that, but Lotus promises that entering and exiting the Evora will be "a less athletic undertaking," thanks to narrower sills, wider-opening doors, and a taller roof, all of which perhaps explains the brand's sudden embrace by the Hollywood glitterati, who have signed up for early test drives. Either that, or they think it's a hybrid.