Upcoming 75th annual Melbourne Motor Show 2009

Whereas other shows have cancelled or scaled down for 2009, Melbourne Motor Show will fill the Melbourne Exhibition Centre as it has each year since the Centre opened in 1996. Motor Show director Russ Tyrie said exhibitor bookings for 2009 reflected the desire of many major brands to showcase their cars at a major metropolitan motor show. Heading the list of high performance and top end luxury marques are Porsche, Lamborghini, Lotus and Bentley. Prestige European brands include Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Renault, Skoda and a strong German contingent comprising Audi, BMW and Volkswagen. Ford, Holden and Toyota represent the local industry, while the ever growing contingent of Asian brands includes, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu Ute, Kia, Lexus, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and Suzuki.

One of the show cars set to be warmly greeted is the new Evora from Lotus Cars Australia. Expected to go on sale in Australia in the third quarter of 2009, Evora has generated extensive interest - and orders - since its first showing at the British International Motor Show last July. The mid-engined 2+2 sports car is the first star car confirmed for the 2009 Motor Show, and is designed to deliver 21st century performance with practicality and economy. It will complement the existing four model Lotus range of Elise, Exige, Europa and 2-Eleven, and embodies the traditional Lotus combination of light weight and high performance. Evora is powered by a Lotus-tuned all alloy 3.5-litre V6, with variable valve timing on both the intake and exhaust cams.

Lotus has designed the Evora to be as much a luxury coupe as a high performance sports car. Its 2+2 seating configuration includes child seat capability in the back, and the practicality carries through to a 160-litre boot to accommodate a full set of golf clubs. Option packs offer such features as cruise control and parking sensors, top-end stereo and multi media systems, satellite navigation, reversing camera and active noise cancellation, switchable suspension and upgraded brakes. Since Lotus opened the Evora order books, it has attracted orders from television, music and movie stars - including two James Bonds - and even the Mayor of London.