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Lotus hands Pastor Maldonado a new Evora S in Monaco

Sat, 31 May 2014


Being a Formula One driver has its privileges. First off, you get to drive F1 cars for a living. You get treated like royalty and fly around the world. And if you're lucky, you might get a supercar thrown at you once in a while. It all depends on which team you drive for.

Fernando Alonso, for example, has had countless Ferraris, Maseratis, Abarths and Jeeps thrown his way. Lewis Hamilton was a little disappointed not to get the keys to that rare McLaren F1 LM when he won the championship. But Pastor Maldonado just got his hands on a new Lotus Evora S.

Pastor who now, you ask? Pastor Maldonado. The first Venezuelan driver in F1, Maldonado won the GP2 title in 2010 then made the jump to F1, driving for Williams for the past three seasons, impressively winning the Spanish Grand Prix in 2012. Now he's at Lotus filling Kimi Raikkonen's seat, and took delivery of his white Evora – complete with 3.5-liter supercharged V6 and six-speed sequential gearbox – in Monte Carlo last weekend during the Monaco Grand Prix.

It might not be quite as fast as his Lotus-Renault E22, but considering that Maldonado has yet to score a single championship point this season – in fact he's failed to make it to the finish line as many times as he has in 2014 – maybe the Evora will prove a more reliable performer for him.

Taking Hairpins and Turning Heads: Maldonado takes the prize in Monaco
Tuesday, May 27, 2014 - 10:00


Despite a disappointing race weekend, Lotus F1® Team driver Pastor Maldonado takes the Lotus prize with a brand new Lotus Evora S

In a weekend that did not pan out exactly as Lotus F1® Team Driver Pastor Maldonado had hoped, he still remained the envy of his friends when during the recent glittering Monaco Grand Prix, Pastor was presented with his brand new Lotus Evora S.

The supercharged 3.5ltr V6 powerhouse looked resplendent in Aspen White, its muscular lines drawing smiles of appreciation from local bystanders. With a top speed of 269km/h, and a grin-inducing acceleration of 0-100km/h in 4.7 seconds, this was a natural choice of road car for the racing driver.

Equipped with a 6-speed IPS (Intelligent Precision Shift) gearbox, Maldonado can be assured of an intuitive response from the car whilst the opportunity to use the paddle shift controls enables the Lotus F1® driver to feel right at home behind the steering wheel. The sport pack option on the car offers the choice to raise the rev limit and change the dynamic stability control settings for a further heightened experience. It's an emotionally evocative car, it even sounds dramatic - thanks to the active exhaust system, which delivers an earthy growl at the push of a button.

Recently appointed Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales said: "It is our pleasure to present the Evora S to Pastor Maldonado, our newest Lotus F1® Team driver and ambassador. I am sure he will enjoy this car as much as the Evora S customers do around the world. I would also like to take this opportunity to wish the best of luck to the Lotus F1® Team for their up and coming race in Canada. The whole of the Lotus community will be watching in support."

Pastor, who jumped in the car getting immediately acquainted with the vehicle was thrilled with his new Lotus "I would like to thank Lotus CEO Jean-Marc and everyone at the Lotus factory for the opportunity of driving this great car. I'm excited to take the famous Monaco hairpins in this. It looks like pure fun on four wheels"

The multi-award winning Lotus Evora is regarded by many as one of the finest handling cars in the world. Maldonado now joins fellow team mate Romain Grosjean who took delivery of an Exige S coupé last summer.

By Noah Joseph


See also: Lotus settles with ex-CEO Dany Bahar, avoids London High Court, Lotus team out of Le Mans, full driver list published, Race Recap: 2014 Spanish Grand Prix is boom and bust [spoilers].