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We were invited to see a private unveiling of the new Lotus Evora at Norm Baker. I noticed there weren’t many Lotus club members at the event, so I suspect they had their own, “Lotus only” showing. And rightly so.

The dealership provided live entertainment and great food. During the unveiling speech I learned that the car will go on sale at the end of 2009 as a 2010 model. I was disappointed to hear the wait would be so long.

The Evora is a great looking car. Although the car looks a little “standard”, it is nice that Lotus will now be more than a one-note company. Obviously larger than their current models, it is easier to get in and out of. This is in line with their goal of increased day-to-day usability. But don’t be fooled, it will still be one of the smaller cars on the road. It will be available as a 2+2, but the company points out the back seats will only be suitable for children. Personally, I don’t care if a car has a back seet at all…I normally crack my standard joke here: “Back seat? That is where the engine goes!”

The car is similar to other modern Lotus models in that it sticks to being mid-engine and lightweight. Power continues to come from Toyota in the form of a 3.5-liter V-6 with variable valve timing. The motor produces 276 horsepower and 252 lb-ft of torque, with a claimed 0-to-60 in less than five seconds. Top speed is 160 mph. While quick around the track, the Evora is set up to have a more compliant ride in order to appeal to a wider market. Price should start around $75,000.

I can’t wait until they go on sale. I am sure a Lotus club aquantance will buy one, then all I have to do is con a car swap up to Mt. Charleston.

You may need to wait for the new Lotus, but you don’t have to wait for the new Rever shirts! Click here to find cool car t-shirts.

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A few of us spent some time at Barrett Jackson on Saturday. It wasn’t as fun as I expected. There were three areas to see the cars: the staging area, auction stage and “salon,” where cars went after going across the stage. The salon also held all the vendors including our friends at Lamborghini of Las Vegas.

The three areas were too spread out, requiring too much walking. I heard they will fix that next year with a new arrangement. I was also surprised at the size of the crowd. It was small. There seemed to be a lot of buyers (good for the show), but not many spectators. I suppose the upside to that was the ease of getting a decent seat.

My friend and I were at the show primarily to see Tom Tjaarda action off his personal Pantera. Unfortunately, it wasn’t really a personal car with history, it was simply a car he recently purchased, cleaned up, and added some “updates” to. The updates were new bumpers, tail lights and side markers. I certainly don’t begrudge him for flipping a car. If anyone should make some money from the Pantera brand it should be Mr. Tjaarda. I was surprised to see it cross the block for $100,000. Always good to see a Pantera fetch a good price.

I was told that numbers were way down, and many cars were selling under expectations despite BJ claiming that they proved the doom-and-gloom crowd wrong.

I did learn something at the show: when I am surrounded by hundreds of perfect cars, it is hard for anything to stand out. When everything is special, nothing is special. Once I got home, I was surprised at how few pictures I took. It doesn’t help that I like exotics, something always in short supply at Barrett Jackson.

If you love classic cars, you will love our car t-shirts.

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One of the Rally In The Valley sponsors was Lamborghini of Las Vegas. Chris and I stopped there for longer than most to visit friends, and see if there was anything new worth seeing.

They didn’t really have anything new EXCEPT the flat black and white Lamborghini Gallardos. They looked amazing. It is factory paint and while I forget the exact amount for the upgrade, I do remember that it is tens of thousands. If you are one of those people that think there are just too many Gallardos out there, this is your chance to have one that is unique. Too bad they aren’t the new LP560.

I also shot more pics of the Ferrari F40 (you will see it a few times on my Flickr page)…because I just can’t resist. With the price of exotics dipping, this might be the time to buy the supercars!

They also had a Ford GT in the showroom. I don’t like pictures of it in red, but it looked nice in person. I suppose I would like to have one in any color.

Can’t afford the F40? You can slill look good in one or our Rever Clothing car t-shirts!

It has been a while since I went to visit Nick (ask for him if you are buying a car) at Lamborghini of Las Vegas. I was too busy to go to the official Gallardo LP560 event, so I was anxious to see it in the showroom.

The LP560 is beautiful. As its name implies, the new 5.2-liter V10 puts down 560hp. And it does it with better fuel efficiency (17mpg) and a reduction in CO2 emissions. In addition to the additional power, it has new suspension bits, full-time four-wheel-drive, and greatly improved styling. The new front bumper comes to a point in the center of the car, like the Reventon (see pics elsewhere in the blog), and larger intakes help engine cooling and look aggressive. I think the new headlights are the best feature. The new rear end treatment cleans things up, and makes the car look wider, and lower.

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Our guy at Lamborghini Las Vegas called to say the Reventon had arrived. We wanted to see it before it was prepped and sent out to the buyer. The only camera I had was the iPhone, but I did what I could. Above are a few decent pics.

I’m sure there are official photos on the interweb, but you can never have too many photos of a car so rare. You may never see one of these cars. Anywhere. Ever.

The car seemed ugly online and in print. But the car is completely different on the showroom floor. It is huge (which I should have expected as it is a Murci underneath that Batmobile shell) and intimidating. The paint is beautiful, and all the elements that appeared over-designed in photos felt right in person. Make sure you see this car if you get the chance. You won’t be disappointed, even if you didn’t like what you saw in the magazines.