My mind says 911, my heart says Evora and my wife says neither.

With the Evora in Sport or Race mode, the exhaust button works backwards (ie. pressing it will shut the valve)

I have owned an Evora 400 and currently own a 911. The 911 is certainly more civilized for dinner dates and loaning to friends, but there is absolutely no question what I would take on a break-neck Sunday evening drive through country roads: the Evora.

Could you put together a series of films for the 911 similar to how you did for the M3 generations . That would be ace!😎

"weighing in at 93,000 pounds"

I own a 964, I have worked in Porsches legal department, I own Porsche stocks, the 911 has been my favourite sports car for as long as I can remember. But honestly? I think I'd take the Lotus Evora. Because it's just everything that used to make a 911 a great sports car. The 911 got soft. It's nowadays tainted by compromise for the sake of comfort and an easy, inviting attitude. It's become the casual's sports car. The Evora on the other hand remained pure and enthusiastic in character, which gives it an air of nobility that the 911 just doesn't have anymore.

Every single drive I take in my Evora puts a smile on my face - Lotus handling is just exceptional.

Evora 400 owner here. Pretty sure the exhaust valves were closed during your exhaust sound segments. Lotus being lotus, when you’re in normal mode, hitting the exhaust button opens the valves. However, in sport and race mode, the valves open automatically, so the function of the button reverses. In sport and race with the exhaust button on (illuminated) the valves will be closed and it’s in quiet mode. 90% sure that was the case in the video, as mine sounds far more raucous than yours did.

Couldn't help noticing Henry smiled a lot more in the Lotus.

As much as I love the 992, I must hand it to the Evora for holding its own against the Porsche. Not many cars can do that.

Rationally, the 911 should be the choice over the two. But which is the one you keep glancing back on, every time you walk away from it? To me, that would be the Lotus.

The 911 is just so good at everything. Extremely accomplished car imho

Both great cars with considerable overlap in performance but I'd opt for the Evora. When it comes to sports cars I value vehicle feedback both tactile and audible, over tech and comfort amenities. Plus, I love underdogs, dark horses and B sides...

You may feel that you're sat in something more special when you're sat inside looking at your gorgeous Porsche interior and switchgear but I can assure you when you're out driving you realise quite quickly how special your Evora really is as many stop, stare and point at your Evora.

Just fantastic work Henry. Wow. If I had to choose it would be the Lotus Evora without hesitation. Manual, power steering with feel, sound, everything. The 992 is a digital video game. Only letting you feel and know what it wants you to. It drives and you are along for the ride. Very much the opposite for the Evora. The Evora is a tool and can paint with the best of them depending on the artist. Bliss

I'd take the Lotus. More of a sports car while the 911 is more focused on being an all rounder.

The idea of direct feedback for each point is pure Genius! And Henry delivering top class as ever! Thx carfection!

Lotus Evora for me! Love this video, guys. It is super nice to see a direct comparison between my two 'realistic dream car'.

Lovely video, as always, Henry. I noticed that in each clip of you driving the Porsche, you had a bit of furrow in your brow with a certain sharpening of the eyes, as if trying to find words that would present the 992 well to the audience. I also noticed that in each clip of you driving the Evora, your eyes had a visible sparkle and your words had to form against the curl of an assertive smile. Telling.

I cross shopped the two (997 and Evora s sr) and bought the Evora. I think they are directly comparable and like me others will because we want the back seats for our kids.

As always, a great video!

I have test driven an Evora three times, had one for three days to live with ...it’s unbelievable car..massively underrated...easy to get into, great ride and comfort, great sound and road presence....I always go wow..I mean Wow...but here is the problem for Lotus..in this time period I have kept my 997.2 GTS and will always keep it..have owned a 991.1 4S and currently have a 991T ... I have just not been able to bring myself to spend £85K on a new Evora....and I am absolutely their target market.....however I have just sadly inherited from my Late Father some additional funds and I have driven a 2017 Evora 400 and can’t get a 992 until 2020 .....so maybe this Friday I will take the plunge

Yet another great vid ! Conclusions, as always, bang on.

Instant like! Always great videos

Porsche = Wife. Lotus = Mistress. 😉

A really good and balanced review. Full marks. I’d choose the Evora.

The Evora is awesome

Evora: The car I want to drive 911: The car I want to own.

Still a stickler for the pure Lotus, the only one in the market staying true to it´s principles.

IMO the Porsche makes a lot of sense as a brand new purchase over the Lotus, however once you start customsing you spec on the 911 the price gap between the 2 grows rapidly. As a second hand purchase the Evora makes way more sense than a 911. Firstly an Evora is far far cheaper to repair should something go wrong and Lotus are well known for holding their value due to rarity and desirability. I have owned both (not this gen 911) and currently own an Evora and i bought the Evora because i was bored of the Porsche, the Porsche is a fantastic all rounder but the Evora is better in the areas that matter for a sports car.

Wonderful work Mr Catchpole! Thank you

That Evora looks so good!!

Great review, as always! This is why the best car Porsche offers is the GT4, at the price of a regular 911.

Always love your commentary. If I were to pick a challenger to the Carrera S, I would like to hear your take on the Corvette GrandSport (manual of course) compared to the Porsche...

Am looking forward to your review of the manual 911.

Tried the 991.2 and couldn’t stay awake. Bought an Evora 400 instead. Daily drive it (currently 45 centigrade) and not missed a beat. Valet park it next to Lambo/Ferrari and the 911s go round the back so as to not spoil the view.

I loved the ultimate M3 masterpiece generation's videos that you did Henry Catchpole! It would be awesome if you did the same, but with all the M5 cars, from e28 to f90?

Very good! As always...

"Weighing in at 93,000 pounds?" That's not going to get to 60 all that quickly, is it?

What a great review / comparo. Subbed.

Well; Catchpole is very good at making us all consider 'a thought' and the question of connection or comfort is a great one to finish on. For all of Porsche's might, the little 11yr old out-of-date Evora still has some tricks up its sleeves. Tricks that - being a Lotus - aren't really tricks at all but are instead a given for the residents of Hethel. 'Add lightness' we are reminded to think. 'Be a bigger part of the driving experience' is what Lotus has always been about. I get a little fed up of having all those driving sensations taken away by modern-day tech, all in the search of another couple of tenths around 'the ring', only to have them spoon-fed them back in some new, digitalised way. And that is what this new Porsche sounds like to me...

I drove a 2014 Panamera GTS and thought it was amazing how that car is made and no possible way that a 911 is more engaging.. until i drove a 911 and it blew my mind .. the steering , seating , the comfort yet sporty drive , the crazy way of hiding weight , its just a complete sports car that you can use daily ..

great vid, good to see the evora gt range being compared with cars like Porsche. Although a little disappointing you didn't put them both on a track!

The 911 just looks so big though it's losing its charm aesthetically to me I'd have the Evora any day

The Evora is still such a good design, it really doesn't look that dated (apart from the inside).

I see you, driving on some of my favourite roads around North Bedfordshire & Buckinghamshire!

Splendid as ever Henry.

The Evora has everything you need and nothing you dont to be a great driver's car

The lotus seems to have a much better personality with its lightweight, steering and manual transmission. The porsche seems like a hefty sportstrim to a comfortable daily. I would go with the lotus no doubt.

I thought I recognised the right hand corner after the long straight on the way to Carlton from Turvey. Reccognised the camber and slabs on the inside. The Newon Blossomville sign confirmed it. Great bits of road. I live like a Mile from Turvey. You probably drove past my house.

most excellent artful video ty

Nice video but the sound recording of the cars lets it down, just use decent shotgun mics placed externally if you've gone to all this trouble?

Nice Video!!😍👍🏼

Absolutely excellent content. I’d probably pay for it.

Where can buy buy that T-shirt?

What about driving comfort? How are the dampers and suspension?

I can't wait for the 2020 GTR3 RS

Brilliant video as always Henry. It seems everything has come full circle as I worked with both brands in 1996/7 when the first Elise was released. Back then I could sell a Mk 1 Elise with a 3-Series BMW for less than what a Porsche Boxster cost. Lotus have lost their way- end of story. Maybe Geely money will bring them back- time will tell.

Henry reviewing a car... Instantly hit like. Even if he starts a furniture show I'm gonna subscribe and like 😋

you guys show what is meaningful☺️ What will it take to work with you guys?

Hello what shoes are those?

Isn't the interior engine sound in the 992 synthetic (piped in through the speakers)? That would be a win for the Lotus since no synthetic sounds are used there.

Nice T shirt!

Where's Henry and Andreas Preuninger from Porsches GT department in Weissach with the new 718 GT4?? I'm waiting for this video, because Henry and Preuninger together were very entertaining in these videos with talking about every new Porsche GT car in the last years.

great video, anyone know the song that starts at 8:54

8:41 I know that look, you're not fooling me 😂

Can’t believe Henry hasn’t been headhunted for topgear or something

I wish more folks bought the Lotus Evora to grow the brand. I'd love to be able to just drive into a local Lotus dealership with an Evora in much the same way I drive into a Honda dealership with an S2000.

Yes the evora has been around for 11 years. The 911 has been around since the 80's. So really the Evora is much much newer

You can get the Ebora with an Ohlins suspension?

Who can tell me where I can buy the T shirt he wears…the manual picture… any brand name? Many thanks

I love the Evora's front, and I love the 911's back. I guess I'll have to not get both.

That blue paint tho... What color it is ?

Man would I love to have these two

Great video, as always. Henry, you talk about mileages on Porsche GT products but because they're usually bought by flippers or under a promise to sell them directly back the OPC, some are rarely used. I saw a 991.1 GT3 RS with 200 miles on the clock and it was three years old. It was pristine but you would need to sell your organs and mortgage your house to afford the inflated price.

wristwatch check Mr.Catchpole ..... what is it today? oh, and great video too :)

That is a beautiful spec on the Evora.

Good review. I have a buddy who has an Evora 410 sport and I got to drive it and spend time with it in a canyon, back to back with my 997 C2S, his 997.2 GT3 and his Porsche GT4. Honestly the Evora is a very fun car to drive and I am a little surprised that more of them aren’t sold and they aren’t more popular. Frankly, if I wasn’t in a Pcar, I’d be very interested in one of these instead of a corvette, m2 or m4 or the other 911 “competitors”. Why? It’s light weight, it’s a drivers car, mid engine, avail in a manual and I feel it’s a very attractive car as well. Out of these cars, it drove fairly similar to the GT4. I have never driven a 992, but my dad and brother both have 991.1 C2S and compared to those cars, the Evora feels much lighter, smaller, more nimble, easier to throw around, better steering feel but probably not as fast and stable. The exhaust sound, while nice, could be a bit louder. I kind of feel like this is what the new NSX should have been, instead of a $200k hypercar, it should have stuck with the original NSX ethos and been a lighter weight, more simple, cheaper and more reliable competitor to the 911, instead of a $200k HyperCar that comes dangerously close to the price of a lower end McLaren and Ferrari but without the panache. (This isn’t a Rip on the NSX, it’s a great car, I just think it’s going after the wrong prey and price point). I was once talking to someone about why the Evora isn’t more popular in the USA, was it the Toyota engine? Was that it is made by a small English company? What was it? His reply, nope, the car is a fantastic vehicle but the Lotus has absolutely horrible marketing and that’s the biggest thing holding it back (other than the dealer network)”.

As a car to actually own I would take the Porsche anyday

Was the ending supposed to cut out like that?

I was watching the Eng Vs Aus World Cup game, which is at a very interesting stage. But then, you have to come along and drop a video, Lotus Vs Porsche. Couldn't you've waited a bit longer?

Nice first comparison with the new 911S...Although from Porsche's marketing strategy -point of view, the direct comparison to the Evora 410 should be with the forthcoming 992 GTS, not the "S" version...

The Porsche 991 was amazing but I think Porsche has completely lost it with the 992

Would be nice if porsche made a 992 without displays and touchscreens. I miss the old Porsches. I prefer the lotus in this test :)

Great locations! My village in north Bedfordshire!

Lotus for me anyday. Gorgeous car.

Bigger engines with turbos should have a turbo bypass valve which directs exhaust gasses straight into the exhaust and intake from a separate air box without being muffled by the turbo for around town when you’re not going fast anyway. That way you get the naturally aspirated noise and can enjoy the car at all times.

Nice review. Please compare the two on a track sometime.

Reading between the lines of Henry's review... If you're 50+ and have a hot young girlfriend, you will pick the Porsche -- Will the lease run out before the girlfriend? If you're under 40 and don't need the 'baggage' of a hot young girlfriend, you're probably in the market for a Lotus -- The sharper the better. 😁 Neither is in my future, but definitely the Lotus.

Ten times YES on the last thought!

"...or does it feel like a Panamera coupe ?" .. ;) Well it certainly looks like one now... the increased VW-ness of it as well... those unattractively flappy dimensions of its retractable wing ! Yeesh. Another excellent video Henry .. !

A 911 GT3 engine swap in the evora, with a widebody kit, would be sweat to make. 🤗

To me it’s a cayman Competitor

Heated seats! And Air-con?! Oh how I'd have liked to have those things in my Elise :D

Evora side mirrors comes from ...?

The 992 T with the new GT4 4.0l, that would be something!

Lotus looks unbelievable 🔥

It’s all good and well to comment on the added weight of the 992, but there are two additional considerations that don’t get mentioned... 1) Ease of ingress & exit from the car And 2) Which one would you rather be driving in the event of a mishap / accident?

Good points