2012 Lotus Evora IPS

Arriving in late 2011 as a 2012 model, the self-shifting Lotus Evora IPS will be the first Lotus since the wholly forgettable Excel SA of the late '80s to offer an automatic transmission, and the first American-spec Lotus to offer an auto since the Eclat in the late '70s. It's the first step of a plan to rebuild the Lotus brand and increase its appeal to a broader range of consumers.

The transmission is right at home behind the Evora's Toyota-built 3.5-liter V-6 because it's essentially the same engine/six-speed transmission combo Toyota uses in the Camry. Like the engine, the tranny arrives at Lotus' workshop devoid of any electronic bits. From there, Chapman's minions set about replacing its entire shifting system. Now controlled by a Lotus-design actuation system and computer, the pedestrian Camry transmission takes on a whole new persona.

The end result is a unique experience. The torque converter locks above 20 mph and stays that way, so you don't get the smooth yet squishy automatic feel. It's more akin to single-clutch automated manuals, with a distinct kick during hard shifts. It's not as smooth or quick as the best dual-clutch automatics, nor is it as slow or clunky as an automated manual. It exists in some previously nonexistent middle ground that actually suits the car rather nicely.

Going in, we never expected the Evora IPS (which stands for Intelligent Precision Shift, naturally) to feel like a dual-clutch Ferrari. Lotus cars have a well-worn rep for being raw and uncompromising, and the Evora, while less of a dedicated track car than the Elise, is no Mercedes SLK or BMW Z4. For that reason we can forgive some of the Evora IPS' clunkiness. It comes across as a necessary evil of performance rather than a flaw in engineering.

That's not to say that the average well-off buyer is going to find the car rough and unrefined. Left to its own devices, the Evora IPS will sift through its ratios only slightly less smoothly than any other torque converter automatic, and will do its best to keep the fuel economy up. Like the manual transmission Evora, though, we find it's best to hit the "Sport" button, which has been relocated from the dash to the new push-button gear selector on the center tunnel, as soon as you fire the engine up. Sport mode noticeably increases throttle sensitivity, quickens shifts, holds gears longer, and downshifts more quickly and aggressively under braking.

In default mode, the Evora IPS is a fairly docile tourer. Shifts are quick but smooth as the transmission heads for the high gears and an unofficial 17 mpg city and 26 mpg highway. Acceleration is a bit underwhelming unless you really put your foot in it, but it'll scoot when you do. Grabbing the paddles will get you a downshift on command quicker than burying the throttle, though the transmission will automatically revert to full auto if you leave the paddles alone for 10 seconds.

Hit that Sport button, though, and everything wakes up. The throttle is suddenly much more responsive and the shifts are quicker and sharper. The transmission programming isn't as near-telepathic as Porsche's PDK gearbox, but it's not too far off and you can't help but smile as it bangs off a few rev-matched downshifts as you brake for the next corner. Pull a paddle and you're in full manual mode with no automatic upshifts at redline and no reverting to auto mode. If you're not having any fun with the Evora IPS, you're not trying.

That's not to say that the new

gearbox is faultless. While Chapman devotees will be happy to know the auto box has almost no effect on the car's curb weight, they'll be disappointed that the official zero-to-60 mph time lags three-tenths of a second behind the manual at 5.2 seconds. While the manual gearboxes get sport ratios, the automatic is mechanically identical to your neighbor's Camry, using the same ratios and torque converter. Though Lotus has the engineering chops to pull off a more sophisticated gearbox, the Toyota auto was the safe choice that offered reliability, a short and cost-effective development cycle, and the best compromise of traffic jam smoothness and back road performance, the company says. If the market demands it, though, the company won't rule out the possibility of building a higher-performing automated manual or dual-clutch transmission in the future.

Though the recipe may be sound, the best-laid plans can always go awry. Our fleet of early-build test cars each appeared to be in a different state of tune, with some shifting more smoothly than others. Most exhibited a tendency to hunt between fourth and fifth gears and over-revved on downshifts. Lotus has already prepared a software update to smooth out these teething issues, and it will be applied to the cars before the first U.S.-spec models see our shores in mid-November.

With the final kinks ironed out, Lotus is hoping to see a significant uptick in sales when the Evora IPS hits the market, perhaps in the 30- to 40-percent range. Right now, the company figures it's throwing away as much as 50 percent of potential U.S. sales by not offering an automatic, and expects a solid 50-percent take-rate on the option. Devout adherents to the Church of the Manual Transmission can take some consolation from the fact that Lotus will be charging the two-pedal usurpers an extra $2950 for the convenience of automatic gear selection. For now, the IPS transmission will only be offered on naturally aspirated Evoras, though the company says it will be offered on the supercharged Evora S sometime in the near future.

The Evora IPS is an imperfect solution to an imperfect problem, and it leaves us conflicted. The common rationalization for paddle-shifted transmissions is that they're faster and more precise than traditional manuals, making the car they're attached to faster, but this one isn't. On the other hand, the Evora's standard manual is actuated by a clunky, long-throw shifter, so you're not missing much. The IPS is designed to meet the needs of people who don't want a stick shift, not those who want absolute performance. It tries its best to be a performance enhancer as well, but while it's a jack of both trades, it's a master of neither. But while it may not add much, dynamically, to the Evora, it doesn't rob the car of its soul, either, and that's a compromise we can live with. After all, to truly love a Lotus is to love its faults as much as its strengths.