At the heart of the Evora's abilities lies an all-new chassis architecture. The modular design means Lotus can build new cars – or cars for other manufacturers – very quickly. It's massively strong and light, and requires a force of 19,900 lb per ft (27,000Nm) to twist the chassis just one millimetre.

But a solid chassis alone doesn’t make a great car.

What strikes you first is the quality of the ride. The Lotus engineers say the Evora was benchmarked against Jaguars for smoothness and it shows. Spec a BMW 3 Series with big wheels and sports suspension and you'll have a car that jitters and bangs over bumps in a way the Evora simply doesn't.

And you won’t find a 3 Series that handles better either. In fact, you'll need to go a very, very long way before you can find any car that handles better.

The chassis is taut and wonderfully balanced, allowing the driver to flick the car into bends in a manner known only to single seat race car drivers. There's a whiff of understeer – the Evora has computers to mitigate it – and it can be easily balanced on the throttle.

Techies will be pleased to know the Evora has lightweight double wishbone rear suspension constructed from forged aluminium to reduce essential unsprung weight, and specially-designed bushes to strike the balance between ride and handling.

It also wears Eibach spring and Bilstein dampers, tuned by Lotus for the Evora. Its grippy Pirelli P-Zero tyres were chosen because Lotus reckon they're the best for the job.

Sharp, direct and responsive steering allows the driver to feel the road in a way no other power-assisted car can. In fact, it actually requires a looser driving style than other cars – grip the wheel too tight at speed and you feel as through you need to make steering inputs you don't; relax and the car does too.

Stops as well as it goes

And eventually you'll need to step on the middle pedal. Lotus says the Evora has been tested on the Nürburgring and the repeated switchbacks of Italy's Stelvio Pass to try and break the brakes. And without success.

So given the deliberate torture Lotus' engineers subjected the braking too, it comes as little surprise to learn after a spirited 200-mile blast through the Highlands, there wasn't even the merest hint of brake fade. The discs have massive stopping power, but a progressive feel that makes them as able in heavy traffic as stopping from high speed quickly.

You'll see there's been no mention of the engine so far – and that's for good reason. Power figures get knocked about all the time, to the point where there are hatchbacks hitting around 300bhp; but truth be told, they're pretty pointless.

Its all about power-to-weight and the relationship between engine and chassis; and the Evora has this licked too.

The 3.5-litre Toyota V6 has been extensively worked over, and features an ECU bespoke to Lotus and produces 276bhp. That's not much by today's standards but a kerbweight of 1,382kgs means other cars need much more power to deliver the Evora's blistering performance.

It'll reach 60mph in 4.9 seconds, and 62mph (100km/h) in another 0.2 seconds, before reaching an official 162mph, although Lotus insiders claim 170mph could be possible.

Low weight means good fuel consumption

Plenty of cars can deliver that sort of pace, but how many emit just 205g/km of CO2? That figure is 20 less than the entry-level Porsche 911 and 75 less than the Nissan 350Z.

Drive it with a light right foot, and an average of 32.5mpg is possible. That makes it very easy to live with; but even that pales into insignificance once you climb inside.

While the Elise and Exige require athletic ability to slot into, the Evora is as accessible as anything else in its class; as long as the seats are slid back as there's still a wide sill to negotiate as with the smaller cars.

Once behind the wheel, it's easy to appreciate the work that's gone into the spacious cabin. There's a high quality feel, and little obvious evidence of 'parts bin' equipment.

An exceptional package

Our test car was equipped with the optional Premium Pack which covers most surfaces in leather – including the supportive Recaro seats.

Behind the front seats is the optional +2 element. Lotus says adults can be carried on short journeys, although there's little legroom and even less headroom. It is ideal for young children though, and ISOFIX mountings are standard. Around 95 per cent of buyers will specify the 2+2 version, which costs £2,375 more than the £47,500 two seater.

Lotus currently enjoy a pleasant position with the Evora the only mid-engined 2+2 on the market, so there are no direct rivals.

But it simply eclipses anything else available for less than £50,000; and runs rings around the Porsche 911 in terms of agility and driver involvement.

Lotus is modest, saying it'll sell around 2,000 Evoras a year. But here Lotus is wrong. It will sell many, many more.

Video: the Lotus Evora