Donald Trump's Ferrari will head to auction during the final days of his presidency - tour the $500,000 car

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58e526b08af578032f8b5b8d/ferrarif430trump-23.jpg" alt="trump ferrari" data-mce-source="Dirk de Jager © 2017 Courtesy Auctions America"><p class="source"><span>Dirk de Jager © 2017 Courtesy Auctions America</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>A stunning Ferrari first owned by President Donald Trump <a href="http://auctionsamerica.com/events/feature-lots.cfm?Order=runorder&amp;feature=&amp;collection=&amp;grouping=&amp;category=&amp;SaleCode=FL17&amp;ID=r0068" target="_blank">sold at an auction</a> in Florida over the weekend.</p><p>First spotted by <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-02/donald-trump-s-ferrari-disappoints-at-florida-auction" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a>, the car originally sold on the chopping block for $240,000 - $10,000 less than the its estimated going price. But the auction house confirmed to Business Insider that a few minutes after leaving the podium, a private bidder swooped the car up for $270,000.</p><p>The Ferrari isn't the first Trump car to go to a new owner. The President's 1997 <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-lamborghini-sale-ebay-2016-9" target="_blank">Lamborghini Diablo</a> sold on eBay last year.</p><p>The auction house said Trump bought the car in 2007 and owned it for just over four years. It accrued around 2,400 miles in that time span.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58e526dc77bb70c3008b68b7/ferrarif430trump-20.jpg" alt="trump ferrari" data-mce-source="Dirk de Jager © 2017 Courtesy Auctions America"><p class="source"><span>Dirk de Jager © 2017 Courtesy Auctions America</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>However, the car did have a second owner before going up for auction - so it's not coming straight from Trump.</p><p>The F430 is powered by a 4.4-liter V8 engine capable of producing 490 hp. It can reach a top speed of 196 mph.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58e528298af578032f8b5ba6/ferrarif430trump-2.jpg" alt="trump ferrari" data-mce-source="Dirk de Jager © 2017 Courtesy Auctions America"><p class="source"><span>Dirk de Jager © 2017 Courtesy Auctions America</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Ferrari first introduced the F430 in 2004 at the Paris Motor Show. It was designed by Italian design house Pininfarina and was produced through 2009 before being replaced by Ferrari's 458.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/only-10-people-able-buy-ferraris-brand-new-supercar-japan-j50-2016-12">Only 10 people will be able to buy Ferrari's brand new supercar</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="VtdmM5ODE6VlH81Cff8wr-hkfLzpkBPl" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'VtdmM5ODE6VlH81Cff8wr-hkfLzpkBPl',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Trump's bright red Ferrari sold for $270,000 at auction - here's a closer look at the car

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/51cc3a6d69beddd22900002c-1200-858/ny34819.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="lamborghini ferrari hertz" width="480" /><p class="source">PRNewsFoto/The Hertz Corporation</p><p class="caption">You can now rent a <keyword id="75789" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Lamborghini">Lamborghini</keyword> or <keyword id="16120" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ferrari">Ferrari</keyword> from Hertz.</p></div></div>Rental <keyword id="20632" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cars">cars</keyword> no longer need to be boring. For travelers who want to drive in style, Hertz is now offering a fleet of <keyword id="575565" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="supercars">supercars</keyword> through its Hertz Dream Cars program.</p>
<p>The fleet includes rides from Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Tesla, and more, at 35 locations around the U.S.</p>
<p>Naturally, a top of the line rental costs more than <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/test-drive-2014-chevy-impala-is-excellent-2013-5#" target="_blank">a few days in an old Chevy Impala</a>. Hertz's Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Bentleys start at $1,500 per day, and cost $3 for every mile above the 75 mile limit.</p>
<p>The Aston Martin Vantage and Audi R8 both start at $1,000 per day, with the same $3/mile penalty. The cheaper end of the luxury lineup, including Porsche and Mercedes rides, will cost you $350 per diem, with a $.49 penalty for roll of the odometer over the 75 mile limit.</p>
<p>Here's the full list of available whips. Hertz does not disclose how many it has of each:</p>
<ul>
<li>Aston Martin V8 Vantage</li>
<li>Audi R8</li>
<li>Bentley Continental GT</li>
<li>Cadillac CTS-V</li>
<li>Ferrari (California, F430)</li>
<li>Lamborghini Gallardo</li>
<li>Land Rover Range Rover Sport</li>
<li>Mercedes-Benz AMG (SLS, C63, E63)</li>
<li>Mercedes-Benz SL550, S550 and G550</li>
<li>Porsche (911, Cayenne, Boxster, Panamera)</li>
<li>SRT Viper</li>
<li>Tesla Model S</li>
</ul>

Now You Can Rent A Lamborghini Gallardo From Hertz

<ul><li><keyword id="29334" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cyrus-poonawalla" source="Orion">Cyrus Poonawalla</keyword>, who was recently awarded the Dean’s Medal by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has led a fascinating life.</li><li>He started with building sports cars and later went on to build a vaccine empire, which has made immunization accessible for all, against various diseases, including the coronavirus.</li></ul>The chairman of India’s top biotech company and the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla of Serum Institute of India (SII), is among the top 70 richest billionaires in the world today.<br /><br />At the age of 81, Poonawalla’s net worth is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/cyrus-poonawalla/?list=rtb/&amp;sh=488fcc447d01">$21.5 billion</a>, as per Forbes, and has been recently awarded the Dean’s award by John Hopkins for his work in providing affordable vaccines. He is called the ‘vaccine king’ as his company SII produces over 1.5 billion vaccines annually for coronavirus, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Hib, BCG, r-hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, among others.<br /><br /><strong>From horse breeding to building a vaccine empire<br /></strong><br />Poonawala was born into a family of horse breeders, as his father Soli Poonawalla owned ‘Poonawalla Stud Farms.’ However, he was 20 when he decided to explore more options because he realized that horse racing had ‘<a href="https://www.forbesindia.com/article/leadership-awards-202021/fila-2021-lifestime-achievement-cyrus-poonawalla-the-vaccine-king/66877/1">no future</a> in a socialist country like India’.<br />      <div type="image" title="Horse racing" msid="91764331" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Representative image of a horse race, which was attended by Poonawalla in 2013&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br /><strong>Vaccines from serum</strong> <br /><br />When he was 20, Poonawalla decided to leverage his passion for cars and turn it into a viable business. So, he built a $120 replica of the Jaguar D-type with his school friend. However, he abandoned the idea of commercial production due to a shortage of funds.<br /><br />After dropping his first business plan, he wanted to make a ‘product for the masses’. He discovered that horse serum can be used to make vaccines. He decided to use his stud farm for a better cause and make vaccines affordable. There was no going back since then.<br /><br />Back in the 1960s, when Poonawalla was just in the research phase of launching his serum business, which is now worth <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/corporate/story/serum-institute-founder-cyrus-poonawalla-adar-wealth-85pc-to-138-bn-271174-2020-08-26">$13.8 billion</a>, the vaccine market was still in its nascent stages. With only a few players in the game, there was a huge demand and very low supply. It was a safe option for Poonwalla to enter a less competitive market and India with an acute shortage, which were imported at high prices. <br /><br />He decided to look no further and launched his vaccine business under the name SII in 1966, with a capital of <a href="https://www.forbesindia.com/article/leadership-awards-202021/fila-2021-lifestime-achievement-cyrus-poonawalla-the-vaccine-king/66877/1">Rs 9 lakh</a>, which would later go on to help millions of people during a global pandemic, thanks to its domestically manufactured Covishield.<br /><br />Since he had no medical background, he employed doctors and scientists from the government-owned Haffkine Institute at SII. Within two years, the company produced its first therapeutic anti-tetanus serum. By 1989, his company had a diverse portfolio of DTP vaccine, which protects children from diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, anti-snake-venom serum for snakebites and measles vaccine. A year later, SII became the country’s largest vaccine manufacturer. <br /><br /><strong>Supplying to every second vaccinated child in the world</strong> <br /><br />It was time to expand their business offshores. In 1994, Serum Institute got accredited by the World Health Organization (WHO) for supplying vaccines to U.N. Agencies such as UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and PAHO (Pan American Health Organization).<br /><br />By 1998, Serum Institute was exporting vaccines to over 100 countries and by the year 2000, one out of every two children in the world was vaccinated with an SII dose.<br /><br />The vaccine king’s wealth grew the <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/cyrus-poonawalla-enters-top-100-rich-list-his-wealth-grows-fifth-fastest-in-the-world-during-coronavirus-pandemic/articleshow/76543094.cms?from=mdr">fastest </a>among India’s billionaires during the COVID-19 pandemic and SII became a household name. His home-grown business gained international recognition after they struck a deal with Oxford University’s Jenner Institute. SII then went on to strike at least four more global partnerships with biotech companies.<br />  <div type="image" title="serumII" msid="91766062" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Serum Institute of India&amp;#39;s financials &amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />His son, Adar Poonawalla is at the helm of the company now. Junior Poonawalla joined his family business in 2001 and today, he runs the day-to-day operations as company ceo and is the <a href="https://www.forbesindia.com/article/take-one-big-story-of-the-day/his-father-built-a-vaccine-empire-adar-poonawalla-is-now-busy-diversifying-it/73375/1">fifth </a>richest person in India.<br />      <div type="image" title="Vaccine giant Serum Institute of India plans African plant in global expansion" msid="91764213" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt; Junior Poonawalla joined his family business in 2001&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br /><strong>Expansion to renewable energy, real estate and more</strong><br /><br />Along the way, Senior Poonwalla also expanded his business portfolio into newer areas such as real estate, finance, renewable energy solutions, hospitality, and aviation. But, Serum Institute continues to bring in the lion’s share of his income.<br /><br />While he built his business empire, his passion for sports and luxurious cars has not waned. <br />      <div type="image" title="Cryus and his car" msid="91764182" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Padmashree Cyrus Poonawalla with his new Ferreri car outside his palace in Pune in 2013&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />Today, his collection includes Rolls-Royce cars, Bentleys and Ferrari F430. It is his love for affordable vaccines, sports cars and horse racing - that make Poonawalla a man of diverse interests.<br />

The success story of Cyrus Poonawalla: The vaccine king who is one of the world’s richest billionaires

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57f639ebdd089595358b4a6c-2400/pa-26417929.jpg" alt="Boris Johnson" data-mce-source="Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/Press Association Images" data-mce-caption="Boris Johnson"><p class="source"><span>Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/Press Association Images</span></p><p class="caption">Boris Johnson</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Boris Johnson made a cheeky offer to replace Chris Evans as the host of "Top Gear" after his Conservative party leadership bid collapsed in June.<p>Business Insider hears that Johnson was consoled by a top BBC executive after he ruled himself out of&#xa0;the race to replace former prime minister David Cameron.</p><p>During the exchange, the bombastic Tory MP contemplated a change of career. Johnson is alleged to have texted his BBC friend: "If you're looking for the new face of 'Top Gear,' I'm your man."</p><p>A source said the idea was not entirely dismissed by the broadcaster. "It's one of the things that's a joke, then you think: Hang on, this might be the exact answer to all the BBC's problems," they laughed.</p><p>It is not the first time that Johnson, now foreign secretary in Theresa May's government, has thrown his hat in the ring for a job on "Top Gear."</p><p>When Jeremy Clarkson was sacked by the BBC last year, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/politics-blog/11490746/Boris-Johnson-suggests-himself-to-replace-Jeremy-Clarkson-on-Top-Gear.html" target="_blank">Johnson was asked during a Twitter Q&amp;A if he fancied replacing the presenter.</a> "Am mega Clarkson fan but if a vacancy wd def [sic] let my name go forward," he tweeted.</p><p>Johnson is no stranger to the show. He was the "star in a reasonably priced car" in 2008, completing his lap in 1 minute 56 seconds.</p><p><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CoifaIEvC0Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></p><p>The Brexiteer also wrote a motoring column for GQ and was <a href="https://www.carkeys.co.uk/news/boris-johnson-was-once-the-world-s-worst-car-journalist" target="_blank">described by website Car Keys as "the world's worst car journalist."</a> In a missive about the Ferrari F430, Johnson once wrote: "<a href="http://jalopnik.com/boris-johnson-was-the-worst-car-writer-of-all-time-1782585202">It was as though the whole county of Hampshire was lying back and opening her well-bred legs to be ravished by the Italian stallion</a>."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hidden-facebook-tricks-2016-9">Hidden Facebook tricks you need to know</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="ZqMGlkMDE6kTToJhnpQU_qxqcD8vfEyM" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'ZqMGlkMDE6kTToJhnpQU_qxqcD8vfEyM',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Boris Johnson offered to host 'Top Gear' after his bid to become prime minister collapsed

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="10045545" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lotus-evora-gt">Lotus Evora GT</keyword> is arguably the best driver’s car currently on the market.</li><li>It’s a 2020 model, yet its hardware and philosophy basically remain unchanged since it came around in 2009.</li><li>The Evora GT doesn’t have flaws, it has quirks. Quirks such as being loud inside and difficult to get in and out of. </li><li>My loaner had a starting MSRP of $96,950, but after special Airforce Blue paint and a fancy sound system, final MSRP came to $105,550.</li></ul><p>I should have known.</p><p>The moment I put the $105,550 <keyword id="1058816" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Lotus-Evora">Lotus Evora</keyword> GT into second gear after pulling out of my garage, I should have known. </p><p>Should have known that I — a sick, hopeless, masochistic nerd — would fall in love with a very silly car in about seven seconds. And because you're reading this, it's probably because you, too, are a sick, hopeless, masochistic, Lotus-loving nerd. </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_12" height="1666" width="2500" msid="78463392" hostid="261"></div><p>Here's the truth, though: the Evora GT only needs seven seconds to utterly win you over.</p><h2><strong>The numbers</strong></h2><p>The Evora is <keyword id="71296" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Lotus">Lotus</keyword>' larger, slightly cushier model when compared to the automaker's renowned <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-new-lotus-elise-cup-250-is-insanely-quick-2016-2">Elise</a> sports car. But that isn't saying much, because the Elise is famously not-large <a href="https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a23582753/salvage-title-2005-lotus-elise-for-sale/">nor particularly utilitarian</a>.</p><p>After the Evora launched in 2008 and <a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15130329/lotus-a-historical-timeline/">began production in 2009</a>, Lotus spawned many versions of it as the years wore on: the 400, Sport 410, GT430, et cetera. Last year, the Evora GT was <a href="https://media.lotuscars.com/en/news-articles/evora-gt-north-america.html">introduced for the North American market</a>.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_33" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463395" hostid="261"></div><p>Its mid-mounted engine produces a claimed 416 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque, driven to the rear wheels from a supercharged 3.5-liter V6 <a href="https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a20112603/toyota-camry-vs-lotus-evora-400-track-test/">sourced from the Toyota Camry</a>. Weighing in at a feathery 3,104 pounds, the Evora GT is available with either a six-speed manual, which I had, or automatic transmission. I don't think I need to tell you which is my preferred option.</p><p>Technically, the Evora GT that Lotus was so kind to loan me for the weekend is a 2020 model. But I'd consider that model-year designation to be in name only; inside, mechanically, philosophically, the Evora is older. Much older. </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_14" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463399" hostid="261"></div><p>In 2009, when the Evora began production, far more cars were supercharged. Far more cars had hydraulically assisted steering systems. In 2009, it wasn't that odd or unusual if your car had a manual transmission.</p><p>But now, 11 years later, few cars are supercharged. Many of them have more efficient electronically assisted (see also: very artificial-feeling) steering. Hardly any of them have manual transmissions. </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT_Lotus_3" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463403" hostid="261"></div><p>The Evora is perhaps the most analog sports car on the market today by virtue of simply refusing to evolve. Everything else fell away around it. (You're also welcomed to speculate that perhaps Lotus, a company so often on the brink of financial collapse, straight up didn't have the cash to innovate. Still, it's charming.)</p><h2><strong>Features, not flaws</strong></h2><p>The infotainment screen in the Evora is sourced from Alpine and offers a user interface I'm pretty sure I last experienced during Barack Obama's first term in office. The tire pressure and fuel gauges have the resolution of a Tamagotchi screen. The backup camera offers a picture quality that would rival the crappy spring break video you shot on your Razr flip phone. </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_45" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463407" hostid="261"></div><p>The car's immobilizer feature — which prevents the engine from running unless a key is present, something <a href="http://49210a70594045aae060-9ee7f563068e7bbd2f9eb533a1de6b33.r31.cf3.rackcdn.com/59275_1360838155_sn_mr_electrics_evora.pdf">Lotus calls</a> an "automatic vehicle security" measure — hinders both would-be thefts and just about everyone else.</p><p>The feature dictates that you must sometimes hit the unlock button on the key before turning it in the ignition and pressing the engine-start button, or else the car won't turn on. (This was explained to me by the nice man who dropped off the Evora. I, in turn, explained it to several confused parking valets and one bewildered car-wash attendant.)</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_43" height="3750" width="2500" msid="78463411" hostid="261"></div><p>Sitting in the Evora means your butt is only about eight inches off the ground, which basically means it's on the ground. The manually adjusted seats did not scoot forward far enough for me to reach the pedals, so I had to supply my own cushion.</p><p>The seat also did not raise, which meant that I was seated lower than I am used to. I spent the weekend craning around the car's A-pillars in order to see.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_46" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463418" hostid="261"></div><p>I'm also not convinced the interior was designed for actual humans to use or enjoy. The trunk is minuscule and runs toasty, owing to the fact that it sits right above the car's exhausts.</p><p>The back "seats" would have a better time fitting a large watermelon than a real person. The one (1) cup holder is so tiny and out of reach that you might as well use the optional extra cup holder, also known as your bemused front passenger.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_25" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463421" hostid="261"></div><p>If it sounds like I'm complaining a lot, it's because I am. Right off the top of my head, here are six reasons why the Evora GT is bad:</p><ol><li>The clutch is quite heavy</li><li>You sit so low you can't see out of it</li><li>The rear trunk is tiny and gets very hot after extended driving</li><li>There's no <a href="https://mycardoeswhat.org/safety-features/hill-start-assist/">hill-assist</a></li><li>It's very loud inside</li><li>There are barely any interior comforts to enjoy</li></ol><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT_Lotus_7" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463426" hostid="261"></div><p>At the same time, here are six reasons why the Evora GT is, in fact, spectacular:</p><ol><li>The clutch is quite heavy</li><li>You sit so low you can't see out of it</li><li>The rear trunk is tiny and gets very hot after extended driving</li><li>There's no <a href="https://mycardoeswhat.org/safety-features/hill-start-assist/">hill-assist</a></li><li>It's very loud inside</li><li>There are barely any interior comforts to enjoy</li></ol><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_23" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463430" hostid="261"></div><p>As soon as you start driving, you won't care that you can't see out of it. The loudness won't bother you because the engine sounds incredible. You learn to balance the heavy clutch everywhere, including on steep hills.</p><p>You get used to packing light and being OK with hot luggage after a long drive. You laugh at the contortionist exercises you have to perform to get in and out of it. You leave behind petty desires for earthly comforts such as soft leathers and pillowy suspension.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT_Lotus_1" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463432" hostid="261"></div><p>The Lotus doesn't have flaws; it has <em>quirks</em>. These aren't weaknesses; they are <em>features</em> — unique to an old car masquerading as a new one and completely endearing to the punishment-loving freaks who value the simple, tactile act of driving above everything else. </p><p>Driving the Evora GT kicks you in the ass and leaves you begging for more. It's all about the <em>experience. </em>Is your body ready?</p><h2><strong>Time travel</strong></h2><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_32" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463436" hostid="261"></div><p>Fire up the engine and it settles in a raspy idle behind you, sending trembles through the cabin like a snarly live thing. There's effort required to putting in the heavy clutch, but the car is so light and has so much torque that you don't need to give it any gas to get it moving. It makes the Evora GT the perfect manual transmission stop-and-go traffic commuter. </p><p>The transmission itself is outsourced from Aisin, an automotive company whose <a href="https://www.aisin.com/profile/customer/">clients</a> include major automakers like Mazda, Subaru, Honda, Volvo, Toyota, and others. But a company rep told me Lotus completely rebuilt the unit, with major changes going into making first and second gear taller.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_34" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463446" hostid="261"></div><p>This makes the car feel like it wants to be revved into forever when in first and second gear (and also third and fourth). The short-throw shifter slots into the tightly housed gates with a sharp, precise rifle-bolt action, articulating the feel of the industrial clunking and sliding beautifully up and into your fingertips. </p><p>The tiny, lightweight, magnesium steering wheel could have come from a go-kart, but the Evora GT's steering is so acutely tuned that even the gentlest toggle results in a wiggle of the front wheels. Power delivery is beautifully linear and predictable; no hiccups from a lag in the nonexistent turbos. The supercharger provides substantive punch down low in the revs, pulling mightily to redline with its <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHC5pINsLyc">signature whine</a>. </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_29" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463451" hostid="261"></div><p>At approximately 4,000 rpm, valves in the exhaust system open up. The Evora GT then goes from emitting merely buzzy growls to a full-throated, burbling V6 roar. The noise is not unlike the howl of a Nissan GT-R — and from a V6 out of a freaking <em>Camry</em>! My friends, I saw God. </p><p>By way of design, the Evora GT's balance is superb, thanks to the engine being placed between its axles. The car behaves like a dancer, pivoting around one central point under higher-speed and more urgent cornering. You're challenged to push further, to corner harder. Your confidence grows with the information fed up through the steering wheel. </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_26" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463455" hostid="261"></div><p>The Evora GT isn't slow by any means, but rather just fast enough. Its 416 horsepower is so perfectly proportioned with its 3,104-pound weight that you can have a hilarious time exploring the car's abilities and not go to jail immediately for speeding.</p><p>The human race has not yet achieved time travel, but getting into a Lotus is the closest thing to going back in time. Driving the 2020 Evora GT was like driving a car from 15 years ago. It was a time capsule riding on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_7" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463461" hostid="261"></div><p>The Evora GT is a car you wear, not drive. It fits like a glove, reacting to the road seemingly as a response to your intent instead of physical input. It is the closest you can get to riding a motorcycle without actually getting on one. That sense of vehicular freedom and dogged impracticality are very nearly the same. </p><p>Certainly, you could buy yourself a Porsche 718 Cayman. That would be a great choice — the mature one, even — because you'd be getting a new car that largely accomplishes the same things the Lotus does. Underneath the $5,900 Airforce Blue paint, the Evora GT's hardware is positively retro.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_47" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463464" hostid="261"></div><p>But here, retro gets the job done. You don't need the latest technology to make the time-honored act of driving great.</p><h2><strong>The last of its kind</strong></h2><p>I can't imagine cars like the Evora GT have much longer on the market. </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT_Lotus_5" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463466" hostid="261"></div><p>As such, the Evora is already a standout in age and technology. This isn't to say that the car isn't outstanding, but as time goes on, we move a little bit further away from the world and market the Evora was born into. Other <keyword id="660753" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sports-cars">sports cars</keyword> of that day and their successors — the BMW M3, Chevrolet Corvette, Porsche Cayman, Ferrari F430, Audi R8 — have all gone either turbocharged, removed their manual transmission options, or both. </p><p>With each passing day, the Evora becomes a little less relevant — and as is, it's already made by a little-known boutique British automaker.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_40" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463471" hostid="261"></div><p>In 2017, <keyword id="88395" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Geely">Geely</keyword>, the massive Chinese automotive company that also owns Volvo and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/polestar-2-review-price-ev-volvo-tesla-specs-horsepower-electric-2020-8">Polestar</a>, <a href="https://jalopnik.com/lotus-is-saved-1795501792">bought a 51% stake in Lotus</a> from a Malaysian car company called Proton. Whatever Lotus does next, including its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lotus-evija-1972-horsepower-electric-supercar-starts-production-full-specs-2020-2">all-electric Evija supercar</a>, will have Geely fingerprints all over it.</p><p>And if Geely's ideas for Lotus are anything like what we've seen with the other brands it controls, then it's probably safe to say Lotus is headed fully in the electrified direction, too.  </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_13" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463474" hostid="261"></div><p>It makes thinking about the Evora GT even more bittersweet. Especially now, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/06/business/pickups-and-suvs-lead-way-to-a-record-year-for-automakers.html">with the way people shop</a>, there's really no return on investment to keep selling a loud, rattly car with a manual transmission. </p><p>I welcome our EV and emissions-free future. I truly do. It'll be good for all of us. But it doesn't mean that I won't miss wonderful cars like the Evora GT. Nerds like me — all 26 of us, loud and proud — love Lotuses because they are egregiously impractical, incredible to drive, and contrary to just about every aspect of a soul-numbing SUV. </p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT_Lotus_10" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463475" hostid="261"></div><p>We're one and the same, this Evora GT and me. I think it takes a bit longer than seven seconds to fall in love with <em>me</em>, though you'll have to ask around. I've never fallen in love with myself before. And I have tried.</p><p>But we're both <a href="https://jalopnik.com/please-enjoy-us-reading-our-hate-mail-and-drinking-wine-1839673497">a little brash</a>, <a href="https://jalopnik.com/stay-fancy-motherfuckers-1842565069">a little uncouth</a>. We're both in it (life, the act of driving) for the fun of it and definitely <a href="https://twitter.com/francis_lam/status/773221506172215296?lang=en">not for the practicality</a>. We both look killer in blue.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_51" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463480" hostid="261"></div><p>And we both recall 2009 fondly — a year when flare jeans were in, people still updated their Myspace pages, "Gossip Girl" and "True Blood" were at their height, I got my driver's license, and the Lotus Evora arrived as largely the same car that it is today.</p><p>If that isn't peaking, then I don't know what is.</p><p style="text-align: center;">♦♦♦</p><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_58" height="1969" width="2500" msid="78463482" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_56" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463487" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_57" height="3750" width="2500" msid="78463491" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_28" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463493" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_53" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463496" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_48" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463497" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_50" height="3750" width="2500" msid="78463499" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_44" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463500" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_41" height="1666" width="2500" msid="78463501" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_31" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463503" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2020 Lotus Evora GT KL_49" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78463505" hostid="261"></div>

REVIEW: The $106,000 Lotus Evora GT peaked in 2009, just like me. That's what makes us great.

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54b4d8c0dd0895732f8b457a-799-599/lionel-messi.jpg" alt="lionel messi" border="0"><p class="source"><span>Harold Cunningham/Getty Images</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Argentinian football maestro Lionel Messi is up for grabs. That's the rumour that's set the hearts of club managers across Europe racing - and it seems <a href="http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/418676/Barcelona-Lionel-Mess-Chelsea-200m" target="_blank">Chelsea could be first in line</a> to snap up the four-time winner of the Ballon d'Or.</p>
<h3>How much does he earn?</h3>
<p>But he won't come cheap. CIES Football Observatory rates Messi as the most valuable player in the world, with a price tag in the region of £172m. And then there's his annual salary - over $20m. Combined with sponsorship deals for Pepsi, Adidas and Turkish Airlines, <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/08/is-soccer-great-lionel-messi-corrupt.html" target="_blank">The Daily Beast reckons</a> he takes home around $65m a year.<strong> </strong></p>
<h3>Is he a saver or a spender?</h3>
<p>That depends or what you call a "spender." <a href="http://www.bornrich.com/lionel-messi.html" target="_blank">Messi's spending habits</a> are status-appropriate: a Maserati GranTurismo, an Audi Q7, and a Ferrari F430 Spider are three of the cars in his collection. And of course, then there are the holidays in Ibiza, not to mention his luxury mansion in Barcelona.</p>
<h3>Any rich guy hobbies?</h3>
<p>Lionel Messi is a family man. And who can blame him? The 27-year-old lives with his glamorous yet non-famous girlfriend Antonella Roccuzzo with whom he has a two-year-old son named Tiago.</p>
<h3>What's been his best financial move?</h3>
<p>From a young age, Messi suffered from a hormone deficiency, which affected his growth. Barcelona promised to cover his medical expenses, and was in such a hurry to sign the child prodigious from Rosario, Argentina, that his first contract was <a href="https://in.news.yahoo.com/top-12-lesser-known-facts-153050659.html" target="_blank">scrawled on a napkin</a>. He's been with the club ever since.</p>
<h3>And his worst?</h3>
<p>An investigation into his finances between 2007 and 2009 turned up accusations of tax evasion. If convicted, Messi faced up to six years behind bars, so it wasn't too surprising he agreed to pay $6m in back-taxes and interest. As The Daily Beast notes, employing his father Jorge as his money manager probably wasn't the best idea.<strong> </strong></p>
<h3>Favourite charity?</h3>
<p>In 2007, Messi foundered the Leo Messi Foundation. Its mission is to help "vulnerable" children gain access to sport and education. He's also been a good-will ambassador for Unicef since 2010.</p>
<h3>Has money made him happy?</h3>
<p>"Money is not a motivating factor. Money doesn't thrill me or make me play better because there are benefits to being wealthy. I'm just happy with a ball at my feet. My motivation comes from playing the game I love. If I wasn't paid to be a professional footballer I would willingly play for nothing." - Lionel Messi.</p>

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