While the Lotus booth at the Jet Center Party in Monterey had several outstanding cars on display, two of them had us drooling more than the rest. The first was the all-new, million-dollar Lotus Exos T125 single-seat racer that we showed you last week…and the other was the car you see here – the Lotus Evora Cup GT4 car. The Evora’s shape is pleasing enough in stock form, but add a few wings and scoops and it is totally bad-ass…especially in British Racing Green.

This Evora will be used in a new single-make series along the lines of the long-running Porsche Cup. The car is also eligible for GT4 class racing against the likes of the Audi R8 LMS and Porsche 911s. While the 4.0-liter, Toyota-based V6 has been bumped up to 400 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, that’s still not earth-shaking power. It’s hoped that the Evora’s relatively light weight and Lotus’s handling expertise, however, will be enough to keep it in the hunt against those more powerful machines.

The “most exclusive and expensive Lotus since the company began in 1952″ is set to premier on Saturday August 7th at Laguna Seca as part of Monterey Car Week. Since its earliest days the names of Lotus road and track cars have started with E and when the official name is announced, this T125 will be no exception. There is no word yet on when the car will be shown in the UK but expect it to be on display at the Paris Motor Show in October.

Also making its North American debut at Laguna Seca will be the of the Evora Cup GT4 race car driven by Johnny Mowlem, who ran it at Snetterton recently. He will put it through its paces on the world famous track. Johnny will also be providing rides to seriously interested Evora Cup GT4 prospects. There’s a full rundown of Monterey Lotus appearances below.

Lotus T125 and Lotus Evora Cup GT4 Events during the Monterey Car Week 2010:

Sat, Aug 7 - Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
9:00am - 5:00pm: Lotus exhibit in the four-bay garage under the presentation podium structure.
North American debut of the Evora Cup GT4 race car and World Premier of the new Lotus T125 ultimate track/race car.
12:20pm - 12:35pm: Lotus Evora Cup GT4 race car on track with Johnny Mowlem.
5:00pm - 7:00pm: Reception hosted within Lotus exhibit.

Sun, Aug 8 - Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca & Marina Airport
9:00am - 5:00pm: Lotus exhibit
12:20pm - 12:35pm: Lotus Evora Cup GT4 race car on track with Johnny Mowlem.
8:00am - 4:30pm: GGLC Autocross

Weds, Aug 11 - Monterey Jet Center
5:00pm - 10:00pm: Lotus T125, Evora Cup GT4, Evora road car and IndyCar display at the McCall’s Motorworks Revival at the Monterey Jet Center.

Fri, Aug 13 - Pebble Beach & Laguna Seca
9:00am - 6:00pm: Lotus exhibit on Peter Hay Hill near The Lodge at Pebble Beach housing the Evora Cup GT4 track/race car and full array of Lotus road-going product portfolio.
9:00am - 5:00pm: GGLC/Lotus Corral at the Monterey Motorsport Reunion

Sat, Aug 14 - Pebble Beach & Laguna Seca
9:00am - 6:00pm: Lotus exhibit on Peter Hay Hill near The Lodge at Pebble Beach
12:00pm - 6:00pm: Lotus T125 track/race car displayed on the Concept Car Lawn at The Lodge at Pebble Beach.
9:00am - 5:00pm: GGLC/Lotus Corral at the Monterey Motorsport Reunion

Sun, Aug 15 - Pebble Beach & Laguna Seca
8:00am - 4:00pm: Lotus exhibit on Peter Hay Hill near The Lodge at Pebble Beach
8:00am - 6:00pm: Lotus T125 track/race car displayed on the Concept Car Lawn at The Lodge at Pebble Beach.
9:00am - 5:00pm: GGLC/Lotus Corral at the Monterey Motorsport Reunion

Time table from Golden Gate Lotus Club

Lotus and Cosworth – Each of those words elicit memories of the golden era of racing, of very special road and race cars, of powerful, lightweight engines and sweet-handling sportscars. Combined, the two names elicit thoughts of world domination.

Well, the two renowned British automotive names are set to indeed be linked, the companies announcing a strategic partnership to “develop high performance engines for Lotus road and race cars.” Cosworth will apparently tune the Toyota engines currently being used in the Lotus range. The first joint project to come of this marriage will be the new Lotus Evora Cup racing car, powered by a Cosworth-tuned Toyota V6 engine.

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The Lotus Evora has barely reached showrooms and already Lotus is working on special editions of their new 2+2. In all fairness, though, this is a race version of the V6-powered sportscar. Dubbed the Evora Cup, this new Evora variant is a true track specialist.

It is powered by an upgraded Toyota V6 that now displaces 4.0 liters and puts out almost 100 horsepower per liter with a rating of 395 ponies. Handling the extra power will be a race-spec Cima six-speed sequential gearbox.

Lotus has managed to shave some 440 pounds from its Evora Cup so it now weighs in at a scant 2,600 pounds. Even with the lower weight, because of the extra power and intended track duty, Lotus has reworked the suspension and beefed up the brakes as well.

The Lotus Evora Cup is expected to officially debut at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham, England. Following that, Lotus has announced plans to enter the Cup in FIA GT4 competition, as well as in its own Evora Cup Series. The price for this lightened, boosted Evora? It will cost you a bit more than the roadgoing version with a price that starts at £120,000 (U.S. equivalent of $195,432) plus taxes.

We say, lose the hard-edged suspension upgrades, keep the light weight and higher horsepressure, and drop the price to about 10K more than the standard model. Sell it as a sort of RS version of the car and do it now.