You may have read the news last week that Lotus->ke49 was killing its only remaining road-legal model here in the United States. There were a lot of sad faces around the U.S., but considering the car never sold well to start with, I didn’t quite feel the sorrow. Still, if you were one of the Lotus fans who spent the week crying into your ultra-lightweight driving gloves, I have good news for you. According to a report from Jalopnik, the Evora->ke3240 will be back as a 2016 model.

A statement was posted to Lotus Forums, and Jalopnik says that the CEO of Lotus North America, Arnie Johnson confirmed it to be true. "We would like to comment upon the rumours that are circulating on social media and online, Lotus is committed to the North American market and will indeed produce a 2016 Model Year Evora that will be fully U.S. compliant. We will not be producing a 2015 model year Evora, therefore, there will be limited availability of 2014 model year cars over the next few months."

So there you have it, the Evora will be returning, just not next year. Considering Lotus wasn’t going to revise the current car to use the “smart airbags” that would make it U.S. legal again, it is likely that the new Evora will be a highly revised model, if not a new-generation car.

As always, keep your eyes here on Jalopnik and we will be sure to pass on all the news as soon as we get it.

TopSpeed.com

Click past the jump to read more about the Lotus Evora.0}

Lotus is one of the last companies in the world that really focuses on creating cars that are designed to enhance the feeling and excitement of driving. Losing such a big name in the market would be a blow to enthusiasts everywhere. The current car is being phased out due a to a conflict with U.S. regulations regarding advanced multi-stage airbags that will deploy at different velocities depending on speed and severity of a collision, as well as occupant size. Lotus did have an exemption that allowed it to sell the Evora without the “smart airbags” but the exemption was only for 12 months. The current Evora doesn’t sell well enough for Lotus to justify the cost of designing the new system into the current car.

Why It Matters

The Lotus Evora is the latest and currently only road-going model that the company makes for the U.S. market. Like all Lotus cars, it is a sports car that focuses on keeping weight low, and driver engagement high. It is a mid-engine design that uses a 3.5-liter, V-6 engine that Lotus sourced from Toyota. The Evora is more of a GT car than a true track machine when compared to its siblings, like the Exige.