Next year we can all look forward to having the chance to buy a brand new Lotus 3-Eleven, it has been revealed; the car that will herald a new generation of Lotus sports cars according to the manufacturer.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is not shy about revealing some tasty new propositions and Goodwood 2015 saw the unveiling of this exciting new car from Lotus. The Lotus 3-Eleven is powered by a supercharged 3.5 litre V6 engine.
The 3-Eleven’s V6 produces a hefty 443bhp and with an extremely favourable power to weight ratio (under 900kg kerb weight), it makes it the fastest Lotus yet.
If the name sounds somewhat familiar, it’s because this vehicle is essentially a reinvention of the 2-Eleven, which came to our attention back in 2007. The 3-Eleven was based on the Exige S and put out a – mild in comparison – 252bhp.
It’s fair to say that the 3-Eleven has caused a bit of a stir at Goodwood, which is no less than expected – and the news that the 3-Eleven will come in two versions – race and road legal – adds fuel to that excitement. Although maybe the price might cool you down a little as the range is from £82,000 right up to around £115,000.
As far as justifying it’s claim to be the fastest Lotus, the 3-Eleven recently completed a lap of the Lotus Hethel circuit in just 1 minute 22 seconds which is 10 seconds faster than anything that has gone before it from the Lotus stable.
With that knowledge, it will come as no surprise that the Lotus 3-Eleven can shift from 0-60 in under 3 seconds. The road going version will be able to achieve a slightly higher top speed compared to the track version: 180mph compared to 174mph. This being mainly due to the 6-speed gearing with racing clutch that features on the road going version, while the track version is equipped with a 6-speed sequential.
The weight saving is intense, with an aluminium bonded and riveted monocoque chassis and a carbon fibre body that uses a material that is 40% lighter than normal glass fibre.
As you might expect from a Lotus of this calibre, the cockpit doesn’t offer much in luxury, but then that’s not what this type of sports car is all about.
All in all, it’s good times for Lotus right now, as the company also recently announced that it would be upping production rates up from 45 to 70 vehicles per week. If you want to get your hands on a Lotus 3-Eleven, then deliveries are anticipated to begin from next April.
Images: autoexpress.co.uk, autocar.co.uk
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