The new Lotus 3-Eleven marked its first public outing with a successful two-week test session during the industry pool test weeks at the renowned proving ground of the Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit, in which over 2,000kms were covered as part of a comprehensive test and development programme.
Heralding a new generation of Lotus high performance sports cars, the 3-Eleven features an all-new lightweight body, with an open cockpit design and a V6 supercharged engine developing 450 hp. The 3-Eleven re-affirms Lotus core values, offering the ultimate pure driving experience and providing the perfect demonstration of “faster and lighter” which comes from Lotus’ roots in competitive motorsport and underlines the company’s ability to deliver benchmark handling.
In what was its first turn of a wheel outside of Lotus’ Hethel HQ, the new 3-Eleven was piloted by three different drivers with individual areas of expertise and vehicle set-up with specific focus – aerodynamics, engine calibration, chassis tuning and suspension geometry.
With clear running on the circuit an inhibiting factor over the course of the two week period – in which the track was not designated solely for the use of Lotus – the 3-Eleven lapped regularly on or below the target simulation time. By combining the quickest sector times achieved during the fastest 2 laps on the “Sport Auto” magazine lap configuration, a total lap time of 7 minutes 06 seconds was recorded by the vehicle’s data logging acquisition system.
The new Lotus 3-Eleven will enter production in February 2016 with deliveries scheduled to commence in April 2016. Production will be limited to just 311 vehicles in total.
Prices start at £82,000 for the Road version (including VAT and on the road costs) and £96,000 excluding VAT for the Race version (£115,200 including VAT). The 3-Eleven will be sold in all markets as a race car and in Europe and Asia as a road car.
Those wishing to register their interest in the Lotus 3-Eleven, should visit: http://www.lotuscars.com/3eleven
Official fuel consumption figures and CO2 emissions figures for the Lotus 3-Eleven are not currently available. They will be provided on the Lotus website www.lotuscars.com as soon as they are available.
