The Lotus 3-Eleven, the quickest series production car to come from Lotus’ Hethel Headquarters, has set the fastest lap time ever recorded by the leading and highly-respected German car magazine, “sport auto”.
Driven by Christian Gebhardt, a highly accomplished driver and Road Test Editor for “sport auto”, the Lotus 3-Eleven lapped the Hockenheimring short Circuit in an incredible 1 minute 06.2 seconds. This time was even more impressive considering that the 3-Eleven was on standard road tyres and the fastest lap was completed in less than perfect weather, where temperatures did not get higher than 8 degrees Celsius.
The Lotus 3-Eleven is now at the top of the “sport auto” lap-time chart which includes some of the most expensive and extreme roads cars on sale, from leading German, Italian, American and British manufacturers.
The “sport auto” Top 10 times (production cars) at Hockenheimring Short Circuit
- Lotus 3-Eleven, 1.06:2 min
- Porsche 918 Spyder, 1.06:3 min
- Gumpert Apollo, 1.07:2 min
- Radical SR3 SL, 1.08:1 min
- Lamborghini Gallardo Squadra Corse, 1.08:2 min
- =Corvette ZR1, 1.08:3 min
- =Ferrari 488 GTB, 1.08:3 min
- Porsche 911 GT2 RS, 1.08:4 min
- Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series, 1.08:6 min
The Lotus 3-Eleven in more detail:
Heralding the next generation of Lotus high performance sports cars, the 3-Eleven is the company’s quickest and most expensive series production car ever.
Designed to deliver an undiluted experience, the Lotus 3-Eleven utilises an all-new lightweight composite body, and a bespoke chassis based on the proven Lotus design of extruded and bonded aluminium sections.
The 3-Eleven offers a giant-slaying power-to-weight ratio, thanks to a revised V6 supercharged engine developing 460 hp, to provide in excess of 500 hp per tonne. It is capable of sprinting from 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds before reaching a maximum speed of 180 mph (290 km/h).
As part of its development the Lotus 3-Eleven spent time at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, where it was one of the fastest road going cars to ever tackle the track, capable of setting a sub-7 minute lap time.
The Lotus 3-Eleven is on sale now with production strictly limited to 311 cars to be built over the next two years.
