Lotus 3-Eleven unveiled at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Lotus cars are not that powerful? They’ve broken that stereotype after unveiling their latest creation, the 3-Eleven, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Standing as the effective successor to the 7-year-old 2-Eleven, the 3-Eleven will be made in both road and track versions. Lotus claims it will be the fastest production car from their stables.

The Toyota-derived 3.5-litre V6 supercharged engine now produces a whopping 450 hp and 450 Nm of torque. And this, powering a car that has a curb weight of just over 900 kg, should make for some menacing action. For starters, it will hit 0-100 kph in under 3 seconds, and Lotus also claims that the car will lap the Nurburgring close to the seven-minute mark, where it not for the ban on ‘Ring record runs there now. Both the track and road-going versions of the Lotus 3-Eleven will come with the same powertrain and adjustable suspension.

The track version is lighter due to it being stripped down and comes with track tyres, FIA safety cage and a 6-speed sequential gearbox. However, the track car will max out at 280 kph, and the road-legal version will hit 290 kph. The latter also has Torsen limited-slip differential and a 6-speed manual gearbox.

Lotus says that the body of the 3-Eleven is made of a composite that is 40% lighter than fibreglass, and will ride on 18-inch and 19-inch alloys in the front and back respectively.

Only 311 examples of the car will be built, and production is slated to begin by February next year. Maybe a few will make it to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other GCC countries.