RE: Lotus 3-Eleven - official!

[PorscheGT4]

The Pits said:

£82k isn't unreasonable at all - for the performance on offer.

There will be some people paying more for Cayman GT4s than that.

A 991 GT3 would need 700bhp to match the power:weight and this is £50k less than a GT3RS.

BAC Mono is well over £100k and considerably slower.

Same goes for an Ariel Atom that could match it.

Having driven a 211 it's not just the speed, it's the poise, delicacy, accuracy and feedback that makes it special to drive. A 300kg weight reduction compared to the Exige V6 this should ensure that the 311 offers more of the same.

Lotus have pulled all the stops out for this car. Great to see them getting their mojo back.

the BAC mono is more head to head with the £115k 3-11 and looks the dogs imo, def wow factor and of course 483 bhp per tonne, hardly considerably slower as you stated lol

[4oClock]

Fantastic! 0-60 in less than 3 seconds?!

It looks great, and the sort of car Lotus need at the moment. Just to prove they've still got it, and are not about special editions, celebrity endorsements, or following the crowd. plus that new composite body sounds like a very cool innovation, go Lotus!

[robemcdonald]

Yet another rehash of the Elise's now 2 decade old platform. This time with added fussy styling. Nothing to get excited about really is it? how many will they sell? 10-20 a year? Lotus needs to up its game or disappear into obscurity.

[unsprung]

Laugh-out-loud prices. As usual. At £115000, the Race is exactly the same price as the average US home.

So much creativity, know-how and that little bit of whimsy in the UK. So little access.

[RTH]

20 years since they rolled out the first Elise.
Time they just got on with a new road car model range of the kind they were known for.

[justboxsters]

yes! This is what Lotus in 2015 should be doing. A halo product that speaks to what they do best: Stripped out, lightweight cars that are exclusive and FAST. Properly fast.

Makes the GT3RS look like a fat bd.

[XBOW]

Great !!!

Should be lower running costs vs Radical too, specifically around engine

[Chr1sch]

looks awesome, stats are incredible - i mean 400bhp plus in that! wow wow wow

[Dick Seaman]

unsprung said:

Laugh-out-loud prices. As usual. At £115000, the Race is exactly the same price as the average US home.

Thanks, that's as relevant as posting the average US home lap time.

[HokumPokum]

it is still the same basic interior and tub as a 30k elise no?

at 85k for a track day toy + more for ooptions, this will only be afforded by those that can spare the cash to play and also spare the cash in case of a prang.

I think it looks brilliant but 85k is just too much for an elise derivative but at least they are only making a few. for the truly devoted that is.

[justboxsters]

do you think they'll ever get behind the GENII Lotus F1 team? Seams crazy to have a Lotus F1 team thats nothing to do with Lotus!

[otolith]

Max_Torque said:

Looks more like the other way around considering you could buy a Caterham R620 and a Golf R estate to tow it and still have change from the price of the "road" 3-11.........

The Caterham appears to be slower on track than Radical-type cars. I guess that's what happens when your design is older than aerodynamics.

[braddo]

robemcdonald said:

Yet another rehash of the Elise's now 2 decade old platform. This time with added fussy styling. Nothing to get excited about really is it? how many will they sell? 10-20 a year? Lotus needs to up its game or disappear into obscurity.

If the tub technology still does the job, what does its age matter? You're arguing for change for the sake of change.

Are you sore because the 4C doesn't handle as well as an Elise?

[anonymous-user]

otolith said:

Max_Torque said:

Looks more like the other way around considering you could buy a Caterham R620 and a Golf R estate to tow it and still have change from the price of the "road" 3-11.........

The Caterham appears to be slower on track than Radical-type cars. I guess that's what happens when your design is older than aerodynamics.

so?


If your racing one, then yes, ultimate lap time matters.

if you're not racing, i'd take "fun" over "laptime" any day (especially at a typical public trackday where driving a high downforce car is a massive PITA as you have so much extra corner speed over everything else, and hence spend the whole day getting "held up".......

[DonkeyApple]

unsprung said:

Laugh-out-loud prices. As usual. At £115000, the Race is exactly the same price as the average US home.

So much creativity, know-how and that little bit of whimsy in the UK. So little access.

Cheaper than a garage in my street. It's clearly a bargain.

[otolith]

Max_Torque said:

otolith said:

Max_Torque said:

Looks more like the other way around considering you could buy a Caterham R620 and a Golf R estate to tow it and still have change from the price of the "road" 3-11.........

The Caterham appears to be slower on track than Radical-type cars. I guess that's what happens when your design is older than aerodynamics.

so?


If your racing one, then yes, ultimate lap time matters.

if you're not racing, i'd take "fun" over "laptime" any day (especially at a typical public trackday where driving a high downforce car is a massive PITA as you have so much extra corner speed over everything else, and hence spend the whole day getting "held up".......

It's a fair point, but I think the comment you replied to was talking about performance rather than fun.

And you'd need some fun in your life once owning a Golf estate had sucked you joyless.

[Piers_K]

If you can afford to spend this sort of money on what will be a toy, your unlikely to be driving on 'typical' track days....
If you can afford to spend this sort of money on what will be a toy, your likely to have a 'fun' car in the garage too...

[CS400]

otolith said:

Max_Torque said:

otolith said:

Max_Torque said:

Looks more like the other way around considering you could buy a Caterham R620 and a Golf R estate to tow it and still have change from the price of the "road" 3-11.........

The Caterham appears to be slower on track than Radical-type cars. I guess that's what happens when your design is older than aerodynamics.

so?


If your racing one, then yes, ultimate lap time matters.

if you're not racing, i'd take "fun" over "laptime" any day (especially at a typical public trackday where driving a high downforce car is a massive PITA as you have so much extra corner speed over everything else, and hence spend the whole day getting "held up".......

It's a fair point, but I think the comment you replied to was talking about performance rather than fun.

And you'd need some fun in your life once owning a Golf estate had sucked you joyless.

You beat me to it...
If you have a Golf R you cant be interested in having a car that is fun to drive

[MKnight702]

To be honest, there are many cars that I would choose over this, it is way over priced for what sould be a stripped out sports racer which is what the original Eleven was.

If I didn't have the Ultima, then I would take a serious look at the Zenos. I saw one in the flesh at Stoneleigh and it looked great. The Zenos is priced well, spec'd well as standard and well thought out. For example, the bodywork is modular to make replacement much quicker/cheaper should you clip the tyres on a track day. I bet neither quality would apply to the Lotus! Pity really that others have come along and taken the market originally populated by Lotus while Lotus spend piles of cash trying to take on the might of Porsche. I know which one will run out of money first!

[suffolk009]

Best looking of the recent track day Lotus cars.

Nice stats, looking forward to the reviews.