The Lotus 3-Eleven Just Went 7:06 Around The Nurburgring
By Paulo Acoba
Lotus combined the fastest sectors from its testing at the Nurburgring to unofficially post a 7:06 ring time.
The masters of lightness are at it again and this time they’ve posted a blistering time around the wold famous Nurburgring. Thanks to our motoring friends over at AutoGuide with their post earlier today (Sept. 9, 2015) we caught wind that the Lotus 3-Eleven has been testing furiously around the Green Hell for more than two weeks now.
After deciding enough was enough and wanting to run the track in clear air on their own terms, they decided to simply run the Nurburgring twice and combine the quickest sectors thanks to GPS acquisition data. You can run around the ‘Ring as fast as you want, but you’ll have other manufacturers testing as well, and subsequently will be in your way. What they came up with was a 7:06, a time that places this lightweight supercar past the Nissan GT-R Nismo, Lexus LFA and Porsche 911 GT2 RS and has it knocking on their doors of the Lamborghini Aventador and Porsche 918 Spyder.
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When you take a cursory glance at the spec sheet, it’s easy to see how this supercharged Toyota V6 could manage such a time. Thanks to Lotus’s lightweight aluminium tub and composite bodywork that’s 40 percent lighter than fiberglass, you have a car that tips the scales at less than 2,000 pounds. Mount a 456 HP version of the supercharged V6 also found in the Evora and Exige under the hood and its plain to see how less than 500 HP can be so effective. According to Lotus, the 3-Eleven with the right gearing can reach a top speed of 180 MPH. And if you’re wondering, MSRP on this lightweight track monster hovers around $181,000. There’s a price to pay for “less is more.”