Lotus unveil ‘giant-slaying’ 3-Eleven at Goodwood

29 June, 2015

The Goodwood Festival of Speed’s reputation as an ideal launch pad for manufacturers wanting to unveil new models to the public has continued in 2015, with Lotus revealing their stunning new 3-Eleven at this year’s event. A sequel to the 2-Eleven released in 2007, the 3-Eleven’s myriad of features will make it the fastest production car that Lotus have made to date.

Making use of the supercharged 3.5-litre V6 engine lifted out of the Lotus Evora 400, the 3-Eleven will generate 450hp. But as usual with Lotus, it’s the weight and the technology underneath its shiny resin British Racing Green panels that will make all the difference. Weighing in at less than a tonne, the Lotus will have an enviable power-to-weight ratio of 500hp per tonne, ensuring that it will be able to travel from 0–100kph in three seconds on its way to hitting a top speed of 290kph.

In the twisty stuff, the 3-Eleven’s new bespoke aluminium chassis, lightweight and adjustable double wishbones on the front and the rear, limited slip differential, Eibach springs, and Öhlins Racing adjustable dampers should make it an invigorating drive.

Considering the car’s track-day appearance, it is no surprise that it will also be available as a race car direct from the Lotus factory. While the racing version has a top speed 10kph adrift of the road car, it will feature a more aggressive aero package, a sequential gearbox, less weight, and an FIA-approved driver’s seat with a six-point harness.

Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales was very confident of the 3-Eleven’s ability.

“This new car is a giant-slayer, capable of embarrassing far more expensive rivals. It condenses our engineering know-how into one, hard-core package, and is so focused that it won’t suit everyone. This is a perfect demonstration of the faster and lighter concept, something which will be crucial to all Lotus cars in the future,” said Gales.

Inevitably, 311 examples of the 3-Eleven (we see what they’ve done there) will be built. Pricing starts at £82,000 (NZ$188,650) for the road version, and £96,000 (NZ$220,800) for the racer. Should you wish to get your hands on one, production kicks off in February, 2016, with deliveries scheduled to follow two months later.

 

Performance art

Shelby’s targets were Superformance — a South African company that wanted to sell its versions of these cars in the US — and the US-based Factory Five. Their defence was that the name and shape of the Cobra car were abandoned when Shelby American ceased production of these particular models back in the 1960s.
Shelby countered with: “We spent millions of dollars creating the name and the car and winning the world championship. These knock-off-car guys don’t deserve the credit or the profit for what my team and Ford accomplished in the ’60s.”
Superformance painted an even bigger target on its back by also producing a version of Shelby’s Daytona coupé. Other cars in its production stable were Mk1 GT40 and 1962 Corvette Grand Sport replicas, but we’ll focus here on the Daytona.

Design accord

You can’t get much more of an art deco car than a Cord — so much so that new owners, Paul McCarthy and his wife, Sarah Selwood, went ahead and took their Beverly 812 to Napier’s Art Deco Festival this year, even though the festival itself had been cancelled.
“We took delivery of the vehicle 12 days before heading off to Napier. We still drove it all around at the festival,” says Paul.
The utterly distinctive chrome grille wrapping around the Cord’s famous coffin-shaped nose, and the pure, clean lines of the front wing wheel arches, thanks to its retractable headlamps, are the essence of deco. This model, the Beverly, has the finishing touch of the bustle boot that is missing from the Westchester saloon.