The New Lotus 3-Eleven 430 is here

ABU DHABI: Too much roof on your track day beast? Lotus seems to have the answer you’re looking for.

Their new quickest offering, the Lotus 3-Eleven 430 is here. It’s like the final form of the Lotus 3-Eleven. It is also the last batch 3- Elevens to go into production. As such the recipe has been altered by adding the 3.5-litre supercharged and charge-cooled V6 engine from the Exige to the 3-Eleven. This allows the car to generate 430 bhp of max power and 440 Nm of peak torque. Power is delivered through a 6-speed manual with a gorgeous stick shift. It is also equipped with Michelin Cup tyres of 225/40 ZR18 in front and 275/35 ZR19 at the rear. Braking is via AP Racing four-piston calipers and 332 mm two-piece J-Hook brake discs. With the 3-Eleven’s carbon-composite body, aluminum chassis and a missing roof and windshield, the car weighs just 920 kg. This means that the car has a power to weight ratio of 460 bhp per ton. Perhaps even more amazingly, the Lotus 3-Eleven 430 somehow still manages to be street legal.

All these numbers combine to give a 0-100 kmph time of 3.1 seconds and a top speed of 289 kmph. These numbers, combined with improved aero make it the fastest car on the company’s home circuit at Hethel. It beats the previous lap record holder, the Exige Cup 430 by 0.8 seconds and the original 3-Eleven by 2 seconds.

The mental performance comes at a price of nearly half a million dirhams before options. And there are indeed, many options to choose from including essentials like a removable steering wheel and a titanium exhaust in case the car wasn’t loud enough for you.

Track performance does not get rawer than this. But then this is not just any car. It is a celebration of the 70 year legacy of the company in creating world-class cars with the singular purpose of going around a race track as fast as it can. To mark the special occasion, this car has an exclusive and limited run of only 20 cars. Good luck finding one still on sale then.