The Lotus 3-Eleven 430 is the fastest street-legal Lotus built
You're looking at the fastest street-legal Lotus ever built. Weighing in at 2,028 pounds, the new Lotus 3-Eleven 430 can hit 60 mph in just 3.1 seconds and continue all the way to 180 mph. It's a fitting tribute for 40 years of Lotus cars.
As expected, the "430" in its name refers to its power output. There's no four-banger screamer in the 3-Eleven 430: The supercharged, Toyota-sourced 3.5-liter, 24-valve V6 produces 430 hp and 324.5 lb-ft. of torque. There's a lightweight carbon-composite body on an extruded-bonded aluminum chassis, and the carbon side panels are partially exposed for that cool carbon look. You also get variable, six-position traction control, with five levels ranging from 1 percent slip to 12 percent slip to off. Lateral acceleration while cornering is a respectable 1.5 g.
At the Hethel test track, the new 3-Eleven 430 has reportedly beaten previous Lotus efforts. With a lap time of 1:24, it's 0.8 seconds quicker than an Exige Cup 430, and it also completely obliterates the previous, 2015 3-Eleven by shaving off 2 whole seconds.
Only 20 units will be built, so few people will get to experience the 430 at maximum attack. Lotus has priced the 3-Eleven 430 at £102,000 on the road in the UK, which corresponds to $142,525.
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The Lotus 3-Eleven 430 is the fastest street-legal Lotus built originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Feb 2018 15:50:00 EST.
