It wowed crowds at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed – now Lotus’ fastest-ever production car has hot-footed it straight to north London to make a starring appearance at the capital’s newest Lotus dealer, Hexagon.
Heralding a new generation of Lotus high performance sports cars, the 3-Eleven is the company’s quickest and most expensive series production car ever, packing a 450hp supercharged V6 engine, a 0-60mph time of less than three seconds and a price tag starting at £82,000.
Sharing limelight with ex-Senna 1987 Lotus 99T F1 car and VIPs from the world of motorsport at Hexagon’s charity evening, The Life of Ayrton Senna, the 3-Eleven joined a host of stars including ex-F1 drivers David Coulthard and Martin Donnelly, present at the Fortis Green showroom to share memories of Senna and raise money for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity.
The new 3-Eleven will sit at the very top of Lotus’ model range, above the Elise, Exige and Evora, all of which are sold by Hexagon from its two London showrooms. Focused on providing an undiluted driving experience, the 3-Eleven keeps close to Lotus’ track roots with an all-new lightweight body and open cockpit design. Road and Race versions will be offered with the Race version boasting a more aggressive aero kit, a sequential gearbox and an FIA-approved driver’s seat with a six-point harness.
With a dry weight of below 900kg (Race version), the 3-Eleven packs a power to weight ratio in excess of 500hp per tonne, and is capable of sprinting from 0-60mph in less than three seconds before reaching a maximum speed of 174mph for the Race version and 180mph for the Road version.
Production will be limited to just 311 models in total. It will start in February 2016 with deliveries commencing in April 2016.
Hexagon recently announced a partnership with Lotus to sell its full range of models, making it the only Lotus dealer inside the M25. The move rekindles an historic relationship, as Hexagon was a Lotus dealer between 1964 and 1976. It also brings Lotus ‘home’ to north London: Hexagon’s headquarters in Fortis Green, East Finchley – where it will offer Lotus servicing and aftercare – is just a stone’s throw from Lotus’ original base of Hornsey, where Colin Chapman and his team built and sold the first models in the 1950s.
Jean-Marc Gales, Chief Executive Officer for Group Lotus plc, said: “It was with real pride that we recently announced our partnership with Hexagon – a dealer who has a long association with the Lotus brand and who gives us an absolutely first-class presence in London.
“It now gives me even greater pleasure to bring the 3-Eleven to Hexagon, an exciting new model that carries the Lotus philosophy to a new level. The car is a giant slayer, capable of embarrassing far more expensive rivals. This is a perfect demonstration of the faster and lighter concept, something which will be crucial to all Lotus cars in the future.”
Hexagon chairman, Paul Michaels said: “The 3-Eleven perfectly encapsulates the Lotus ethos. We are very honoured to be the first dealer to showcase this incredible new car and judging by the response already, it is going to be an enormous success. Together with the Elise, Exige and Evora, it’s clear that Lotus is on a roll. We are very excited and proud to be reintroducing a brand such as Lotus with its rich heritage to the capital’s car scene.”
