Lotus Targets Nurburgring Record With 2-Eleven Successor

Lotus wants to have the fastest road car around the Nürburgring.

The British automaker’s new head, Jean-Marc Gales, made the claim recently during an interview with Top Gear, saying that a successor to the 2-Eleven is less than two years away sporting around 400 hp while weighing just under 2,000 lbs.

Based off the new Evora chassis, the original 2-Eleven was built from an Elise/Exige base weighing just 1,643 lbs and making 250 hp from a supercharged 1.8-liter 4-cylinder.

The new 2-Eleven will also be the most expensive Lotus available, but Gales sounds confident that it’ll set a record at the ‘Ring.

SEE ALSO: Lotus 2-Eleven Review

Lotus is recovering from a disruptive last few years, during which its former CEO made ambitious claims that never came to fruition. Now Gales looks to refine what works and promises that any vehicle the company launches in the next two years will be “lighter and faster than its predecessor.” That means lighter and faster Elise, Exige and Evora models are on the way, though we’ve already been introduced to the Evora 400.

SEE ALSO: Evora 400 is Fastest, Most Powerful Production Lotus Yet

As for building its own powerplants, Gales admits that Lotus has no need to. He feels comfortable purchasing an engine, tuning it and calibrating it to the company’s desires. And in talking about the move to carbon fiber, don’t expect it to come anytime soon. The current Evora aluminum tub meets regulations until 2020 and Lotus plans on keeping with aluminum beyond that.

In fact, according to Gales it weighs just 5 lbs more than the carbon fiber tub used in the new Alfa Romeo 4C.

The company is aiming to sell 3,000 cars a year once the Evora 400’s production is ramped up.

[Source: Top Gear]

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