4 Less roof is more speed - Lotus 3-Eleven claims Hockenhiem production car record

Cover for Less roof is more speed - Lotus 3-Eleven claims Hockenhiem production car record

Christian Gebhardt from Sport Auto has set a new lap record for the 2.6 kilometer Hockenheim Short - one of the more prominent venues for road car track testing.

For almost two years, this record was held by Horst Von Saurma and the far more powerful (and expensive) Porsche 918 Weissach.

Sometimes "less is more", even when "less" means serious sacrifices. In this case the obvious sacrifice is the essential comfort feature - roof.

This is not the first time Lotus has chopped roof off a Lotus Elise and sold it as a track-day special. Auto enthusiasts will remember the Lotus 2-Eleven from late 2007, the direct predecessor of this new model.

The Lotus 3-Eleven Race has nearly twice the power of 2-Eleven which will drastically improve its chances in faster circuits against more powerful opposition.

Lotus has, once again, proven that "less roof is more speed" and laid the blueprint on how to beat the mighty Porsche 918. Maybe Ferrari and McLaren will take notice and develop a chopped supercar of their own. The 918 is systematically beating both P1 and LaFerrari in test after test, and Ferrari and McLaren may need some drastic measures to cut the losing streak, even if it means cutting roof first.

9y ago by FastestLaps
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FastestLaps  9y ago

Happy Easter everyone!


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MuhammedSaid  9y ago

bullshit


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benni275  9y ago

Great car! Yes, it might lose on long open tracks, but never mind. I think it is important to demonstrate that sportscars have become far too heavy. I like the 918, but Porsche should have built a 911 GT1 predecessor (maybe 750-800 hp and max 1300 kg)


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saxy  9y ago

On bigger open tracks this will lose out on the straights, like the Nurburgring. It was several seconds slower despite by adding up its best times in different sector times. Nonetheless this is a proper track car. Every buyer will bring their car to the track like its intended. And that's great.