LA 2007: Lotus the 2-Eleven to the US!
Click the Lotus 2-Eleven for a high-res gallery
Last March at the Geneva Motor Show, Lotus announced a new track car based on the Elise called the 2-Eleven. The stripped-down 1,474-pound 2-Eleven reduces the already spartan Elise to its bare essentials. Any semblance of a roof has been stripped away while the supercharged Toyota 1.8L puts out 252hp. The aerodynamics have been modified to maximize downforce, and sixty miles per hour comes up from a standstill in 3.9 seconds. Alas, the US has no single vehicle type certification rules like those in England that allow lights to be added so the car can be driven on the street. For those in the US who want a wicked-fast toy for track days, start pulling the coins out of your sofa cushions because the 2-Eleven will run you $78,000 when it becomes available next year.
[Source: Lotus]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mike 10:12AM (11/16/2007)
What a toy! If I had the cash/time for a track car I think this would be it...
Reply
Bonehead 4:54PM (11/18/2007)
gotta say, cool car and all but $78k for a track car?? Why not purchase the GT-R and have a faster car for less money? To me the only car that makes sense as a track car is the Atom. It is the track car that delivers insane performance for a relatively reasonable price (ie no other street car at that price comes close in performance).
Reply
mikomi 10:33AM (11/16/2007)
Gven the heritage of Lotus, it might not be much of a stretch to say the 2-eleven might be the faster car when you factor in that it probably handles better and can probably take corners faster. But that's an opinion, and no disrespect to the GT-R, it's a fine car. But I admit I am biased to Lotus here.
mikomi 10:35AM (11/16/2007)
As for cost, yeah, 78K is a bit pricey for a stripped down track car that is not even street legal like the GT-R is out of the factory. But the GT-R has the advantage of being a semi-mass produced production car, whereas the 2-Eleven is a hand-crafted vehicle. No where to cut corners on costs in that case.
s2d4 11:05AM (11/16/2007)
The Exige GT3 concept will probably attract more sales than this thing. It has the track day performance and the curves of a swimsuit model on wheels. Pity it doesn't seem like they will be bringing that into production as stated at Geneva. Maybe the power figure was slightly high on the concept for road reliability, the mechanicals are near identical, the body panels can definitely be manufactured for production. So yeah, I am not quite sure if I can understand their car selling strategies. Bring out an face lifted version then tell everyone that they have to settle for the dated body style. The funny thing is, once the mold for the panels/clams are made, the time for production is probably roughly the same as the existing body style.
Reply
Tsunami Racer 11:33AM (11/16/2007)
this might sound like a stupid question but how do you get into that thing? do you "bo and luke duke"-it over the sides and pray you don't land on the stick?
Reply
Zane 3:00PM (11/16/2007)
The same way you get into an F1 car. :)
HotRodzNKustoms 6:10PM (11/16/2007)
Ok I am confused. I saw one driving down the road in the Fallbrook/Bonsall area of Northern San Diego County weeks ago. It wasn't already available in the U.S.? I know that area is notorious for test mule duty and magazine reviews but still. If it isn't street legal what was one doing driving down the road towards Oceanside?
Reply
Sam Abuelsamid 7:34PM (11/18/2007)
It's not unusual to get a waiver for testing or they may have been filming a promotional video.