A 670kg track car with 250bhp - yes please! The Atom is no longer top of my list of nutty cars to buy.

http://www.pistonheads.com/lotus/def...?storyId=15956

Also shows that a 2ZZ-GE can be supercharged without the top-mounted intercooler as in the Exige. Wonder if it'll make a Lotus approved supercharger for the 111R any more of a realistic possibility.

 

Very nice

 

40k for a weekend / track toy though

 

670kg? 40k? No thanks.

You really would have to be daft/rich/niave to spend that on this sort of car, it looks great but 40k?

Lotus have must be doing very well developing the brand, because that's what will sell it

 

670kg isn't that light - the CSR260 weighs about 570kg and the superlights can be as low as circa 500kg

 

Agree that 40k is far too much money for just a track day toy........however I can't wait to see that in the hands of the Stig.

 

Despite appreciating Lotus handling, I wouldn't pay

 

I think the key point in the argument for "why don't I just buy a Radical" is reliability. Bike engined cars are not known for their longevity (particularly in the case of their clutch). Dropping in a duratec has been done on things like the Noble, but they already have a deal with Toyota and have years worth of reliability data to base the car on.

The 2ZZ isn't peaky at all with the supercharger on it, Mark. I drove an Exige 220S recently and it was so smooth it was like driving a diesel!

40k is a lot of money, but it's the same sort of money as an Atom, which I was considering anyway. The Lotus badge as you've all said will sell it for me.

 

But you're hardly going to do the commute in the Lotus track car are you? For the number of miles one of these is going to do a year, a BEC is just as practical and reliable. And in a Radical, you get better handling and proper downforce to boot. We're talking high days and holidays for this car, so longevity will be determined by how frequently it's serviced, Bike engines are no more or less fragile than car engines in this kind of application. I bet the service interval on the Lotus is yearly, regardless of how many miles you do.

As for the supercharged 'Yota engine, I'll take your word on that, but my point was that a supercharger is a heavy old bit of kit, and the weight could have been saved by using a more suitable engine in the first place, I know that's not possible, as they have a deal with Toyota, but I think for a track car, and especially a Lotus, it's a compromise too far (see my sig for the reason why - Chapman would have found the best engine for the job, sod the consequences, and he was respected for doing so).

I also think Atoms are overpriced at the upper end, you used to be able to buy a K-Series one for

 

I think that'll be the deciding factor, if people are willing to pay 40k Lotus are onto a winner. No doubt a glowing review on Top Gear will shift a few as it did for Noble and Ariel.

But there are a lot of track day types that don't seem too impressed, but it can't be any worse a seller than the new Europa. Can it?