Lotus 3-Eleven 430 revealed

Lotus’ quickest street-legal sports car is now the Lotus 3-Eleven 430.

But there are only going to be 20 of them. Ever.

The 321kW/440Nm Lotus 3-Eleven weighs in at only 920kg, giving it a seriously impressive power-to-weight ratio of 348kW-per-tonne. That figure puts every Lambo in MOTOR’s ‘Hot Source’ list (at the back of each mag issue) to shame.

The 430 scores the same supercharged 3.5-litre V6 engine as the Exige Cup 430 (430 for its horsepower rating), though it lapped the 3.54km Lotus Hethel circuit almost 1 second faster than the Exige.

It runs a 0-100km/h run in 3.2 seconds, and has an astonishing top speed of 290 km/h.

And, of course, the power travels through a six-speed, open-gate manual gearbox.

To keep weight low, the 3-Eleven 430 uses a lightweight carbon-composite body, a bonded aluminium chassis, carbon side panels, and carbon interior panels.

Michelin Cup 2s help is stay stuck to the ground, with the grip allowing up to 1.5g of lateral force whilst cornering.

Lotus Group CEO Jean-Marc Gales says the 3-Eleven is the ultimate in lightweight performance for a road-legal sports car.

“When we first unveiled the Lotus 3-Eleven it heralded a new generation of truly focused, world-class sports cars.

“It altered perceptions of what was possible at this price category, and today the new 3-Eleven 430 moves the benchmark to remain the ultimate weapon in focused road driving and track work.”

The 3-Eleven 430 will cost UK buyers £102,000 (direct exchange is $181,960), though as only 20 are available worldwide we won’t be holding our breath to see one.