Do you think that you need to spend millions of dollars in the search for ultimate speed? You may want to reconsider; the Lotus 3-Eleven just set a new track record at Hockenheim on the short circuit. What makes that even more impressive is it had to bring down a member of the “holy trinity” to do it. You heard me right, I didn’t stutter. The Lotus 3-Eleven brought down the almighty Porsche 918. With a lap time of 1:06.2, it just barely edged out the 918 by .1 second, but a win is a win.
Before you go jumping down my throat about track conditions and tires, the Lotus beat out the Porsche by a tenth of a second on normal road tires, not the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2’s that the 918 gets. The weather wasn’t in favor of the Lotus either; it never got above 46 degrees meaning less than optimal grip. With tires equal to the Michelins and a nice warm day, I think the Lotus would shred its own record and further justify the name it’s earned, the “hypercar killer.” Maybe I’m wrong for rooting for the underdog, but it sure is refreshing seeing cars like the 3-Eleven punch above their weight.
