1997 Lotus Elise GT1
Lotus wanted to go racing in Le Mans (stop me if you have heard this one before). Of course in the 1990s that meant at least one of the “racing” cars had to be road legal. Cue the Lotus GT1.
The Lotus Elise GT1 utilized a production aluminum chassis with custom carbon fiber body that was optimized for endurance racing. Out went the Elise’s inline-four, swapped for a monster twin-turbo 6.0-liter version of the C4 Corvette’s LT5 V8. Reliability proved to be a problem for all seven chassis that were built, with the best success being a fifth place at Helsinki.
In Detail
| submitted by | Richard Owen |
| price $ | $645 000 USD |
| engine | Twin Turbo V8 |
| valvetrain | 4 Valves / Cyl |
| displacement | 3506 cc / 213.9 in³ |
| bore | 83.0 mm / 3.27 in |
| stroke | 81.0 mm / 3.19 in |
| power | 261.0 kw / 350 bhp @ 6500 rpm |
| specific output | 99.83 bhp per litre |
| bhp/weight | 333.33 bhp per tonne |
| torque | 399.97 nm / 295 ft lbs @ 4250 rpm |
| redline | 7200 |
| driven wheels | Mid Engine / RWD |
| front tires | 275/35ZR18 |
| rear tires | 345/35ZR18 |
| front brakes | Vented Discs |
| f brake size | x 14 mm / x 0.6 in |
| rear brakes | Vented Discs |
| r brake size | x 14 mm / x 0.6 in |
| front wheels | F 43.2 x 55.9 cm / 17.0 x 22.0 in |
| rear wheels | R 45.7 x 66.0 cm / 18.0 x 26.0 in |
| steering | Rack & Pinion |
| curb weight | 1050 kg / 2315 lbs |
| wheelbase | 2300 mm / 90.6 in |
| front track | 1480 mm / 58.3 in |
| rear track | 1500 mm / 59.1 in |
| length | 4491 mm / 176.8 in |
| width | 2070 mm / 81.5 in |
| height | 1100 mm / 43.3 in |
| transmission | 6-Speed Manual |
| gear ratios | :1 |
| top speed | ~320.0 kph / 198.8 mph |
| 0 – 60 mph | ~3.8 seconds |
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