Lotus 3-Eleven - Track test.

A track test around Castle Combe in the thrilling Lotus 3-11.
Thanks for watching!
DrP

[@Vonstroke]

Thanks for the vid and effort. There's far too little content out there of this machine.

[@jumadhaheri]

Your conclusion about the 311 is very much spot on what a friend of mine did try it and had said about it.

[@paulclark3]

Excellent coverage and long awaited .. thanks for sharing. 👍🏼🏁

[@SWatchik]

Been waiting for this! What an epic car. Seen quite a few on the classifieds. I do wonder how they sell, definitely seem to be under-appreciated. Just seen one with some canards added to the front bumper and it looks insane. Great vid

[@craigyirush3492]

Dr. P and the 311. Doesn't get much better!

[@spikes20]

Great review mate! Takes a good driver to pick up all those subtleties. Bit surprised you will opt for Evora next ;)

[@mcx3872]

Thanks for the great video Jonny, I'll be keeping my V6 Cup for a long time I think. Good luck with the new Evora 410 as and when it arrives. Looking forward to your thoughts and videos of that.

[@DrPittenstein]

MC X thanks, V6 Cup never ceases to amaze on track. Wait 'til you see my fastest lap split screen comparison with the 311!

[@PaddyMcQueen]

I saw one in a lotus garage in Geneva Last week... totally fell in Love!

[@MrRacs1]

Great review. I really enjoy your videos

[@DrPittenstein]

Thanks Robin, much appreciated.

[@afrancis1582]

It may not be as fast as a Radical, but it's so much more beautiful. I've seen one on a trackday, and I admit it's not as race-car quick as I would have expected. Also surprised you said it's relatively nervous. I wonder if it's because it's been setup to be dependent on aero? Maybe it needs to be driven at ten 10ths to work.

[@DrPittenstein]

I didn't feel any aero grip at all to be honest. The road 311 makes less downforce than the Elise Cup. I think the real deal is the race 311. It's 6.3 seconds a lap around Hethel faster than the road version!

[@und13s]

I love Lotus, have 2, but this thing is plain ugly to me.

[@CharlieDrives]

Did you use the audio from the camera inside the cockpit? My Hero 5 is pretty poor for wind-noise but you have nailed the sound on this one! 👍

[@DrPittenstein]

It's only taken 120 videos but I'm a fast learner like that ;)

[@adamkelsall3942]

Another great video Jonny. I think the inherent limitations of the 3-11 are down to its road car roots. No matter how exotic and fast it looks it's still based on a lotus road car (which is no bad thing of course). I did a trackday at Donington last week in a Caterham 420R. Wonderfully playful and fast little thing. I loved it. For this impractical track/road crossover market the fast Caterham's have the 3-11 (and 2-11 I'm sorry to say) covered. I now have a dilemma of what to do with my beloved 2-11. First world problems!

[@DrPittenstein]

I still consider the 211 superior to a Caterham for trackdays, I say that a huge fan and proud owner of a Superlight R. It's only slower by virtue of its power:weight. It's more clinical and precise, can generate downforce with the right bits on it, the ABS braking system is a huge advantage and on safety grounds alone it is light years ahead of the Caterham. I think the problem with the 311 is not the road car roots, plenty of successful race cars have those, it's the slightly confused parentage. It's actually more Evora underneath than Exige.

[@adamkelsall3942]

DrPittenstein coming from a 2-11 and trying Caterham brakes for the first time I thought the 420R's brakes were faulty! Lotus brakes are the best in the business. I think a future solution to my one car fits all quandary would be an Exige or dare I say it, Cayman GT4.

[@Bergie_78]

great review on the 311, best one I've seen - nice work! Can't believe you're moving the Cup on, have you advertised it yet?

[@DrPittenstein]

Scott Winterberg thanks, yes it's on pistonheads, sore subject though, will be a very sad day for me when it goes, best car I've ever owned.

[@fuchsroehre]

Great review indeed!! 👍 The 3-11 has stunning optics, very good steering and brakes and feels like an open sports prototype. But … … your criticism confirms my own experience with the 3-11 as a track car … - poor balance - very edgy (has been tamed a little bit with new setup) - very poor set-up when delivered, required a lot of work to sort out - down on power, very small exploitable rev band (ballistic power only from 6500 to 7000) - too heavy … 995 kg with ≈ 30 l of petrol w/o driver - unfavourable weight distribution 33:67 - highly located centre of gravity due to tall engine construction - disappointing lap times While the 3-Eleven is surely faster than my 4-pot 2010 Exige Cup, the Exige handles much sweeter and the difference in lap time is less than you'd expect from the figures (≈ 1.5 s per km). Struggling with the inital setup @ Bilster Berg circuit: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXyYm2eKrLt-eas

[@thumanunchanin3423]

Lotus 3 eleven is a gokart

[@carlitoxb110]

I want it so bad

[@und13s]

Not to mention the Exige looks waaaaaaaay better