Not for the faint of heart! - Now "Exige Cup 430"

[4exige]

i am very exciting  !!! Something NEW! Your thoughts?

[The Pits]

Interesting! Genuinely don't know. That red supercharger cover is associated with the 430 engine though. 

"New and extreme'"...

311 with a 430 engine?

Exige with a 430 engine?!

Too soon for a faster Evora (I hope!).

Most likely is an Exige with a 430 engine  

That's assuming it's the production car lap record held (very briefly!) by the GT430.

If it's a race version of something then it would take something pretty extreme to beat the 311 Race!

[4exige]

i was thinking about 4eleven!?

[rallyesax]

I thought 3.11 bad ass spec

[The Pits]

Maybe a 311 upgrade is easier to achieve and more likely than Lotus going straight for the full 430 in an Exige.

I didn’t think the 311 was successful enough to encourage doing a faster more expensive version but we’ll see soon enough. That engine is just what the 311 needs though. Sounds fast whatever it is!

[Gashead1105]

Evora GT431 Sport Touring Toys Out of Pram Edition

[NedaSay]

I'm betting on the Evora Race 460 (track only model) finally being unveiled, I can only see a full fat GT4 car to beat the 311 Race.

The posting hints at breaking the overall record... But I assume only for a road going car converted to some kind of a Lotus Motorsport special.Lotus would do well to propose a GT4 competitor now, GT4 is the new GT3, the market is booming. Getting Lotus Motorsport back from the ashes would be timely too.

It could be an exige but this would mean adding around 40kg of weight, which is a huge no no in Hethel right now. The 311 order book is closed and a potential 411 was stated as less extreme by JMG. 

[The Pits]

Not a bad shout. I’d love to see a race version of the GT430 battling it out in GT races. JMG hasn’t shown much interest in returning to racing as yet but I would welcome a change in policy there. Fingers crossed you’re right ?

[rallyesax]

3 hours ago, The Pits said:

That engine is just what the 311 needs though. Sounds fast whatever it is!

I never drove a 311, do you feel it is underpowered ?

Looking at the specs, doesn't seem to me. 

[NedaSay]

16 minutes ago, The Pits said:

Not a bad shout. I’d love to see a race version of the GT430 battling it out in GT races. JMG hasn’t shown much interest in returning to racing as yet but I would welcome a change in policy there. Fingers crossed you’re right ?

If JMG focussed on the bottom line since he took over, Geely may see fit to get the brand back into the racing arena, they seems to appreciate the benefits brought by racing. 

Before Volvo was acquired by Geely, the company had said they would drop out of the motorsport scene, a few months later they were signing up for an official long term WTCC assault. Proton got the go ahead or at least a stay of execution on their Iriz R5 WRC. Polestar has been rumoured to enter Formula E in the foreseeable future, possibly as early as season 6. Geely has been  propping the Chinese Formula 4 championship for the past 2 years.

Lotus putting a GT4 out there would not cost much. It's already all there, The GT430 is an updated GT4 car homologated for the road... Replace the gearbox by the Xtrac unit and the dash binnacle by the Motec unit seen in the 311, remove the passenger seat, add a roll cage, a fire extinguisher and a 6 points harness, then go through FIA homologation process again and voila.  VSA Motorsport in the US has been working on fitting the Evora 400 engine to their chassis so it is likely that at least one Evora will be battling on track next year.

But reopening Motorsport - very few do actually know that it's closed - selling a few cars or more likely leasing a few cars to privateers would be a good way to keep the brand active in the public eye for the next 2 to 3 years. 

 

[hedgerley]

I hadn't really thought of the Geely benefits extending into Motorsport. But then I saw this and thought, that's clever. getting the relatively unknown brand out there. Perhaps they have a plan.....

 

[The Pits]

Spot on Budds, the crazy powerband makes it very challenging and a bit edgy. Funny thing is, it doesn’t seem to affect the Sport 410 as adversely. My guess is the extra weight keeps things calm in this instance, meaning the Evora can cope with the powerband better when it kicks even if that’s mid-corner. 311 is so manic when it goes that it’s something you are a bit wary of unleashing while cornering. The 430 motor expertly fills the 410’s mid range power dip, would transform the 311 I believe. Quite easy to achieve something similar with a remap of course.

I’m hoping it’s a GT430 Race now though. I’d be thrilled to take mine up to some British GT races next year and then drive home in the road legal version. ?

[Bravo73]

1 hour ago, NedaSay said:

The GT430 is an updated GT4 car homologated for the road... Replace the gearbox by the Xtrac unit and the dash binnacle by the Motec unit seen in the 311, remove the passenger seat, add a roll cage, a fire extinguisher and a 6 points harness, then go through FIA homologation process again and voila.

The GT430 is definitely not a GT4 car, converted for the road (regardless of what the Lotus marketing department might be telling you). About the only similarity is the (bolt on) Ohlins TTX suspension. 

The original Evora GT4 was a very different beast. Practically every panel was different from the road car, the bulkhead was right behind the ‘front’ seats and the engine was even in a different position (further forwards). And that’s just off the top of my head...

[The Pits]

Pretty sure everyone gets that. Also that no-one wants an actual Evora GT4 on the road, it wouldn’t be pleasant at all. No-one is suggesting that’s what the GT430 is.

However I think the point is entirely fair that a stripped out, caged, XTrac equipped  GT430 would be a good starting point for a new GT4 spec race car.

[Bravo73]

Read NedaSay’s post. Especially the first bit that I quoted. 

[NedaSay]

3 hours ago, Bravo73 said:

The GT430 is definitely not a GT4 car, converted for the road (regardless of what the Lotus marketing department might be telling you). About the only similarity is the (bolt on) Ohlins TTX suspension. 

The original Evora GT4 was a very different beast. Practically every panel was different from the road car, the bulkhead was right behind the ‘front’ seats and the engine was even in a different position (further forwards). And that’s just off the top of my head...

I would say the bolt on suspension, the chassis front and mid section, the carbon roof, the front hood and the overall body except for the doors which are slightly different... Evidently for race purpose the bulkhead is moved forward and the engine mounts are different so as to shift the car centre of gravity but actually the engine bed is only evolved from the production spec as opposed to the GTE racecar which had a completely different rear structure.  

The logic behind my exaggeration was hinting at the fact that it is all there to be done. The body panels template do already exist, and the GT43O does use the carbon roof and tailgate inspired from the GT4, the gearbox can be sourced from Xtrac, the ECU has been out there... The engine is good to go even if it does require tuning if anything the current engine is about 100bhp more powerful than the GR-FE that was initially installed in the GT4 car which only generated 360bhp in Cosworth GLA Spec.  I believe the new tailgate and wing lay out would make the car better too.

Here is VSA Motorsport 2018 test mule, this car is an old GT4 or GTN converted to a 400 series engine, it is set to race in Lotus Cup USA but I know that VSA would like to run a small program in PWC or SCCA next year. There's a fair bit of custom work on the car. 

 

By the sound of it and the look too it goes like sting 

 

Edited November 8, 2017 by NedaSay

[4exige]

@Bibs: Insider news? 

[rallyesax]

18 hours ago, The Pits said:

Spot on Budds, the crazy powerband makes it very challenging and a bit edgy. Funny thing is, it doesn’t seem to affect the Sport 410 as adversely. My guess is the extra weight keeps things calm in this instance, meaning the Evora can cope with the powerband better when it kicks even if that’s mid-corner. 311 is so manic when it goes that it’s something you are a bit wary of unleashing while cornering. The 430 motor expertly fills the 410’s mid range power dip, would transform the 311 I believe. Quite easy to achieve something similar with a remap of course.

I’m hoping it’s a GT430 Race now though. I’d be thrilled to take mine up to some British GT races next year and then drive home in the road legal version. ?

Ok thanks for the heads up

[hedgerley]

Just put up on Facebook by Lotus. Unveiling tomorrow....

 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Lordy!

[hedgerley]

Exactly. 411?

[The Pits]

Very exciting. Looks a lot like an Exige to me.

Central wiper.

380 Race?

The red supercharger cover definitely belongs to a chargecooled car though....

They can't be dropping the chargecooled Exige so soon after the 380 Cup surely?!

[NW76]

Are you sure this is an actual roof and not a cage?!?

[NedaSay]

37 minutes ago, The Pits said:

Very exciting. Looks a lot like an Exige to me.

Central wiper.

380 Race?

The red supercharger cover definitely belongs to a chargecooled car though....

They can't be dropping the chargecooled Exige so soon after the 380 Cup surely?!

I'm confused, didn't they put the Exige Race 380 already?! They would not be rolling an update of that one it's been out for less than a year... The exige getting the 430 engine!?

They are getting good at this unveiling thing, I cannot make out what's hiding underneath that piece of cloth. 

That wing promised to be ridiculous though absolutely ridiculous looking but in a good way.

It has to be Evora based, I mean surely! But I can't make out the lines except maybe the shark nose and that is pretty tenuous indication as far as it goes.

The wheel arches seem to be flared - like the Old Evora GTC/GX - or do I need new glasses?

Ok I will stick to my guess Evora Race 430 or 460... Hopefully with full GT4 homologation, cherry on top would be the announcement of a race program as part of the resurgence of Lotus Motorsport arm.

Or could it be a 3-11 with a windshield and more power? 

Edited November 8, 2017 by NedaSay

[The Pits]

We've only seen a render of the Race 380 so far. No way that's an Evora under there, nose is all Exige, roofline too low. Wing looks massive but 380 Cups wing was anyway. They sold a lot of V6 CupRs, could well be time for an update.

But chargecooler means it's not a 380, must be 400 minimum! Not sure how that will work with Lotus Cup regs, maybe it's an Exige based customer GT car. Genuinely don't know!