Lotus presenterade igår sin nya miljonärsleksak Lotus Exos vid ett event på Laguna Seca.
Artikel från Golden Gate Lotus Club som var där.
The GGLC was proud to attend the world premier of the new Lotus Exos Type 125 at the Monterey Motorsports Pre-Reunion today. The Lotus T125 is an F1 inspired track only car that uses Formula technology and a Cosworth V8 to provide stunning performance for the ultimate track day toy.
The first things that strikes you when you walk in is how much it looks like a current generation F1 car. The chassis is a carbon fiber monocoque both the wide front wing and the narrow rear wings of the 2009-spec F1 cars. It also has the coke bottle shape, top exit exhaust and shark fin engine covers that have been in vogue. Other technical similarities include carbon ceramic brakes and a carbon fiber pushrod suspension.
The F1 technology continues inside the cockpit there the car uses paddle shifters to control the semi automatic gearbox as well as a multi function screen on the steering wheel that allows drivers to set the various parameters on the fly.
The engine is a Cosworth GPV8 that has been detuned to produce 650 bhp with a 10,300 rpm redline (10,800 push to pass). Weighing just 650kg the car will have a power to weight ratio just shy of 1000 bhp per ton and should be faster than anything short of a recent Formula 1 car. However unlike an F1 car this engine is designed to run 4500 km between rebuilds and has a starter motor so that you don't need a support crew to be able to run the car at the track.
Lotus plans to make just 25 Exos next year and will be pricing then at one million dollars apiece. Apart from the car itself, the Exos program will also include 5 "driver events" at various race tracks that will allow the owners to slowly come up to speed with the performance of their new car by getting instruction and advice from a variety of current and past Lotus drivers (a little birdy tells us that Mika Häkkinen and Jarno Trulli will be involved).
Verkar vara läge att öka medlemsavgiften med en 5-hundring eller liknande så att klubben får råd att köpa klubb bil att låna på bankörningar...
Går den att få i LRG med gul mun och stripe???
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Leklådan består av:
75 - SAAB 96 Silver
99 - Lotus Elise
00 - Ducati 748
07 - Ducati Hypermotard Miss Sophies hemsida
My guardian angel is quick, I just try to keep up...
The Lotus 125 is an exclusive ultra high performance F1™ inspired race-car complete with Cosworth 3.5 litre GP V8 engine producing 640bhp linked to a six-speed semi automatic gearbox with paddle shift.
A bespoke carbon composite with nomex and aluminium core chassis with carbon composite panels contribute to a super light weight of just 560kg resulting in a phenomenal power to weight ratio of nearly 1000 hp per tonne.
Unlike a Formula One car however, an army of technicians and mechanics is not required to start the engine and keep the car running. The start button is all the driver needs to press to get going.
Purchasers of the Lotus 125 will be able to chose from a stylization of a classic Lotus livery, the Exos (explained below) concept design, or as an option, request their own, bespoke livery.
The Exos* Experience by Lotus
The Exos Experience, initiated and operated by Lotus Motorsport, is an elite club. A club in which the limited number of Lotus 125 owner drivers can refine their driving skills and challenge themselves in Formula 1™ inspired technology combined with expert one-to-one advice from former Grand Prix drivers and trainers.
The ‘Exos Experience by Lotus’ is a new concept for these most exclusive owners and members to improve their race craft and engineering prowess, learn how to set-up a car working with a race engineer, focus on mental and physical fitness and enjoy a driving experience quite literally out-of-this-world. A team of engineers, aerodynamicists, tyre specialists and experts from every field have the specific aim of delivering the optimum performance vehicle. But it is not just the performance of the vehicle which will be optimised, the driver will be brought up to a high level through an F1 level fitness programme including nutrition, strength and fitness training and through driver training from former Lotus F1 drivers to raise the customers’ skill levels to F1 standard.
A member of the Exos Experience will be offered an elite concierge service for track based activity including assisting with travel arrangements and transfers to the track enabling the owner to begin their experience as smoothly as possible. The dedicated Lotus Exos concierge will act as a central point of contact for all arrangements and communications covering all official documentation and special requests.
Just as Formula 1™ drivers must prove themselves from week-to-week on Grand Prix tracks around the world, the ‘Exos Experience by Lotus’ will be held at European circuits with first class facilities, like the famous Paul Ricard Circuit in the south of France, and the Autódromo do Algarve, Portimao in Portugal. Owners will learn to drive in conditions similar to the most demanding race proven circuits in motorsport. With Lotus’ sophisticated data-gathering systems they’ll also be able to compare lap times with past and present heroes of the sport and debate braking distances - with braking zones of less than 100m, one of the difficult aspects to master - and overlay racing lines, entry and exit speeds and terminal velocity.
Each event will be structured to enable the driver to hone their skills allowing them to develop as a more complete driver and experience a near facsimile of a Grand Prix weekend. They will be advised on all aspects of car and driver performance to ensure that they benefit fully from the ownership of a Lotus 125. Lotus’ team of driver coaches, technicians and physiotherapists will be at their service throughout the event: helping to improve race-craft, technical understanding and preparation for the physical strains of driving. The ‘Exos Experience by Lotus’, will provide a unique opportunity to extend driving skills in a safe but challenging atmosphere.
*Exos = Exosphere - a reference to the earth’s outer atmosphere - the exosphere - where space begins and G-forces lessen where atoms are on ballistic trajectories and the lightest gases including atomic oxygen reside.
Intressant att de bara kallar bilen för Lotus 125, allt för att knyta an till de gamla GP-bilarna?! Exos verkar bara vara namnet på själva programmet. Vi kommer säkert få se flera bilar framöver som kommer ingå i "the Exos experience", antar att Lotus försöker skapa någonting likt Ferraris Corse Clienti.
