Lotus 3-Eleven gives you LaFerrari performance for fraction of the money

Unfortunately, the fastest Lotus ever is still only affordable if you've got £82,000 burning a hole in your pocket

Lotus says the 3-Eleven can tackle the Nürburgring in less than seven minutes

Lotus stands for light, clever, affordable sports cars, right? Well, it also stands for the new 3-Eleven – which is definitely light and clever, but only affordable if you’ve got £82,500 burning a hole in your pocket.

What you get for your money is the fastest Lotus ever. Which is fast.

Porsche 918, McLaren P1 and LaFerrari fast, actually. Which casts the word ‘affordable’ in a whole new light, as there’s metal there costing more than 1000% more than the 3-Eleven.

Both versions are based on a spaceframe body with an aluminium structure

Is it really that fast? Well, it’s available in Road and Race spec. The latter bumps the ticket to £116,500, admittedly – but that’s still peanuts compared to the 918 et al. And thus armed, you can rocket from 0-60 in 2.9 seconds.

Given an uninterrupted run at the Nürburgring, Lotus says you’d be out and back in less than seven minutes, too.

Credit for this goes to a mid-mounted 3.5-litre V6, built by Toyota and extensively worked up by Lotus to snort out 404bhp (Road) and 453bhp (Race).

The 3-Eleven's cabin is perfectly focused

The former is put down through a six-speed manual box, while the latter goes through a sequential unit. Not surprisingly, a limited-slip rear diff is standard across the range.

Gearing differences between the two boxes mean that despite having less power, the Road model has a higher top speed of 180mph. At 174, though, the Race version is unlikely to put you to sleep.

Road and Race versions alike are based on a spaceframe body with an aluminium structure and ultra-lightweight composite panels. Hung on this are independent double wishbones controlled by Ohlins shocks and anti-roll bars which are adjustable at the front.

The 3-Eleven is 'an uncompromised manifestation of the Lotus idiom'

The cabin is predictably focused, with things like a passenger’s seat appearing on the options list. Only on the Road model, though – in Race trim, you’re on your own.

In the words of Lotus boss Jean-Marc Gales, the 3-Eleven is ‘an uncompromised manifestation of the Lotus idiom.’

To everyone else, a planned production run of 311 vehicles is likely to appear just a touch contrived. On this particular car, however, that’s probably quite easy to forgive.