Return of the Lotus Eleven

Lotus brings back a legendary name with the Lotus 2 Eleven on display at the 2007 Tokyo auto show. The original Lotus Eleven was built from 1956 to 1958, and competed successfully in many races of that era. The new generation 2 Eleven is based on the Exige S, getting its suspension and 1.8-liter supercharged and intercooled engine. But Lotus manages to squeeze 16 percent more power out of it, upping horsepower to about 255 at its top engine speed of 8,000RPM. The 2 Eleven is currently Lotus' most powerful car, and it gets from 0 to 62 mph in about 3.9 seconds. As the new Eleven, like the old, is intended for track use, the cabin is very bare, with a shifter for its six-speed close ratio manual, a steering wheel, and a small instrument cluster. Pricing as listed at the Tokyo auto show is 8,500,000 yen, which converts to about 75,000 dollars.