), the first test vehicle was held at high speed Paul Ricard High Tech Test Track in Southern France under
. This latest
that have the same power and weight, and that has direct lineage to their road going versions.
Lotus Sport Exige GT3 participants developed the
Lotus Sport, the
performance arm
Lotus Cars and is derived from the standard
Lotus Exige coupé
model. Weighing about 750 kg, it stays true to "
performance through light weight" core
Lotus philosophy. The
car uses a race prepared
1.8 2ZZ-GE VVTL-i engine with a
Roots-
type supercharger and air-to-air intercooler that uses
Lotus T4e Engine Control Unit to produce
285 hp (289 hp) at 7800 rpm. This gives an impressive power to weight ratio of
380 hp /
tonne or 2.6 kg / hp.
After a brief shakedown program
Lotus test track at Hethel, factory test
driver Gavan Kershaw conducted a
final set of chassis tires on the wet morning session at
Paul Ricard official
FIA test. What followed was a trip to slick tires on the track by
FIA nominated test
driver drying
Christophe Bouchut.
Sport Car Lotus Sport Exige GT3 BackCommenting on the encouraging test,
Chris Arnold, General Manager of
Lotus Sport, explained: "We were delighted to attend the official
FIA tests. Since the car was still on the drawing board two months ago, it's a fantastic achievement for the full build-in such a short time. We knew this test would be a first test for the car at the spot, and I am very pleased with the results. Our winter development program began testing the tunnel just before Christmas followed by further work in preparation for the next
FIA test in March. "
FIA announced five races of the
European Championship for the
new GT3 class with rounds in the
UK,
Germany,
Belgium,
France and
Italy. Various
national GT Championships are also considering
modifications to its
regulations to include
GT3 class.
Sport Car Lotus Sport Exige GT3 Turing 
