Quick video from Cosworth/Lotus talking about the GP V8 engine that powers the Lotus T125.
As an added bonus check out this video of the Stig piloting the T125 around the Top Gear track. Click here to watch the full Top Gear test video.
Top Gear on the Lotus T125
Top Gear drives the Lotus Exos T125 track day special. For more information on the Lotus T125, please head over to our report from its world premiere featuring exclusive videos, photos and interviews with the Lotus Motorsport.
Lotus Type 125 Track Debut
Jean Alesi and James Rossiter put the F1 inspired race machine through its paces at the Autodromo di Vallelunga
Lotus’ F1 inspired customer race car, the Type 125, had its first official run out at the Italian track earlier this week as F1 legend Jean Alesi and Lotus factory driver James Rossiter completed over 200 kilometres during the two day test.
Commenting on the test, Lotus’ Director of Motorsport Operations, Miodrag Kotur said: “We’re very happy with the initial performance of the car, there are still some things that we want to improve on but that’s natural at this stage and that’s exactly why we test. Between them Jean Alesi and James Rossiter have an incredible wealth of experience and they put this to good use in Vallelunga.”
Lotus Type 125 Ambassador Jean Alesi said: “Testing is always a big challenge, it’s a different kind of pressure to racing but you still can’t relax for a second. I enjoyed my first outing in the car, it’s great to be involved at such a crucial stage in the cars’ development, I really feel like I can help to make this car as fun to drive as possible.”
Lotus factory driver James Rossiter said: “The Type 125 is unique, it’s intense, it’s extreme and it’s very raw. I can honestly say that I think it’s the closest a ‘normal’ person can get to driving an F1 car. Vallelunga was great, we learnt a lot about the car there and I’m really looking forward to the next test in a few days, it will be really interesting to see how the car responds to the conditions of a very different track.”
Next week (25th and 26th January) the Type 125 will test at Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi’s F1 track, where Alesi and Rossiter will be joined by a very special ‘yet-to-be-announced’ test driver before 15 potential buyers get their chance behind the wheel.
Lotus Exos T125 revealed (GGLC World Exclusive)
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 with 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 3.5L 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 this side of a recent Formula 1 car.
Unlike an F1 engine, the GPV8 is designed to run 4500 km between rebuilds and has a starter motor (note the alternator above) so that you don’t need a support crew to be able to run the car at the track. Notably absent chassis features include double-diffusers, exhaust blown diffusers, flexi wings, f-ducts and other F1 innovations that were created to get around the various rules. Being a track only car and not built to a particular series, Lotus has been able to use the best features of F1 without having to use the various rules workarounds. Its a clean sheet design where the designers were told to “have at it boys”.
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).
For more on the Exos please watch this video of Stephen Wright from Lotus Motorsports explaining the philosphy behind the Exos.
You can also see the rest of our Exos pictures in the slideshow below or head directly on to Flickr. We request blogs and news outlets that use our content, photos and video to please credit Rahul Nair and the Golden Gate Lotus Club as well as link back to this post.
A huge thanks to our friends at Lotus Cars USA and Boardwalk Lotus for inviting us to the event.