2006 Lotus Exige 265E (fastest Lotus ever)

[SL65]

Yet another special edition Lotus - the "265E" edition

British, Racing and Very Green

The Lotus Exige 265E – the most powerful road version of the Lotus Exige ever – and it runs on environmentally friendly Bio Fuel!

Lotus Engineering, the engineering consultancy division of Group Lotus Plc has developed a bio-ethanol E85 version of the Lotus Exige.

The research vehicle is a true Lotus (it weighs just 930 kg unladen) and is called the Lotus Exige 265E. 265 indicates the approximate horsepower and is consistent with the naming strategy of other one-off and limited run Lotus variants such as the Lotus Sport Exige 240R; the E indicates the environmentally favourable bio-ethanol E85 fuel (85% ethanol alcohol and 15% petrol / gasoline) that powers this extremely high performing sportscar.
Key to this performance is a slightly modified version of the 2ZZ VVTL-i supercharged and intercooled high revving 4-cylinder engine from the standard Lotus Exige S. This now gives an estimated set of performance figures that would thrash the majority of “Super-Unleaded” performance cars: 0-60 mph in 3.88 seconds, 0-100 mph in 9.2 seconds and a top speed of 158 mph! In fact, the Lotus Exige 265E is probably the world’s quickest road-legal E85 bio-ethanol car.

Key changes have been made to the fuel system, the engine calibration and the four fuel injectors mounted on the inlet manifold have been enlarged. Two additional fuel injectors have been fitted at the supercharger inlet to increase the amount of fuel being injected in to the engine under higher engine loads and to further cool the charge air prior to combustion.

Looking to the Future:

The next phase for the vehicle is to upgrade the calibration to a flex fuel spec to allow use with initially gasoline, followed by the possibility of a multi fuel flex calibration to use fuels such as bio-methanol and bio-butanol in addition to the conventional gasoline / petrol and bio-ethanol.

The Lotus Exige 265E is purely a research vehicle for Lotus Engineering and Lotus does not intend to put the car into production or sel aftermarket kits for Lotus Cars.

The Lotus philosophy is all about performance through light weight. The Exige 265E is built to the lightest specification possible without resorting to expensive and rare materials normally found in the rarefied environment of Formula One or Aerospace Industries where weight reduction is often considered more important than cost. The performance improvements of using bio ethanol have been made through increasing the power of the engine without increasing the weight of the engine and therefore the overall weight of the car.

The Engine

The heart of the Exige 265E is a Roots-type supercharger (with a sealed-for-life internal mechanism meaning that it does not require the use of the engine’s oil) and air to air intercooler attached to the tried and tested 4-cylinder, 1.8 litre 2ZZ-GE VVTL-i engine. Using a development of the supercharger and intercooler package from the Exige S, the Exige 265R has peak power of 264 hp (197 kW, 268 PS) at 8000 rpm, 184 lbft (249 Nm) of torque (at 5500 rpm) up by 46 hp (34 kW, 47 PS) or 21 % and 25 lbft (34 Nm) or 16% over the standard gasoline Exige S. Maximum engine speed is 8000 rpm (8500 rpm transient for up to 2 seconds).

Ethanol produces more power in the engine than with conventional petrol / gasoline fuel. This is due, in part, to the additional oxygen atom attached to the ethanol alcohol molecule so helping the combustion process in the cylinder to burn more effectively, efficiently and with more power. The roof scoop ensures that the air-to-air intercooler works as efficiently and effectively as possible in all climates and environments. All charge air ducting has been kept as short as possible with large diameter pipes making sure that the bends in these ducts are not too tight, to the benefit of throttle response and efficiency. The Roots-type Eaton M62 supercharger is run from the crankshaft, and has an integral bypass valve for part load operation.

www.worldcarfans.com

I cut out the bit on "bio fuel" cos it was boring

[Byte]

Damn it's such a shame that the thing keeps getting heavier and heavier

Other than that...WHERE DO I SIGN?!

[Buba]

Ugliest paint job evarrr! I was always interested in those... I guess they are lovely fun!!

[Byte]

Go to a dealer and ask for a ride...you'll never regret it

[sandor_]

nice.

[Redliner]

It is funny to see the rest of the world starting to catch up on the use of alcohol

[Buba]

Originally Posted by Byte

Go to a dealer and ask for a ride...you'll never regret it

I really have no clue how far away the next dealer is... Will check...

//edit: Munich: 120km... And then they won't give me a car, I reckon...

[Byte]

Why? Just say your thinking about buying a track car and are evaluating the options.

[Ozodis]

drive fast on alcohol..

[DarkReaper]

Gives a whole new meaning to driving under the influence of alcohol.
After all it powers my car.

[zenkidori]

E85 is some good stuff. More power, less emissions, more mileage.

[jayjaya29]

Originally Posted by zenkidori

E85 is some good stuff. More power, less emissions, more mileage.

Wrong.

More power, same emissions, less mileage.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=251

[Blind_Io]

I don't think so, I've seen what happens when you try to run a DMC on whiskey, you blow up the fuel injectors.


Unavailable for comment

[Cobol74]

Originally Posted by Blind_Io

I don't think so, I've seen what happens when you try to run a DMC on whiskey, you blow up the fuel injectors.


Unavailable for comment

I bloody well hope it was not scotch but one of the poor imitations available from around the world. What a waste of Scotch if it was. (By the way Scotch is a fine alcoholic drink - to be taken only in moderation - and NOT the name for Scottish People).

[Xeon SX]

0-60 mph in 3.88 seconds, not 2.9 but 3.88 I'd like to see them doing that time twice.

[Peter3hg]

Originally Posted by Xeon SX

0-60 mph in 3.88 seconds, not 2.9 but 3.88 I'd like to see them doing that time twice.

Big difference between 3.88 and 2.9