Gavin Green: the big opportunity for Lotus
Anew 755bhp McLaren beckons. It sits stationary in Silverstone’s pits, dihedral doors open, growling and snarling like a wild beast as the engineer revs the twin-turbo V8. Come play with me. If you dare.
We’re told it can do 0-62mph in 2.8 seconds and is noticeably quicker than the 720S on which it’s based. Not that I ever found the 720S’s performance wanting. The 765LT (for long tail) is McLaren’s new road-legal track car. It looks like a giant bird of prey, especially with wing doors upright. And although it doesn’t really have a ‘long tail’, at least the active rear wing is bigger and the rear diffuser longer than on the 720S.
Today, we’ll be using the Silverstone International circuit, one of the fastest tracks in Britain. It’s where Lewis and Max were winning only a few months earlier, but minus Lueld, Woodcote and Copse. Otherwise, it’s the same circuit. Even the same number of spectators: zero.
Then it starts to rain, hard. The home of British motor racing is turning into a lake. Our test drive is briefly delayed. The sticky Pirelli Trofeo R road-legal track tyres are swapped for a set of P Zeros. They’ll grip better in the wet. In Grand Prix parlance, we’ve ditched the slicks for the intermediates. Nor will we be using the ‘Track’ settings for the powertrain and suspension. ‘Sport’ will give more feel in the wet, or so the pro driver on hand says. More important, it means we’re less likely to crash.
I put on fireproof balaclava, neck brace and helmet, and feel a bit like Lewis on a Sunday afternoon. This feeling soon disappears when the driving starts. Last time I raced here was on the old Grand Prix circuit in a Renault 5 Turbo. And that was 1989.
I brake too early for the first corner, Abbey. The ESC is on but the eager 755bhp still spins the rear tyres and we do a little opp-lock jig in the wet exiting the bend. The Hangar Straight at least is high-speed familiar. After a few laps, we see 170mph, with just the odd puddle-induced twitch. A few months earlier, Lewis was doing just over 200 here. It’s a fantastic car to drive on the track, the circuit supernova of supercars. If you want to be the Ayrton of amateur track racers, fork out your £280,000 plus extras, and enjoy. After 10 years of endless iterations of its carbon-tub twin-turbo V8 mid-engine supercar, Woking inches ever closer to high-speed perfection.
A few weeks before Silverstone’s deluge, I was at Goodwood (see CAR November 2020). Here, I encountered the greatest auto epiphany of my life. The Porsche Taycan Turbo S is the most astonishing fast car I’ve driven. Yes, this luxury saloon can out-drag most supercars (0-62 in 2.8sec, same as the 765LT). We knew that. But it can lap Goodwood faster than most supercars, too. Its brakes, body control and grip are amazing, and its zero-emission silent thrust other-worldly. Its lack of drama and effort – no gearshifting, just point and squirt – disconcerting. Look how far electric cars have come in the decade or so since everyone thought Tesla was mad.
Mind you, stepping out of the 765LT and the Taycan, I mused on the little 118bhp Series 1 Lotus Elise I also drove at Goodwood and thought: the Elise was more fun to drive than either. More engaging, more feelsome, sweeter steering, more playful, more agile, but much less fast. A little bundle of accessible driving joy rather than a computer-assisted motoring missile.
I hope, as we move onwards and upwards, all these sports car makers will think a bit more about accessible driving enjoyment. And, while they’re at it, true styling artistry, too. The upcoming electric revolution means they’ll have to think lightweight, to boost range. Cars will get smaller, too.
So give me a gorgeous new pint-size Ferrari, a 21st-century Dino. Or a modern-day Porsche 550 Spyder. Or imagine a new Elise or Evora with all the usual Lotus driving felicity but also aching desirability: better looks, better craftsmanship and better powertrain, very possibly electrified. As Lotus embarks on its bold new Chinese-funded journey, there’s an opportunity surely worth grabbing.
Former editor Gavin Green is a long-serving CAR columnist and a globally respected automotive commentator. He is both powerful and accessible