Yes, you read that right. The same company that builds the oft-touted Elise and Exige road- and track-going four-wheeled weapons is going after an entirely new kind of challenge; soapbox racing. Generally considered a field dominated by children in homemade gravity-fueled contraptions, Lotus’ streamlined 119c soapbox car is unlike any other we’ve seen.
Constructed from carbon fibre and designed in a wind tunnel, the 119c is vastly more advanced than the car you and your dad built out of spare lumber. Already a record holder, the diminutive monocoque takes Lotus’ longtime motto of “performance through light weight” to a completely new level. Successor to the original “Roadster” Lotus soapbox car, the enclosed 119c uses such technology as movable tungsten ballast and small 20-inch wheels mounted on ultra-low friction bearings to gain a competitive edge over it’s competitors from the likes of Lola, Ford, and various academic institutions.
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