Lotus Exos Type 125 is the Baddest Track Day Toy Yet

For the last decade or so, the term “track day toy” has typically referred to a small, flyweight chassis housing a tiny engine with the power and torque curves of a leaf blower. Cars such as the spindly Ariel Atom, the ageless Caterham 7 and Radical’s platoon of pee-wee LMP racers have all stayed true to this formula and have won critical acclaim and the excitement many buyers worldwide.

But what about buyers who want something even more extreme and purposeful? The Caparo T1 has made oodles of Formula 1 technology and engineering available to the hyper-rich weekend hobbyist, but the decision to make it street legal in countries that aren’t ultra strict about such things as crashworthiness and emissions compliance (read: pretty much everywhere but here) meant there were some substantial compromises that crept into the design. The most significant of those compromises? A passenger seat. But what if designers didn’t have to worry about being road legal, or carrying your wife/mistress/etc.?

Engineers at Lotus Cars (as opposed to the new Lotus F1 team, even though they share some ownership. Don’t feel bad; it confuses us, too.) apparently decided that being able to drive to and from the track in the same car you go hot lapping in is for pansies. That’s pretty much the only logical explanation for how the Exos Type 125 came into being (assuming you don’t believe the rumors that it’s a circumvention of Formula 1’s current in-season testing ban, of course).

Looking for all the world like a contemporary Formula 1 car (right down to the narrow rear wing and wide front wing mandated for the past two seasons), the Exos Type 125 features a 3.5L Cosworth V8 (rather than the 2.4L V8 found in the F1 car) that puts down 650hp and maxes out at 10,800 rpm with the overtake button depressed. It also features an onboard starter, so the inevitable stalling that happens the first few times isn’t quite as embarrassing. Throw in the fact that that lump is bolted to an ultra-light, ultra-strong carbon fiber chassis and you have a power-to-weight ratio of about 1,000hp per ton. Yeah, that means serious speed, kids.

If you want to put one of these in your garage, be ready to open your wallet wide enough to pull $1 million out. Oh, and make it snappy, because only 25 Exos Type 125s will be made. That way you can silence smug Enzo/Carrera GT/etc. owners based on speed and rarity. Did we mention professional instruction and five official track days will be included? Now we have.

Source: Golden Gate Lotus Club