Watch in Awe as 10,000 RPM Lotus Hillclimb Car Attacks the Track
Incredible 450 HP from a V8 made from two Hayabusa engines in a 1,653-lb. carbon fiber Lotus chassis? Sounds like a wild ride.
Everybody knows that the Lotus Elise is a coveted track car. It is incredibly light, nimble, responds handsomely to modifications, and has an engine that will last forever. The only problem here is that this car is so far from a regular Lotus Elise, we don’t even know if we can call it one. What once was an iconic British sports car is now a full-time Hillclimb beast. Thanks to HillClimb Monsters on YouTube, we get to see this fantastic Lotus shoot up the mountain with ease.
This car has been in development for over 10 years by the legendary Czech racing team, Michl Motorsport. Using the Lotus Elise chassis, it has a full custom carbon-fiber body placed on top of it and is powered by a 2.8L Hartley V8 which is naturally aspirated. This pure-bred race engine makes a fantastic 450 HP at a screaming 10,000 RPM. This engine is completely bespoke and its origin is just as interesting as its capabilities. This unit was built by fusing together two Suzuki Hayabusa inline-4 cylinder motorcycle engines by joining them at the crank. While we don’t know the exactly details of the fabrication process, we can understand this much. Considering the car has been developed for 10 years, we know there isn’t a single thing simple about this build.
While the engine is definitely amazing, the chassis is just as impressive. Weighing in at only 1653 pounds, that’s around 600 pounds less than a NA Miata and almost five times the power. Listening to this car run through the gears is so intoxicating, you might think you were in outer space by the time it hits fourth gear. Speaking of the gears, the Lotus is controlled by a sequential transmission that literally snaps into the next gear without a millisecond of delay. From the view in the cabin, you can see the “magic” gear shifter go up and down by itself, as it is mechanically connected to the paddle shifters on the steering wheel.
We aren’t exactly sure how the team overcame connecting a motorcycle based engine to a car based sequential transmission, but considering the fact that they managed to fuse together two separate engines, we are sure the sky is the limit. We love builds like this because they really show that just about anything is possible with some time, effort, and finances.
