Lotus is no stranger to racing: it has historically been present in Formula 1, and its cars also compete in the Indycar, the GP 2 and the GP 3 series, just to name a few.
About a year ago, the British brand’s motorsport department set its sights on the FIA’s World Rally Championship series. Engineers have been working on modifying the Exige to compete in the GT category since July of 2011, and the car completed its first shakedown run a couple of days ago on an unidentified track north of Turin, Italy.
The Lotus team has called the run a success. “When you consider that we’ve only began working on this car in July, I think what we’ve achieved in that time has been incredible,” said Claudio Berro, Lotus’ director of motorsports.
Berro added that “the Exige S makes the perfect GT rally car, it has an awesome 3.5-litre, supercharged engine, and we’ve managed to balance the weight perfectly to meet the minimum weight regulations.”
The shakedown runs will continue over the next few weeks. In 2012, the Exige R-GT will compete in the Monte Carlo Rally, the Tour de Corse, and the San Remo rally. If the car is deemed reliable, Lotus could participate in the entire 2013 season.
“I think we’re doing the Lotus motorsport pedigree proud,” said Berro.
Lotus’ most important victory in WRC came in 1981, when a Talbot Sunbeam powered by a Lotus-sourced 2.2 four-cylinder won the WRC manufacturers’ championship.
