Lotus is the definitive British sports car. Celebrities such as George Clooney, Beyonce, Richard Hammond, Jennifer Lopez as well as two James Bonds have owned Lotus cars. But, South African, Dawie Joubert, wasn't happy enough with just owning a Lotus. Needing a little extra oomph, he did the only sensible thing a man in his position could do — he did a Ferrari engine swap. Luckily for us, the Cars.co.za YouTube channel gives us a peek at this incredible machine.
Under-Powered Dream Car
Dawie first saw the Lotus Elise on an episode of Top Gear when Jeremy Clarkson was praising everything about the car. He fell in love at first sight. When Dawie bought his dream car, which was a little yellow Exige, the hard-top version of the Elise, he became increasingly concerned with the fact that it was grossly under-powered.
After much research, he decided that the sensible solution would be to put a Honda K- Series engine in the rear instead of the Lotus engine. Although he was happy with the increase in power, Dawie still felt that his car had so much more potential and the handling and power were being robbed of their capabilities.
The Ferrari That Changed His Life
Dawie was aware of a Ferrari 488 GTB in South Africa that had been in an accident and after a year of trying to get the owner to sell him the wreck, he finally got his engine. Knowing that this car would be a monster on wheels, Dawie decided to build the car to take part in the very reputable and respected Simola Hillclimb.
The Lotus Elise with the 3.9-liter V8 Ferrari engine now produces 765 horsepower at the rear wheels and has a very aggressive aero pack, including a massive rear spoiler and the largest rear diffuser we have ever seen. The car is incredibly light, weighing only around one ton, which means power to weight is easily calculated at 765 hp per ton. To put this into perspective, a Ferrari LaFerrari puts out about 599 hp per ton.
This Lotus Is Faster Than Fast
Dawie tells us that although the car is very quick, you must be mindful while driving because an accident in this will most likely be catastrophic. As long as you respect the car and the fact that it can kill you and is much more powerful than you, you will have a great time driving it. Would you drive it given the chance?