In nearly a decade since the release of this week's Retro Review subject, very few cars have managed to be as extreme as the Lotus found within. This car is so wild that Matt Farah begins the video by making mention that it's more likely to land him in jail than any car he had ever driven to that point in time. Furthermore, he states that it has a power to weight ratio that's 50% improved over a Bugatti Veyron. That's pretty exceptional, to say the least, but what's really shocking is just how this feat of engineering was achieved and how capable it is in every situation a car could face.

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The Man Behind The Build

Built by Frank Profera in Lancaster California, this Lotus is not subject to the pristine working conditions of more marquee brands. In fact, the building conditions don't say much for Frank or the quality of the work he does. What does say quite a bit about him is that his previous canyon carver was a Ford RS200 Evolution that could achieve 60 mph in less than 2 seconds thanks to 900 horsepower. This Lotus is faster he says because he met a friend, Mike Stafford of Stafford Performance, and together they've created a monster.

This Lotus Is More Than Just A Straight Line Speed Freak

Via Speedhunters

What makes this Lotus all the more special is the work that's gone into the chassis as well as the motor. While adding power to any car is fun, oftentimes the details are forgotten. Frank didn't forget anything as he added 9 inches to the width of this car to help it handle the turns without issue. Of course, even with the added footprint, anything would struggle to handle the power this car has. With the aid of a Garrett 62/62 turbocharger the Lotus felt fast but too laggy so Frank and Mike added a VF Supercharger to turn this into a true compound charged system. Combining these attributes, the Lotus develops 680 horsepower to the wheels. That's a 4-cylinder engine that makes roughly 784 horsepower at the crank inside a car that weighs only 2,150 pounds. In the video, Frank says that there's nothing, no bike, no Hennessey Venom, or anything else that can accelerate out of a corner like this car. We believe him but sadly we can't test it out because the car was crashed not long after this video.

This Lotus Has Died And Been Reborn

Via Jay Leno

After a Porsche driver rammed into the back of the Lotus on the highway in California one day, Frank decided to rebirth the Lotus into a whole new creation. What was born was this, something he calls the Ronin RS211. The open-top and wild bodywork seems to far better accentuate the spectacular footprint and drivetrain lying underneath. Maybe in the future, we'll review the latest monster from Frank Profera.

Sources: Youtube

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