Sounds like a great build, any other pics...maybe the engine compartment? ;)
Photograph courtesy Christopher Mayfield
A tale as old as time? Christopher Mayfield (@track.evora) bought a Lotus Evora with a broken transmission some four years ago. The plan was to fix it up and flip it for an easy profit. When Mayfield drove the car home, however, he quickly realized that he wasn’t going to sell the car.
Instead, Mayfield fixed the transmission and addressed other issues the car had and subsequently enjoyed it in stock form, entering it in a handful of autocrosses and track days.
“Each event made me realize how special this platform is,” said Mayfield, “and I decided to go headfirst down that slippery slope that any car enthusiast is familiar with– ‘just a couple mods.’”
Penske coil-overs came first, followed in quick succession by Blackwatch Racing upper control arms, a set of Apex wheels–18x10 inches up front, 18x11.5 inches out back–as well as a Zebulon Motorsports carbon fiber aero package consisting of a front splitter, side skirts and chassis-mounted rear wing (that required no cutting or permanent external modification, Mayfield points out).
All the Lotus needed now was more power, but seeing as the stock supercharger was already maxed out, the aftermarket is limited and virtually no beefier bolt-on supercharger kits exist, Mayfield took it upon himself to do “what any logical car guy would do–I ordered a TIG welder and enrolled in YouTube University school of welding.”
Several bottles of argon gas later, and Mayfield had created his own turbo kit. Add on a Motec M150 and some E85, and the Lotus is now capable of over 450-wheel horsepower.
“This is the first car I've built since getting into competition driving, where I did not read a rulebook first,” Mayfield adds. “I just started modifying the car and improving things as I felt like they needed it.”
Sounds freeing, doesn’t it? In its current form, the Evora is legal to compete in Global Time Attack’s Street class, Gridlife Track Battle StreetMod, NASA TT1 or TT2 (depending on boost) plus SCCA Max 1 and XA in both autocross and Time Trials.
Since competing in the 2025 SCCA Solo Nationals–where it was the fastest car on a DOT tire–Mayfield has been focused on improving safety as well as turning up the power from a “modest” 450-wheel horsepower to over 600.
Yes, 600 horsepower at the wheels is a lot, but will it be enough to secure the title of Tire Rack Ultimate Track Car?
On October 22 at Eagles Canyon Raceway, we’ll hold our annual search for the fastest track machine on four wheels, the Tire Rack Ultimate Track Car Challenge presented by Grassroots Motorsports.
Whether it was built by professionals in a factory or built at home by passionate enthusiast or something else entirely, it’s welcome to compete in our Ultimate Track Car Challenge, so long as both car and driver can pass a safety inspection.
If you and your car can do that, enter today.
Prizes? Awards? We have several to give out, and entrants also get coverage in a future issue of Grassroots Motorsports.
And just like last year, the Tire Rack Ultimate Track Car Challenge will be joined by the Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials Nationals Powered by Hagerty.
The Tire Rack Ultimate Track Car Challenge is presented by Grassroots Motorsports in association with Wilwood, Vitour Tire, CRC Industries, Vbox Motorsport and Red Line Oil, with trophies from BimmerWorld, Nine Lives Racing and Falken Tire.
Sounds like a great build, any other pics...maybe the engine compartment? ;)
A large part of what makes this build so quick is that Chris is not only a very quick wheelman, but also has a strong knowledge of chassis engineering and a keen sense for handling issues. So all the parts are well-sorted to maximize performance.
In his previous job at Tesla, he did tons of proving ground testing of various models to calibrate suspensions, braking systems and tires. If you like the way your Tesla handles and drives, especially when it comes to electronic assists like ABS and ESC, you can thank Chris.
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