Photo: Lotus
Lotus Cars has recently announced that its latest version of Exige, called the Sport 350, will hit European showroom floors in 2016.
Along with the launch of this new model, the name “Sport” will also get back in Lotus' naming scheme and will join its “smaller” brothers, the Elise Sport and Elise Sport 220.
The British carmaker spared no expenses and made the new model sharper, more powerful and much lighter than its previous iteration. Thanks to its lightweight extruded aluminum chassis and composite bodywork, the Exige 350 weighs only 1,125 kg, 51 kg less than the Exige S.
To achieve this, Lotus engineers weighted every single component in the Exige S, which resulted in newly designed parts being put in the 350, such as a louvered tailgate panel, a lighter battery, lightweight engine mounts and a center console featuring an exposed gearshift mechanism made out of machined and cast aluminum components.
According to Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Group Lotus, the Exige is already regarded as one of the world’s best sports cars, so they took it and made it faster and lighter, resonating perfectly with Colin Chapman's philosophy: "Simplify, then add lightness."
The new Exige Sport 350 will be powered by a supercharged 3.5-liter V6 engine that generates 365 horsepower and 295lb of torque. The model should accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) in just 3.7 seconds and reach a top speed of 274km/h (170mph).
All that power is pushed to the rear wheels via a choice of two types of transmission. The 6-speed manual gearbox has been heavily revised and is now shifting more quickly and more precisely. An automatic gearbox will also be available and, apart from the full automatic mode, it will allow the driver to change gears with the paddles located behind the steering wheel. When in auto mode, the Exige will be quicker by 0.1 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h.
When it comes to suspension, the new Lotus features firmer dampers and a revised geometry. These new improvements make this the first production Lotus ever to go under 1 minute and 30 seconds around the British car company’s Hethel test track.
The Lotus Dynamic Performance Management provides three modes, Drive, Sport and Race. When in Race, you will be able to have much wider drift angles before the car’s systems intervenes. This also opens up the exhaust valves at high engine speeds for a more aggressive sound.
A piece of good news for Lotus enthusiasts is the return of the famous Tartan theme for the interior, which was first introduced in 1976 on the Lotus Esprit S1.
Some optional features will also be available, starting with lightweight forged alloy wheels, cross-drilled and vented two-piece brake discs, air-conditioning or sound insulation pack.
Those who want to buy this impressive sports car don’t have to wait too much because it will be available in Europe starting February 2016 and outside Europe from March. Bad news for Americans, though, as this car will not be available for sale in the States.
The British carmaker spared no expenses and made the new model sharper, more powerful and much lighter than its previous iteration. Thanks to its lightweight extruded aluminum chassis and composite bodywork, the Exige 350 weighs only 1,125 kg, 51 kg less than the Exige S.
To achieve this, Lotus engineers weighted every single component in the Exige S, which resulted in newly designed parts being put in the 350, such as a louvered tailgate panel, a lighter battery, lightweight engine mounts and a center console featuring an exposed gearshift mechanism made out of machined and cast aluminum components.
According to Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Group Lotus, the Exige is already regarded as one of the world’s best sports cars, so they took it and made it faster and lighter, resonating perfectly with Colin Chapman's philosophy: "Simplify, then add lightness."
The new Exige Sport 350 will be powered by a supercharged 3.5-liter V6 engine that generates 365 horsepower and 295lb of torque. The model should accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) in just 3.7 seconds and reach a top speed of 274km/h (170mph).
All that power is pushed to the rear wheels via a choice of two types of transmission. The 6-speed manual gearbox has been heavily revised and is now shifting more quickly and more precisely. An automatic gearbox will also be available and, apart from the full automatic mode, it will allow the driver to change gears with the paddles located behind the steering wheel. When in auto mode, the Exige will be quicker by 0.1 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h.
When it comes to suspension, the new Lotus features firmer dampers and a revised geometry. These new improvements make this the first production Lotus ever to go under 1 minute and 30 seconds around the British car company’s Hethel test track.
The Lotus Dynamic Performance Management provides three modes, Drive, Sport and Race. When in Race, you will be able to have much wider drift angles before the car’s systems intervenes. This also opens up the exhaust valves at high engine speeds for a more aggressive sound.
A piece of good news for Lotus enthusiasts is the return of the famous Tartan theme for the interior, which was first introduced in 1976 on the Lotus Esprit S1.
Some optional features will also be available, starting with lightweight forged alloy wheels, cross-drilled and vented two-piece brake discs, air-conditioning or sound insulation pack.
Those who want to buy this impressive sports car don’t have to wait too much because it will be available in Europe starting February 2016 and outside Europe from March. Bad news for Americans, though, as this car will not be available for sale in the States.
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