New Lotus Exige Sport 380
The new Lotus Exige Sport 380 represents the
lightest, most aggressive version of the British mid-engined sports car to
date. Lotus knows how to push further the envelope,
with the new Sport 380 able to reach 0-100 km/h in 3.7 seconds and top out at 286 km/h.
Lotus says that their new supercar-killing machine
weighs just 1,066 kg, which is 2 5kg less than the Exige Sport 350. This became
possible with the use of lots of carbon fibre parts throughout the car, with
the Exige Sport 380 featuring a new front splitter, revised front access panel,
new rear wing and rear diffuser surround made out of it which together saved
2.7 kg.
The Toyota-sourced supercharged 3.5-litre V6 engine
has been updated as well and now produces 375 hp at 6,700 rpm and 410 Nm of torque at 5,000 rpm. The changes include a revised supercharger
pulley which increases the charge pressure, an uprated fuel pump, recalibrated
ECU and a new exhaust system to let the engine express itself more freely.
Lotus even enlarged the fuel tank to 48 litres of capacity, allowing this way
its customers to enjoy their Exige for longer between fuel stops.
Cool stuff, Lotus gave the latest open-gate design in the six-speed manual gearbox. This aims to offer
faster and cleaner gear changes, with the new mechanism said to eliminate
lateral movement with precisely aligned components made from lightweight
machined and cast aluminum. The gearbox itself is enhanced with a new oil
cooler. There is also a six-speed automatic gearbox option that will become
available in spring 2017.
The new Lotus Exige Sport 380 also wears a new aero
agenda that help increase downforce by a massive 60 percent over the Sport 350
model, generating 14 0kg at maximum speed. This downforce increase though
doesn’t come at the penalty of drag, as Lotus claims it remains the same with
the Sport 350.
Lotus will offer the new Exige Sport 380 in ten
individual colors while customers that go often to the track can choose the Track
Pack option which adds a set of Nitron two-way adjustable dampers. Pricing in
the UK starts from £ 67,900, with the new Lotus Exige Sport 380 asking from
€ 89,900 in Germany and ¥ 12,760,000 in Japan.
