It may seem like Lotus is on hold with building new cars, but the lightweight Exige Sport 350 still offers plenty of go power as well as some red or yellow Tartan trim just like the one you find in a ‘76 Esprit.
Gone is the Exige S, getting replaced by what you see here: the Sport 350. The “new car” is 112 pounds lighter than its predecessor, tipping the scales at 2,480lb. They managed to get there by using a lighter battery and engine mounts, less sound deadening, thinner pipes in the ventilation system, a new louvered tailgate panel and a central console that leaves very little to the imagination.
Let’s ogle those seats for a second:
Nice.
Moving on: to move that sort of weigh rapidly enough, the supercharged V6 sends 345 horsepower and 295 lb ft of torque to the rear wheels, making the 350 Sport accelerate to 62 mph in 3.7 seconds and top out at 170 mph. You get more downforce as well.
Lotus dared to expose that that lovely six-speed manual because the gearbox got heavily upgraded with lighter cast aluminum machined components. Those fools who still go for the automatic option also get forged aluminum paddles, but their car will be slower due to software mapping. A well deserved penalty, to say the least.
You can also order you Exige 350 Sport with lighter wheels and brake rotors, shredding another 22 pounds off the car’s curb weight. But go hardcore or not, the Exige should hit American dealers by March, with the UK base price being £55,900.
Photo credit: Lotus
Contact the author at mate@jalopnik.com.