Recent announcements from Dany Bahar's Lotus tend to be met with a mix of skepticism and dread. When we got a weird notice that Lotus would present a new convertible at Geneva, we expected the soft, Evora-based worst. Happily, the new convertible is an open version of the hardcore Exige S.
The Exige S Roadster has all the hallmarks of Lotus before Bahar took over: it's simple, it's uncompromised, it's a car for serious speed heads instead of poseurs. Power comes from the Toyota-based supercharged 3.5 liter V6 as seen in the Evora S, and the car will be available with both the correct transmission and an optional semiautomatic. 0-to-60 mph times are in the three-second bracket.
There is one serious letdown to the good news for those of us in the keep-hope-alive camp: We won't get the Exige S Roadster, or any Exige, in the United States. At the moment, the Evora is now the company's sole United States offering.
Sad Americans are sad.
Photo Credit: Lotus Press/Media Group