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· 51 kg lighter than previous Exige S
· 345 hp and in excess of 300 hp/tonne
· 0-60 mph in 3.7 Seconds and top speed of 170 mph
· Heritage Tartan interior and new colour and trim options
As the ultimate incarnation of the world famous Exige, Lotus has
revealed the Sport 350, the latest version of the class-leading
and award winning sports car, that’s lighter and faster than
ever before.
The new Exige Sport 350 is the next model in the range to mark
the reintroduction of the renowned ‘Sport’ naming designation.
It joins the recently announced Lotus Elise Sport and Elise
Sport 220 – delivering a lighter and even more
performance-focused driving experience.
Concentrating on what Lotus does best, and with a focus on pure
performance, the two-seater has been developed to deliver an
unrivalled experience for the driver, being sharper and more
direct than previous models. Drawing on the core elements that
have made the Exige a firm favourite with driving enthusiasts,
the Exige Sport 350 combines Lotus’ lightweight extruded
aluminium chassis structure with muscular and aerodynamically
efficient composite bodywork.
A product of Lotus’ ‘Lightweight Laboratory’, the Exige Sport
350 weighs just 1125 kg and has shed 51 kg compared to the
previous model Exige S. This reduction in mass is the result of
a thorough re-evaluation designed to deliver a pure driving
experience.
Lotus engineers weighed every component in the previous Lotus
Exige S in order to save weight, the result of which includes,
amongst many other changes, the introduction of a louvered
tailgate panel, a lighter battery, lightweight engine mounts, a
lightweight centre console featuring an exposed gearshift
mechanism, lighter HVAC pipework and the optimised use of sound
insulation.
Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Group Lotus plc, commented: “The Lotus
Exige is already regarded as one of the world’s best sports cars
and a benchmark for performance and handling both on road and on
track. With the Exige Sport 350 we took an already phenomenally
quick car and made it even faster, more dynamic and more pure,
perfectly demonstrating our Lotus design philosophy of ‘lighter
and faster’.”
The 3.5-litre supercharged V6 engine generates 345 hp and
295lbft of torque at 4500rpm, offering scintillating,
progressive power to the road, while revised suspension tuning
and wheel geometry contribute to un-matched vehicle dynamics and
steering precision. Coupled with the car’s lower mass, this
power and torque enables the Lotus Exige Sport 350 to accelerate
to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds (0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds) before
reaching a top speed of 170 mph (274 km/h).
The manual gearbox has been heavily revised, giving more precise
and quicker shifting. The gearshift mechanism uses light weight
machined and cast aluminium components which are so technically
aesthetically appealing they are no longer hidden within the
transmission tunnel but exposed through an open-gate design,
further reducing weight.
The Lotus Exige Sport 350 is also available with a 6-speed
automatic option where drivers can change gears manually via
forged aluminium paddles located behind the steering wheel, or
rely on the gearbox’s fully automatic mode. The automatic
gearbox control panel is integrated neatly into the centre
console of the cockpit, with buttons for Park, Reverse, Neutral
and Drive. Up-shifts take just 240 milliseconds, with rapid
downshifts accompanied by automatic throttle-blip (when in Sport
mode).
When fitted with the optional automatic gearbox, the new Exige
Sport 350 is slightly quicker for 0-62 mph (0-100km/h), clocking
a time of 3.8 seconds against 3.9 seconds for the manual gearbox,
due to electronically optimised gearshifts.
Replacing the previous car’s glass tailgate, the newly designed
lightweight, strong and stiff, rear louvered tailgate not only
helps lower the Exige’s centre of gravity, but also aids engine
bay cooling – a feature first introduced on the Lotus Esprit
Turbo in 1980.
The Exige Sport 350’s aerodynamic styling produces 42 kg of down
force at 100 mph (160 km/h) with the rear wing and flat
underside both contributing to its phenomenal aerodynamic
performance and finely balanced handling.
The Exige Sport 350’s suspension, with firmer dampers and
revised geometry, delivers more responsive handling and,
combined with a lowered centre of gravity and four piston brake
calipers, help it lap Lotus’ test track 2.5 seconds faster than
the previous Exige S model, in a time of 1 minute 29.8 seconds.
This makes it the first production Lotus ever to go sub 1 minute
30 seconds around the famed Hethel track.
Lotus Dynamic Performance Management (DPM) provides three
discrete modes – ‘Drive’, ‘Sport’ and ‘Race’ – with the latter
offering increased levels of traction slip threshold, allowing
wider drift angles before intervening. The system also opens the
engine exhaust bypass valve at mid-to-high engine speeds. Both
‘Sport’ and ‘Race’ settings increase throttle responsiveness.
New larger switches with improved haptics have been introduced
for the DPM system (Sport and Race) with the headlights and rear
fog lights mounted together with the vehicle’s new engine start
button.
New trim packs introduce a heritage theme to the cabin with
lightweight sports seats and door panels clad in red or yellow
Tartan (leather or Alcantara interior trim options are also
available). The Tartan theme was first introduced in 1976 in the
Lotus Esprit S1 and was a bold statement originally in keeping
with the fashion of the time and now fitting for the new Exige
Sport 350.
Optional extras for the Exige Sport 350 include lightweight
forged alloy wheels (reducing kerb weight by a further 5 kg),
cross drilled and vented two-piece brake discs (shaving yet
another 5 kg off the weight), black or yellow painted
four-piston callipers, air conditioning, an in-car entertainment
system and full carpet and sound insulation pack. Interior packs
cover Alcantara, leather and Tartan options, for both seat and
door trims. By selecting the lightweight options available the
total weight of the Exige Sport 350 becomes a featherweight 1115
kg.
As standard, the front splitter, rear wing, front access panel,
roof panel, wing mirrors and rear transom are finished in matt
black to complement the car’s aggressive stance; with the option
for these components to be painted in body colour at no
additional cost.
Jean-Marc Gales continued, “Light weight is the most important
aspect of our heritage and future Lotus cars will follow the
direction of our most recently launched models, the Evora 400,
Elise Sport and of course our latest Exige Sport 350, all of
which are both lighter and faster than their predecessors. Over
the last 15 years, successive versions of the Lotus Exige have
beaten more expensive sports car rivals in media comparison
tests and I expect the Exige Sport 350 to continue this. The
best has just got better!”
The Lotus Exige Sport 350 goes on sale in Europe in February
2016 and will be available outside Europe, excluding North
America from March 2016.
The Lotus Exige Sport 350 will also be available as a Roadster
from March 2016.
Images: Copyright Group Lotus |
