Lotus has taken the wraps off the Exige Sport 350 that comes with a substantial weight loss. It’s 51 kg lighter than the previous Exige S which means that it now tips the scales at just 1,125 kg thanks to several weight-saving measures. Some of these include a lighter battery, optimized sound insulation, lightweight engine mounts, louvered tailgate panel and a lighter HVAC pipework. In addition, the vehicle now comes with a lightweight center console that contains an exposed gearshift mechanism which is a thing of beauty. Besides the weight loss, the engineers also revised the suspension by installing firmer dampers and a revised geometry and they also lowered the center of gravity.
The Lotus Exige Sport 350 is powered by a supercharged 3.5-liter V6 engine pushing out 345 hp (258 kW) and a maximum torque of 295 lb-ft (400 Nm). The manual gearbox has been revised and it now changes gears faster, allowing the car to hit 62 mph (100 km/h) from a standstill in 3.9 seconds before topping out at 170 mph (274 km/h). If you would rather have the automatic, you should know the sprint is done 0.1s quicker, but the top speed drops to 162 mph (261 km/h).
Source: Lotus
