Lotus Cars has unveiled the ballistic new Exige Cup 380 coupe that can drive to a track, set the fastest lap and take the win, before heading home. A fully road legal car will be produced in a limited edition of just 60 editions. Rocking the 3.5-litre supercharged V6 engine and a power-to-weight ratio of 355 hp per tonne, the Exige Cup 380 delivers genuine race pace, with 0-60 mph in 3.4 seconds (0-100 km/h in 3.6 seconds) and top speed of 175 mph (282 km/h). The inclusion of new wind tunnel developed aerodynamic elements allow this road-going vehicle to deliver up to 200 kg of aerodynamic downforce at a top speed of 175 mph.
The dramatic aesthetic of the new Lotus Cup 380 is maintained with the help of the high-gloss, visible-weave carbon fibre paired with five hand finished paint options, including Essex Blue, Metallic White, Metallic Silver, Metallic Grey and Metallic Black. Further accentuating its shape, a unique red highlight line defines the Exige’s front access panel, while key details, including the front canard wings, are finished in matt black. Coordinating wheels, spoiler uprights and mirror caps in red, silver or black contrast with the main paint color, and the whole car is finished with unique Cup 380 badging.
The Exige Cup 380 sits on larger rear tyres (285/30 ZR18 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2) that are fitted to ultra-lightweight forged alloy wheels, available in red, black or silver as standard. The high-gloss, hand-made carbon fibre components include new front splitter, front access panel, bargeboards, roof, diffuser surround, new larger aperture air-intake side pods, a new one-piece tailgate and a straight-cut high efficiency motorsport derived rear wing. The new design one-piece carbon rear tailgate reduces weight by 6.5 kg and the removal of gas struts deletes 1 kg. The new carbon side pods save a further 0.5 kg.
Available as standard with a close-ratio, six-speed manual transmission, the Exige range features Lotus’ open-gate manual gearbox design. There are four user selectable ESP modes (Drive, Sport, Race and Off). Also, Lotus Exige Cup 380 includes a variable traction control function which is linked directly to the ECU and allows the amount of wheel slip to be set by the driver. The six-position rotary switch is located on the steering column and is only available with ESP switched off, with the percentage of target wheel slip from 1% to 12% in five settings and “off”, displayed via the instrument cluster.
Inside the Exige Cup 380 is fitted with visible-weave carbon sections: carbon race seats and door sills as standard. The sports seats are trimmed in Alcantara, with leather or tartan as a no cost option, with contrast stitching. The steering wheel is wrapped in Alcantara also. As standard, lightweight carbon fibre sill covers reduce the weight by 0.9 kg and provide easier ingress and egress by up to 10 mm, thanks to their lower profile and contoured finish.
Pricing starts at $106,399 in the U.K., while in Germany, the Exige Cup 380 starts at $117,990 based on current exchange rates.
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