New Lotus takes Exige 380 racing
More downforce, less weight, fewer headlights turn Exige 380 from Sport to Race
Like a lost explorer crawling across the Sahara eking every last drop of moisture from his canteen, Lotus has squeezed yet another gem from its Elise/Evora hybrid. And the spec is enough to get anyone’s mouth watering.
Called the Exige Race 380 it’s a track-only spinoff of the brilliant sport 380 Sport road car, but way more serious. Powered by the same 375bhp 3.5-litre supercharged V6 as the road car, but packing a far superior power-to-weight ratio thanks to a diet taking it down to just 999kg dry, it’ll get to 62mph in 3.2sec, three ticks quicker.
Shrugging off the extra 77 kilos the road car carries came courtesy of a binning everything not involved in going fast, including lights, airbags and the door glass, which is now polycarbonate. Definitely involved in going fast are the two-way Ohlins dampers and adjustable anti-roll bars.
There’s a proper race-ready six-speed sequential gearbox bolted to the V6 and operated by paddles behind the wheel, while a limited slip diff between the chunky 265/35 18-inch Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s gives the driver the option to moderate the traction by his right foot, or via the adjustable traction control system.
Other droolery includes a deep front splitter, lashings of carbon on the bonnet, roof and engine cover, plus a monster of a wing that contributes to a total of 240kg of downforce at 170mph.
Inside, you get a full roll cage, FIA-grade HANS-compatible carbon bucket seat and a colour TFT instrument display with track data logger to help monitor those tumbling lap times.
So how quick is the Race 380? Lotus reckons it’ll lap its Hethel test track 1.5 seconds quicker than the already bonkers Exige Cup R, getting to the finish line in just 1m 23.5sec. Which means it might just get there before Lotus rinses another variant from its ageing component set.
On sale for £99k plus VAT (and obviously not available for street use, unless you’re the Sultan of Oman or something) the Race 380 is destined for the Lotus Cup series and various clubman championships around the world.
Join In
Comments (1)
Want