It is lightest, most powerful and fastest Exige ever to run on the face of mother earth. Lotus is a company on an upward trajectory as the automaker has for the first time in over 4 decades made an operating profit. If you fell in love with the Exige Sport 350, then the Sport 380 will blow your mind away. In its entirety, the 2017 Lotus Exige Sport 380 is an evolved version of the Exige Sport 350. It is the most aggressive Exige yet. Lotus has carefully made the right tweaks on the Sport 350 to create this awesome Sport 380 roadster. Read along to find out more about the Sport 380:
2017 Lotus Exige Sport 380 Exterior
Lotus has made numerous exterior changes for the Sport 380 to make it more aggressive and aerodynamic. The changes include addition of small dive planes on its front bumper as well as a new rear wing. Other improvements include addition of a carbon fiber air defector.
Compared to the Exige Sport 350, the Sport 380 has lost a significant amount of weight. This is due to extensive use of lightweight materials on its structure, body panels and other parts. Some of the areas where weight was saved include the rear window where glass was replaced with polycarbonate, carbon-fiber racing seats, two-piece rotors and lightweight forged wheels. Considering the Sport 350 is already a light car, Lotus did an excellent job to save 58 pounds.
In addition, one can reduce more weight by opting for a titanium exhaust system. With the addition of the lightweight exhaust system, the Exige Sport 380 weighs only 2,425 pounds. The Exige Sport 380 is available in 10 exterior color choices. In addition, it has blackened headlights surrounds as well as two-lamp clusters.
2017 Lotus Exige Sport 380 Interior
On the inside, its carbon seats are upholstered in Alcantara as standard but there is an option for leather or tartan. All options come with an attractive contrast stitching. Its shifter linkage is exposed which is another of the automaker’s endeavor to save weight. There is an interior Color Pack that adds HVAC surround, electric window bezels, and carbon seat eyelets.
There is also an option for carbon-fiber door sills. Lotus has also hooked up the model with Bluetooth connectivity making it the first Exige ever to feature Bluetooth connectivity.
Engine and performance
As the name hints, the Exige Sport 380 is hooked up with an engine that produces 375 hp (380 ps) and 302 lb-ft of torque. This is courtesy of a tweaked up version of the same Toyota-sourced 3.5 L, supercharged V-6 mill. This is a huge power improvement from 345 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque that the engine produces on the Exige Sport 350.
This power propels the model to accelerate from standstill to 60 mph in an impressive 3.5 seconds, 0.2 seconds better than the Sport 350. The engine can be paired to either a 6-speed manual gearbox or a 6-speed automatic transmission. The manual can reach a top speed of 178 mph while models with the automatic transmission can only manage to reach 170 mph.
Stopping power comes from AP Racing 4-piston brake calipers that combine well with grooved performance disks and Michelin Pilot Sporty Cup 2 tires.
Price and release date
Sadly, Lotus is not bringing the Exige Sport 380 roadster to the states. However, I understand there are plans for a coupe version of the Exige 380 that will be available for US buyers. I understand that the reason for overlooking the U.S.A. is because the model is not street legal in the country. The automaker is already accepting orders for the 2017 Exige Sport 380.
Models with a manual gearbox will go on sale first in early 2017 while models with an automatic transmission will be released in the spring of 2017. In the UK, the model has an MSRP of £67,900 equivalent to $84,576. This is a whole £11,000 increase from the current price of the Exige Sport 350.
Competition
Top rivals of the 2017 Lotus Exige Sport 380 are the Porsche Cayman S and BMW M4.
