Lotus chops Exige for Roadster

Here's the answer to a question many of us asked: why not an open-top Exige? Well Lotus is releasing an Exige Roadster model in the European and Asian markets (including Australia) in 2013.

Taking the Exige Coupe and chopping its top, Lotus claims the Roadster will be one of the lightest-weight high performance open-tops available, at 1100kg. Details at this stage are vague but it sounds like the factory cloth-top is manually operated in an effort to keep weight down.

The Roadster uses the same supercharged 3.5 V6 engine with midship layout as the Coupe version. The 0-100km/h sprint is covered in under 4 seconds, according to Lotus, and top speed is 233km/h.

Transmission is via six-speed manual or customers can choose a paddle-operated automated manual transmission designed to make living with the Lotus "more relaxed in the city and more F1-like when it's let off the leash". Lotus also claims its Serial Precision Shift auto is lighter and more compact than a normal torque-converter transmission.

Equally, customers can order the Roadster with a "stripped-down" interior or more comfort-oriented set-up, and two suspension tunes are available: one to serve public road driving and a performance version via the optional Race Pack, which includes a launch control function.

The Roadster's addition to the Lotus lineup will be welcomed by fans and make up in some way for the dismissal of the Elise in some markets. Local importer for the brand Ateco says it will announce pricing and specification details closer to the time of the Roadster's local launch in 2013.

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