Lotus reveals lighter, faster Exige Sport 350

UPDATE 1:45pm 10/12/2015: Lotus Australia advises the Exige Sport 350 will be available here and in New Zealand from mid-2016, with the roadster to follow. Pricing is yet to be confirmed.

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Lotus has unveiled an even lighter, faster version of its Exige coupe.

Called the Exige Sport 350, the new small coupe follows on from the recently launched Elise Sport and Sport 200 by trimming significant amount of weight from its already lithe kerbweight.

Now weighing in at just 1125kg, 51kg was saved by a new lightweight tailgate, a lighter battery cell, new engine mounts and a new centre console that now features an exposed gearshift mechanism in a bid to cut any unnecessary kilos. Finally, lightweight pipes for the ventilation system were added while the use of sound deadening was ‘optimised’ - says the British car-maker.

Using the same 257kW/400Nm supercharged Toyota-derived 3.5-litre V6 as the standard Exige S, the more hardcore Sport 350 sprints to 100km/h in just 3.9 seconds and has a maximum speed of 274km/h.

As well as trimming the weight, Lotus says the Sport 350 also comes with an improved quicker and more precise gearshift.

The Exige 350 is also available with a six-speed automatic, that’s fractionally even quicker to 100km/h taking just 3.8 seconds.

To cope with the extra performance, engineers have revised the Exige S suspension. The changes involve firmer dampers amd new geometry that’s said to offer more responsive handling.

The new tailgate, meanwhile, is also claimed to boost the Exige’s aero package providing around 42kg of downforce at speed of over 160km/h.

This in turn has made it the fastest Lotus to ever lap its own private test track in Hethel, near Norfolk in England.

Optional go-faster extras available include lightweight forged alloys that cut a further 5kg off the kerbweight, cross-drilled two-piece brake discs that save another 5kg, plus tartan upholstery that doesn’t save weight but’s said to harp back to the 1976 Esprit S1.

The British car-maker has yet to confirm pricing but has said it will be available globally and should be on sale from February 2016.

Lotus has also announced that an Exige Roadster Sport 350 will also go on sale a month later.