SPY PICS: Lotus Exige

Lotus is working on an update for its Exige model and these Carparazzi spy pics show the car undergoing circuit testing on a closed track where some new details can be gleaned (despite the garish, eye-foiling disguise cladding).

Clearly the Exige is in for a new front end, complete with reprofiled upper guards, squared-off headlights, new grille and outboard air scoops, as well as a new, single scoop atop the bonnet.

At the back, the Exige looks a lot different, even if the four circular taillights remain. The effect is more conservative than the current model with a straight, flat upper bumper line. If this test mule is representative, and there appears no reason it wouldn’t be, the rear spoiler seems narrower but chunkier.

Carparazzi reckons the turret looks different too, but it is hard to see anything significant in the camouflaged car.

It is also claimed test mules have been spotted previously, showing wider tracks than the current car, indicating it might be a tad bigger. The wheel arches on the test mule certainly look more pronounced and the brakes are apparently larger too.

Engine speculation hints at the Exige getting the 3.5-litre V6 seen in the Evora, producing around 210kW in the regular model and about 260kW in the faster S version. In Australia, the current-model Exige uses a supercharged 1.8-litre engine delivering 162kW.

When could the new Exige be expected to make its entrance?

According to industry scuttlebutt, the Exige is aimed more at next year’s Geneva motor show than at this year’s Frankfurt show (although Lotus has not revealed all the details of its stand at the Frankfurt motor show, it has revealed two will be high-power models – one of which is claimed to be the fastest road car the company has ever built, while the other is destined for the racetrack).

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site.