Among the many world premieres at the Lotus stand in Frankfurt is the new Exige series and more specifically, the street-legal Exige S, and the competition Exige GT with which the British company plans to make its comeback to the world of rallying.The road-going Exige S somewhat deviates from Lotus' philosophy of making ultra-lightweight sports cars with small displacement engines as it brings in the Evora S' 3.5-liter supercharged V6 that produces 350-ponies.While the new Exige S boasts an impressive 130HP increase over the previous model, it is also 145kg (310 pounds) heavier at 1,080kg (2,381 lbs).
The Exige S is fitted with high-performance Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tires as standard and comes equipped with a Lotus DPM (Dynamic Performance Management) switch that allows the driver to change between three driving modes: Touring, Sport and DPM off.
As an option, Lotus offers the Race Pack that adds a fourth driving mode setting along with a Launch Control and a more hardcore suspension tuning.
Commenting on the Exige S, Group Lotus Chief Executive Officer Dany Bahar said: “Anyone who has ever driven an Exige will tell you that it’s not for the faint-hearted. The new Exige S skips a few rungs on the ladder to give the driver the ultimate Lotus experience. Quite simply you can’t get more Lotus than the Exige S.”
Joining the Exige S is the R-GT competition model that ill participate in the newly formed FIA GT category of the FIA Rally Championship on asphalt in Monte Carlo, Tour de Corse and San Remo.
The R-GT sports the V6 3.5-litre engine as the new road Exige S, but features changes to the gearbox and the restrictors on the engine in order to control the power.
“With the new R-GT rules in rally, it’s a very interesting time for us to return to the sport," said Lotus’ Director of Motorsport Claudio Berro.
"Naturally our approach this time around will be different to when we won the championship three decades ago, but I think our philosophy is definitely the same, we want to compete and ultimately we want to win. Our new rally car, the Exige R-GT is a dream come true for those who are passionate about GT racing – this will be their car,” Berro added.
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