Lotus Exige Sport 410 Named Evo‘s ‘Roadster of the Year’
Accolade marks Lotus’ second win in a row, after Elise Sport 220 named U.K. magazine’s ‘Sports Car of 2017.’
In what is truly a fitting end to the 70th anniversary year of Lotus, popular U.K. publication Evo magazine has named the Lotus Exige Sport 410 its “Roadster of the Year” in the popular U.K. publication’s new “Car of the Year” issue.
In the words of Evo, “It’s a genuinely fabulous piece of kit, engineered with an obsessional zeal for driver entertainment and finished with the sort of care normally reserved for vehicles with far more chunkier price tags.”
Developed directly from the track-focused Exige Cup 430, the Exige Sport 410 is designed to be the ultimate road drive, unrivalled in its class.
Packing the advanced chassis, suspension and powertrain set-up from its more powerful stablemate, the track focused Exige Cup 430, with a recalibrated engine producing 410 hp at 7,000 rpm and (310 lb. ft. on tap from 3,000 rpm to 7000 rpm. The high-performance 3.5-litre, supercharged and charge-cooled V6 engine combined with a dry weight of just 1,054 kg (lightest possible dry) delivers a class-leading power to weight ratio of 389 hp, and makes the Exige Sport 410 the lightest V6 Exige ever.
Capable of 0-60 mph in just 3.3 seconds, it records fierce in-gear acceleration before reaching a top speed of 180 mph (Coupe configuration) – equal to the range-topping Exige Cup 430.
‘It’s a fabulous piece of kit …finished with the sort of care normally reserved for vehicles with far more chunkier price tags.’
The Exige Sport 410 has been developed to generate 150 kg of downforce, sharing design cues from the Exige Cup 430, adopting a visually arresting revised lightweight front clam panel incorporating wider grilles and carbon fibre air curtains and front splitter.
As with all Lotus cars, the Exige Sport 410 has outstanding handling and lightweight agility engineered into its very DNA. Conveying an extraordinary level of tactility and precision, it’s developed to perform at its very best with maximum enjoyment and driver feedback on the road.
“The extremely talkative steering (unassisted of course) is heavy at first but once up to speed requires nothing more than wristy inputs, the Exige diving through corners fast and flat, its sense of balance simply sublime,” concludes Evo.