Lotus Exige Sport 410 arrives Down Under
BY ROBBIE WALLIS | 17th Aug 2018
LOTUS Cars Australia has announced it will bring a new variant to sit atop its Exige coupe range, with the Sport 410 joining the line-up priced from $159,990 plus on-roads, making it $22,000 dearer than the former flagship Exige S Roadster.
Offered in both coupe and convertible body styles, the Exige Sport 410 is powered by the same 3.5-litre supercharged V6 engine as the rest of the range, with power boosted to 306kW at 7000rpm and 420Nm from 3000-7000rpm.
Teamed exclusively to a six-speed close-ratio manual gearbox, the Exige Sport 410 can complete the sprint from zero to 100km/h in 3.4 seconds on the way to a top speed of 290km/h.
The Sport 410 boasts a dry weight of just 1074kg, thanks to a number of lightweight bodykit enhancements and weight-saving measures such as a front splitter, wing blades in the front clam and rear diffuser finished in carbon-fibre reinforced plastic, front access panel, rear tailgate and rear wing in full carbon-fibre, and a lightweight aluminium rear diffuser.
Employing the extra aero result in 150kg worth of downforce – 60kg at the front and 90kg at the rear.
Other exterior highlights include larger grille apertures, LED daytime running lights, machined alloys wheels measuring 17-inch front and 18-inch rear wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber and red-painted brake callipers with AP Racing branding.
To boost its on-track credentials, the Sport 410 has borrowed a number of chassis enhancements from the savage Exige Cup 430, such as re-tuned three-way adjustable dampers, adjustable front and rear anti-roll bars, revised double-wishbone suspension and a stiffer, lightweight aluminium chassis.
Inside, the two-seater cockpit is trimmed liberally in Alcantara, including the sports seats, steering wheel and centre console and door panels, the latter which also features leather. Air-conditioning is included as standard.
The highly-customisable Exige Sport 410 comes with a long list of options, including a full titanium exhaust system which removes 10kg from behind the rear axle, four-point harnesses, deletion of airbags, a roll cage, a stereo with two speakers, interior trim options and the ability to sprinkle carbon-fibre elements throughout the car, including race seats, roof, a binnacle top, sill covers, a diffuser finish and barge boards.
Lotus says the Exige Sport 410 will become the halo car for the Exige range once the last two examples of the limited-edition Exige Cup 430 have been sold, with only 10 having made their way to Australia.
Earlier in the year, Lotus introduced a special version of its Evora coupe called the GT430, of which only 60 were set aside for Australia.
