British sports carmaker Lotus Cars is determined to reinforce its reputation of building only the finest and best-in-class competition sports cars in the world.
The sports carmaker has announced that it would soon release the Exige Race 380, the track-only sibling of Exige Sport 380, hailed as one of the brand’s most significant and sensational cars.
The Exige Race 380 shall be combining Lotus’ vehicle development skills with its motorsport pedigree, and it is bound to set the pace when the first production cars officially come out this coming May.
As part of the current Exige’s development cycle, the Race 380 will become the race car of choice for teams as well as private owners for the 2017 / 2018 season, reports Lotus Cars on its website.
The Exige Race 380 provides the ultimate in race-bred engineering and comes with a host of competition-focused components as standard.
Gearbox, suspension, aerodynamics and electrical systems are among the items that have been modified to reflect the car’s role.
Despite the fact that the new Exige Race 380 model is not available in a road-legal specification, the majority of the original car’s configuration is retained, due in part to the Exige Sport 380’s highly advanced development.
The Lotus Exige Sport 380 has proven to be one of Lotus’ most successful new models in recent years, with orders for the next four months’ production already allocated.
A giant slayer
In a recent statement, Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Group Lotus plc, said that the Exige Sport 380 is a real giant slayer on the road and one of the quickest A to B supercars around.
He added that the sports car gave them the ideal platform from which to develop the new Exige Race 380, which he describes as a peerless competition car designed to beat the best.
By setting its weight below 1,000 kilograms, its power to weight is unsurpassed in its class. When lapping Hethel, it’s a phenomenal 1.5 seconds faster than the previous Exige Cup R is truly a massive performance gain.
The Exige Race 380 is an unparalleled race car that follows the philosophy of Colin Chapman and Lotus can’t wait for customers to experience its capabilities.
Competition-oriented options
The Exige Race 380 includes a wide range of competition-oriented options as standard, covering everything from the drivetrain to driver information system, all designed to increase the car’s capabilities.
Developed to be eligible for the worldwide Lotus Cup series and a number of club man championships, the Exige Race 380 is every inch a winner.
The Exige has long set the benchmark for handling and, to ensure it remains perfectly poised and agile, the Race 380 uses a revised suspension configuration, incorporating two-way adjustable Öhlins dampers and adjustable front and rear anti-roll bars.
The Exige Race 380 features a full, integrated roll cage, lightweight FIA Carbon driver seat and a six-point harness, as well as ultra-lightweight polycarbonate side windows, competition specification fire extinguisher, battery isolator, and front and rear motorsport towing eyes.
An ultra-lightweight carbon fiber motorsport specific louvered tailgate panel is fitted with the engine and carbon fiber air intake pods are attached to either side of the car forward of the rear wheels.
Just like the other race cars in the Lotus range, headlamps are replaced by matt black covers and airbags are not included in the specification.
Critics have also regarded the Exige Race 380 as an unapologetic and uncompromising competition car built to win.
One of the interesting things that can be immediately noted on the Exige Race 380 from the Exige Sport 380 is the reduction in its weight.
The dry weight dips just under a ton at 998 kilograms, compared to the Exige Sport 380’s 1,066 kilograms. The weight reduction is achieved via the deletion of the road car’s headlights and airbags, the fitting of polycarbonate windows, a carbon fiber tailgate and carbon fiber air intake pods.