Road Warrior

The Lotus Exige Sport 410 Is For When Nothing Else Matters But Driving

- Scott Newman

DAY TWO OF Targa Tasmania 2019. Lotus Exiges occupy four of the top five places, including a comfortable outright lead for Steve Glenney. Before us and our Exige Sport 410 is 45km of one of the best tarmac rally roads in the country. Sadly, though, the Mansfield-Whitfield road is in Victoria, not Tasmania, so instead of race suits, timing gear and marshals, we have speed limits, cyclists and crabby locals who view taking photos by the side of the road as a threat to the neighbourhood.

Nevertheless, the happenings across Bass Strait suggest we’ve chosen an appropriate route to test Hethel’s latest supercharged circuit star. In layman’s terms, it’s a harder, faster Exige – no mean feat – created by incorporating components and lessons from the ultra-hardcore Exige Cup 430. The recipe is tried-and-tested: more power, more grip, less weight.

Stripping kilograms from an Exige isn’t easy, but ultralightweight forged alloys (staggered 17s front, 18s rear) do their bit, as does the increased use of carbon fibre for the rear hatch and front air duct, while optioning a titanium exhaust sheds a further 10kg. The difference isn’t huge – at 1108kg, the Sport 410 is just 17kg lighter than the standard 350 – but every little bit helps.

Combine this with an extra 49kW thanks to an “engine recalibration” of the 3.5-litre supercharged V6 and the all-important power-to-weight ratio skyrockets from 228kW/tonne to 276, superior to the likes of the Porsche 911 GT3 and Nissan GT-R Nismo. A six-speed manual is the only available gearbox, but 0-100km/h is claimed to take just 3.4sec, while top speed is an impressive 290km/h.