Friday, April 21, 2017

Lotus Exige Cup 380 Is A Track Beast For The Road


The Exige Cup 380 is powered by a 3.5-liter supercharged V6 that sends 375 horsepower to the rear wheels through a close-ratio six-speed manual gearbox. No paddle shifts here, thank you very much. Like most track-focused cars, the Lotus allows you to turn off electronic stability control entirely while keeping traction control engaged, with a knob to adjust TC sensitivity from one to 12 percent rear wheel slip.


The addition of various carbon fiber components (some optional) brings the Cup 380's dry weight down to just 2330 lbs, while new aerodynamic devices generate 440 lbs of downforce at speed. You probably won't feel that downforce on the street, but it'll certainly make a difference on track.



Around Lotus' Hethel test track, the Cup 380 runs a lap in 1:26, faster than any other road-legal Exige. That's not so far off the pace of the track-only Exige Sport 380, which laps Hethel in 1:23.5. The Cup 380 hits 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, and has a top speed of 175 mph.

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