New Lotus Exige Sport 350 Review

A new Lotus renaissance is underway. The Lotus Exige Sport 350 appears to be the model that the company hopes will drive them to a happy future. When the late great Colin Chapman founded Lotus back in the early 1950’s his mission was to build sports cars that were lightweight and cutting-edge aerodynamically. Many call Chapman “the father of aerodynamics.” He obsessed daily with fine tuning the power to weight ratio of his cars. Chapman built cars that he encouraged his owners to not only drive daily but also race. That mindset led to Lotus becoming a successful mainstay in F-1 for many years. Unfortunately, insolvency has always been an issue with Lotus. I always wince every time that Lotus appears in the news, dreading that the story will be about its ultimate demise.

Lotus Exige Sport 350

Over the last few years though Lotus is showing signs of a significant rebound. The manufacturer wants to have its global sales rank the highest overall right here in the US by 2020. This is good news for the future, but oh the agony when it comes to the new Lotus Exige Sport 350. It will not be street legal in the United States. Do not despair though. You can import the Exige and play on the closest race course near you.

Related: 2000 Lotus Motorsport Exige Series 1

The Lotus Exige Sport 350 has a great history. As the story goes, Lotus gathered every component that it used to build the Exige S. They rummaged through some 4,000 parts and then sat down to critique each and every one of them. If the new Exige Sport 350 could survive without any of those parts they immediately headed to the scrap bin. The remaining parts were analyzed to see if they could be redesigned or made out of some lighter component. When all was said and done 120 new ideas went into the construction of the Sport 350.

Related: 2016 Lotus 3-Eleven: Simplify and Add Power

With all the retooling Lotus was able to trim 112lbs to carve out the new Exige. That allows the car to tip the scales at a trim 2,480lbs. With its existing lightweight aluminum chassis and composite bodywork, Lotus engineers reduced the weight further by fitting a different louvered tailgate, battery, engine mounts, center console, insulation materials, HVAC system and piping. The lighter weight has truly created a new lean and mean racing machine. The 3.5 liter supercharged V6 is a carryover from the Exige S. It generates 345 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. How does the new lighter weight also help? How about the Exige Sport 350 now reaching 60 from a standstill start in just 3.7 seconds and topping out on the speedometer at 170 miles per hour.

Lotus Exige Sport 350 Interior

As with the Exige S the Sport 350 has the same suspension and six-speed manual gearbox. The 350 also can be fitted with a six-speed automatic adding a paltry 12lbs to the curb weight of the Lotus. The interior is totally unique. Adhering to its British roots, Lotus has thought out of the box by designing a traditional tartan plaid upholstery.

Search: Lotus Exige For Sale

Again, Lotus is looking to come to North America by 2020 with what could be the next generation of the Exige Sport 350. With a price range that will probably place it in class with the Porsche 911 GT3 or the Cayman GT4, Lotus just might be able to position themselves as a major player in the United States.