EVO Roadster of the Year – Lotus Exige Sport 410

[au-yt]

Their words I don’t need to add anything..

There really is no stopping Lotus as its 70th anniversary year comes to an end. It continues to set the benchmark when it comes to pure driver’s cars, so nothing makes us happier than finding the key to a Lotus in the office and nothing in the diary. With new owners Geely securing its future the attention can once again turn to the fabulous cars that have continued to be produced during even its darkest hours. Cars such as the Exige Sport 410. 

It’s a genuinely fabulous piece of kit, engineered with an obsessional zeal for driver entertainment and finished with the sort of care normally reserved for vehicles with far chunkier price tags. Once you’ve clambered over that vast sill – removing the roof panel makes this considerably easier, of course – it’s a lovely thing just to sit in: everywhere you look there’s something to delight, from the exposed gear linkage to perfectly stitched Alcantara and beautifully cast alloy pedals.

> Click here for our review of the Lotus Exige Sport 410

But really the 410 is all about movement, and once you’re underway you revel in a machine that weighs just 1108kg. It’s a timely reminder that it doesn’t matter how much grunt you add, there’s no substitute for minimal mass. There’s just a glorious lack of inertia with the Lotus, with every turn of the steering, prod of the throttle and squeeze of the brakes resulting in an instant and accurate response.

The extremely talkative steering (unassisted of course) is heavy at first but once up to speed requires nothing more than wristy inputs, the Exige diving through corners fast and flat, its sense of balance simply sublime.

It’s freakishly quick, too, the 410bhp supercharged 3.5-litre V6 pulling with relentless energy once the revs rise above 4000rpm, accompanied by a nape-prickling howl from its titanium exhaust. How is it possible that an engine from a mundane Toyota saloon can sound this good?

It’s time for a new Lotus adage: Lots Of Thrills, Usually Sensational.

https://www.evo.co.uk/group-tests/22043/evo-car-of-the-year-2018/page/0/4

 

Edited January 26, 2019 by au-yt