New Exige Sport 350

[Neal H]

4 hours ago, The Pits said:

I personally prefer the Sport 350 engine cover, keeping the mesh makes it look lighter. The 360 Cups plastic mouldings look heavier to me.

I will be asking for just the louvred tailgate for my car. Claimed weight saving is only 3kg but it feels a lot lighter than that when opening and shutting it.

I can understand wanting it on a track car where every kilo saved is a plus point, but not on a road car. Replacing glass with a cheap piece of plastic (to save a whole 3kg's) just looks like a cost-cutting exercise. It's a big turn off for me.

[The Pits]

I'm sure you could have a glass cover retro fitted if you really wanted...

 

[Arregueti]

@The Pits

Hi Jonny,

Just pointing out a small lapsus on your article...

"you really feel involved in the process of driving an Exige 400 fast"...

Wishful thinking at its best? :-)

I do love the gear mechanism being visible, too.

Nice read anyway.

Thanks,

Jorge

[French Frie]

Thank you for this very informative article ? ... JMG seems to go in the right direction !

[The Pits]

Good spot, thanks. Will update asap but locked out at the moment which is frustrating as I've spotted a few typos myself!

[LF1]

Who will be first to enquire if the gear mechanism can be retrofitted?

[French Frie]

Not me ? ! By the way, new IPS software installed... Works great !

[Gashead1105]

1 hour ago, T3Jn said:

Who will be first to enquire if the gear mechanism can be retrofitted?

Chap on Seloc has asked Silverstone already. You may have seen the venting!

I'm going to wait to have a go in one next year. 

[Neal H]

Indeed. I'd want to drive one first to see what the difference is. I personally don't have any major gripes with the existing gear change.

[AndyFoggy]

7 hours ago, Kalli said:

Lotus aren't going to Geneva this year I believe. The cost of the show is obscene and the company don't have anything worth showing from what i've heard. The Exige 400 won't be ready in time.  

The next version will be the new V6 Cup that will weigh 50 kg less than 350 sports may have 370 hp. The 360 Cup is just a special series of 50 cars.

I think the Exige 400 will be presented in 2017 to Geneva and then put up for sale by September 2017 as my 2018

[The Pits]

Interesting how even here, most would be more excited by a 20bhp increase than a 50kg reduction, which of course is 'quicker everywhere'.

If it said 'weight remains 1176kg but the supercharged V6 now makes a stonking 365bhp.' the car wouldn't match the Sport 350.

I don't think the name helps really, something like RS350 or 350LW might have been better.

I underplayed the straight line performance gain because it's hard to tell without a back to back with the V6S and remember I'm more used to the Cup (a comparison with that to follow). Bibs first words when he got out of is we're 'f@€% me that's quick'. Rest assured the new car is a ballistic device and some may well think it feels noticeably quicker than the V6S. The other thing I can't ignore is how quick the V6s's are that I've come up against in my Cup. It's whoever gets on the gas first basically, there's not much between them in a straight line. However all the incremental improvements will come together over a lap as is the case with the Cup, so it will be with the Sport 350. Don't be misled by the name, go and try one for yourself when they hit the dealers. It's a great package.

But before you ask for a retro fit of the gearbox make sure the one you have is set up as well as it can be. Your car would have to be taken to bits to fit the new linkage and good gains can be achieved with the current linkage. I really like the shift in my car, always have. At least we know now why some are better than others.

[LF1]

I was joking about the gear box, I find mine fine. If anything when I drove the 400 I found it a bit heavy.

I would be very interested to see how it compares in performance to the Cup, based on it being the fastest road car round Hethel (assume the 3-11 was tested in race trim), that suggests it's faster than both the the current V6 Cup and 350 Cup.

[Trevsked]

49 minutes ago, AndyFoggy said:

The next version will be the new V6 Cup that will weigh 50 kg less than 350 sports may have 370 hp. The 360 Cup is just a special series of 50 cars.

I think the Exige 400 will be presented in 2017 to Geneva and then put up for sale by September 2017 as my 2018

370hp and a 50kg reduction would be a noticeable improvement and far better than a 400hp power hike, fingers crossed.

 

Trevor.

[Arregueti]

Pistonheads's thoughts on the new 350 Sport:

http://www.pistonheads.com/road-tests/lotus/lotus-exige-sport-350-driven/33440

If I read it right, PH seems to suggest that the way in which DPM works has changed. Or did I misunderstand?

Could you please confirm that there are still three modes (Touring, Sport, Race) and off.

Edit: Just checked in the OP that it maintains the three modes.

Edited December 11, 2015 by Arregueti
Question checked

[The Pits]

1 hour ago, T3Jn said:

I was joking about the gear box, I find mine fine. If anything when I drove the 400 I found it a bit heavy.

I would be very interested to see how it compares in performance to the Cup, based on it being the fastest road car round Hethel (assume the 3-11 was tested in race trim), that suggests it's faster than both the the current V6 Cup and 350 Cup.

No it was supposed to read 'fastest production Lotus' another of the changes I wanted to make. V6 Cup is still quicker but not by much. First locked out of TLF then locked myself out of the Evo. AA on the way. Having a shocker!

Yes DPM is the same. Race mode is now standard along with the rest of what used to be the race pack.

[CTRMint]

Does anyone know why they've changed the wheel to 10J?  I would have loved to get a spare set of rims for my car to preserve my diamond cut rims.  I've been looking for a set of forged, and these would have been great.

Given the tyre width remains the same I'm wondering if its been done to stop current owners upgrading??  Does anyone know the background here.

 

[NedaSay]

Don't know if this has already been posted:

http://www.evo.co.uk/lotus/exige/17120/lotus-exige-sport-350-review-less-weight-sharper-focus-for-former-ecoty-winner

Totally positive review from Evo for once, car compared to a Cayman GT4 obviously it cannot be any other way. For the first time ever (or in a very long time) they l did laud the gearbox!!!

I guess if the improvement on the sport 350 trickle down to the Cup 360 that car would be a logical contender for next year ECOTY But didn't they say that the Cup 360 was going to be a limited edition?!  

[Bibs]

1 hour ago, The Pits said:

V6 Cup is still quicker but not by much.

It's only quicker than the 350 if the Cup is fitted with Trofeos. 

[NedaSay]

2 minutes ago, Bibs said:

It's only quicker than the 350 if the Cup is fitted with Trofeos. 

Does that mean a faster Cup is coming?!

[Top cat]

Are there any pics of the new air-con button and others buttons in that area knocking about. I think Bibs review mentioned they are the ones out of the Evora?.

[ramjet]

I'm puzzled by everyone worrying about whether this car is faster or more power than this model etc. I can't even see all the models on the Oz Lotus website. Surely it doesn't really matter? You would get different levels of standard specs and then a different list of options?

Over here, Holden for instance produce the Clubsport Commodore. It comes with various hp options standard. The interior specs alter slightly with each model and then the options differ also.

Is there meant to be a progression of options and hp with each subsequent Lotus model?

Is there a hierarchy of models, that I am not aware of in my ignorance?

[The Pits]

11 hours ago, CTRMint said:

Does anyone know why they've changed the wheel to 10J?  I would have loved to get a spare set of rims for my car to preserve my diamond cut rims.  I've been looking for a set of forged, and these would have been great.

Given the tyre width remains the same I'm wondering if its been done to stop current owners upgrading??  Does anyone know the background here.

 

Me too. Been waiting for factory forged wheels for ages. No idea why the rears are a half inch wider other than for more grip. I don't think Lotus had any cunning plan to stop owners retro fitting them, on the contrary I'm sure they would have sold quite a few sets. 

I suspect they have found a way to make an existing wheel work rather than commission a new, bespoke design. The original plan may even have been for a wider tyre but cost implications have got in the way.

The Sport 350 looks to me like half of an Evora 400 update. I think the plan at some point was to have all this plus the chargecooled engine but weight and cost were starting to spiral. I think it's actually quite smart to stop the process here and get an improved car out for £55k. The whole hog would surely have started anywhere over £65k and weighed somewhere approaching 1200kg. Lotus have instead raised the spec and performance of the entry level, while keeping the price low.

Having met Jean-Marc Gales I can assure you that he preaches the gospel of St. Colin with considerable zeal which is really encouraging. He comes across as genuinely passionate about the benefits of lightweight. It's the ultimate win-win when it reduces cost as well. So we better get used to less weight being prioritized over more power. Surely we are all in agreement that it is the right thing for Lotus?

[C8RKH]

1 hour ago, The Pits said:

Having met Jean-Marc Gales I can assure you that he preaches the gospel of St. Colin with considerable zeal which is really encouraging. He comes across as genuinely passionate about the benefits of lightweight. It's the ultimate win-win when it reduces cost as well. So we better get used to less weight being prioritized over more power. Surely we are all in agreement that it is the right thing for Lotus?

Hi Pits, I totally agree with you here and bhp is not the be all and end all. I'd be dead chuffed running rings around an over priced, over weight "exotic" in a Lotus costing a quarter of the price with the ultimate driving feel and experience. I really do think the market could come back to Lotus as Porsche et al become more sterile and mass market samesy. Here's hoping anyway....

[Bibs]

12 hours ago, Top cat said:

Are there any pics of the new air-con button and others buttons in that area knocking about. I think Bibs review mentioned they are the ones out of the Evora?.

There are pics of those areas in our review

 

[bilen]

Any improvement in the headlight area, as in more light?

I think I remember JMG saying that was one thing that needed improvement.