Lotus Exige Sport 380

[LF1]

4 hours ago, nerobi said:

Forgive my ignorance;can't you close the loud exhaust by the button?

It opens automatically at around 4.5k RPM

[Stubox]

While it's nice to see Lotus producing a new performance variant I think the rather garish look spoils what could of been quite a menacing weapon. However it's getting positive news out again and following the good US reception of the 400 and the overall thumbs up for 410 its nice to see them making the best of what they've got.

As it is i'll play the waiting game with my Motorsport assembled Cup car while adding the lithium battery, forged wheels with Cup2s and dropping 5kg of me ...... though a 410 is now looking a little more tempting.

[French Frie]

@NedaSay, are you sure about the remaining sport 350 under the 380 ?

your comment about the too optioned demo car is a good bet ... like a woman with too much makeup and jewellery !

it looks much better this way :

 

One more point : the mixed matt & glossy parts were mentioned, but there's also the metallic mesh on the front panel, mixed with the matt plastic trim on the others apertures (which I never loved !) ... I wish they'd put metallic mesh everywhere !

[The Pits]

So it was the launch photos then, that looks absolutely gorgeous!!!

Even the rear wing looks better! They seriously need to sort out their launch photos. A reminder to always reserve final judgement until seeing a car in the flesh.

[Rancid]

Am I correct to think the whole rear clam is new due to the different rear panel?

[French Frie]

@The Pits: yep, gorgeous  ... But I finally get your point, Jonny !  A real hardcore Exige is missing for trackdays lovers ... But maybe they think the 3-11 is the correct answer, then ?

Anyway,  I can confirm that a Roadster, roof down,  in the Alps is the perfect player  !

 

 

[Babas89]

It's better looking when there's no red touch on it! (and with other coleur than grey)

[Seriouslylotus]

Bought my 360cup 5 months ago (silver with red bits)
Am I unhappy about this 380 being launched----NO
Will I be swopping my 360 for a 380-----NO
If I hadn't got the 360 would I buy a 380---Hell yeah
I love it..............To me all the styling tat should have been on the 360 cup, I hope they make the parts available for the aftermarket!!!!

[The Pits]

This is your ultimate Exige for the time being folks.

Here's why I don't think there will be a Cup car.

1. They shut Motorsport.

2. They didn't sell many Cup cars when they were available.

3. The Sport 380 was launched with Cup (360) style red accents. This suggests to me that it was going to be a Cup 380 at one point but they switched it to 'Sport'.

4. There's not much more weight loss to be had. A Cup version would likely weigh the same once the fire extinguisher has been put in.

5. You can already get a more extreme 'Motorsport' trackday car - the 311.

6. Dealers had punters walking in wanting to buy the ultimate Exige, pointing at the V6 Cup and asking for a stereo, leather interior, fit an alarm, get rid of the fire extinguisher and harnesses, 3 year warranty and so on. At first Lotus said no. Then they made the 360 Cup which allowed all of that stuff to be optioned in. I think by then the punters had bought Cayman GT4s! The Cup 360 remains a very rare sight. Based on that experience a Sport 380 can be loaded with stuff that a Cup car shouldn't have. It's a clear flagship Exige. No doubt they think that keeping the Sport badge will make that clearer. I can imagine the frustration at Lotus reading everyone here saying it should be a Cup, you know, the one that no-one wanted when it was for sale!

It's nice to see some love for the Cup cars on here but also sad to see the 'Sport' badge being considered the lesser of the two. It used to stand for 'Lotus Sport' - the original name for Lotus Motorsport! Really the mistake was 'normalising' the Sport badge with the 350. If the 380 had been the first one to wear the Sport badge for a while it would have had much more impact.

Time to put the whole Cup thing behind us. I'd hate to see a watered down Cup, putting a stereo in the Cup 360 was bad enough and I'm not comfortable with them using the badge without a Motorsport Department. The one thing a Cup badge stood for was authenticity. It meant genuine race engineers had been involved in the development and build of the car. Heaven forbid that it should stand for anything else!

 

[JayEmm]

Jonny's got good points there.

I can't help but wonder if the mess would have been cleared up by not using the word "Sport" so liberally.

Having an "Exige 350" as your entry level model, with all the luxuries etc... in as standard, then the "Sport 380" as the higher performing, more hardcore version, would probably make some distinctions between the two. Have the 350 as a roadster by default, the 380 a coupe, something like that (although we all know you can change them)

[NW76]

Jonny: you are spot on - the 380 Sport is the Cup replacement ... I am pretty sure we wont see a Cup in the next 2 years ...

JMG is all business and financially speaking the Cup probably never made sense ... the 380 will, as it has "a broader apeal" ... not what I want so ...

[NANO]

Over the next two years we can stand but not if it was in the coming months ... in recent times there are too many models presented ...

[French Frie]

very interesting debate, with educated people  ... I do think we've found the definitive consensus  ! 

PS: Jonny, sorry to bring Porsche stuff in the discussion , but it was the same for the RS 2.7 an 964 ... they were not best-sellers at their time, but are now icons ! the same for the 427 cobras, it took more than two years to sell the last ones ... so you're probably right thinking the last Cups would be sought after ... a bit like the Exige S1 which is now very collectible !

Edited November 24, 2016 by French Frie
spelling

[Vanya]

12 hours ago, pete said:

as an interested observer think car looks great and what else can you buy under 70,000 that can do 0-60 in 3.5 secs and reach 170  mph

Nissan GTR?

[The Pits]

That was the morning well spent!

 

[Gashead1105]

Prefer the blue personally...

[SFO]

at last, the lightweight forged wheels can be had in silver 

the 380 can be a hard core "Cup" style car, can't it? Just don't spec the A/C, the radio, carpets and spec the Track Pack?

[The Pits]

Yes, absolutely SFO. Don't forget the adjustable Nitrons that were developed for the Cup cars also. I wonder if the Ohlins are still an option?

@Arun_D

Any other colour requests?

[Snoopy1969]

1 hour ago, French Frie said:

very interesting debate, with educated people  ... I do think we've found the definitive consensus  ! 

PS: Jonny, sorry to bring Porsche stuff in the discussion , but it was the same for the RS 2.7 an 964 ... they were not best-sellers at their time, but are now icons ! the same for the 427 cobras, it took more than two years to sell the last ones ... so you're probably right thinking the last Cups would be sought after ... a bit like the Exige S1 which is now very collectible !

The Thing is that RS 2.7 / 964 RS were available as "Cup Cup" Edition as well as "comfort" / "Touring"-Edition with sev comfort extras to order. Even in the seventies most People bought the rs w i t h comfort extras.

I think Lotus should concentrate on models that could be understand by the People, not every 3 months a new Edition / Sport xy, 25 hp more or so.

Therefore

one base exige s / Roadster / coupe / packs etc. - when fitted with all packs: luxury and speed

one exige s "clubsport" all comfort things out, reasonable Price, mild more power than base, packs to improve racetrack abilities - when fitted with all packs: Weekend track toy

 

[SFO]

10 minutes ago, The Pits said:

 

@Arun_D

Any other colour requests?

dark metallic blue?

[The Pits]

A very quick go at Nightfall Blue which would probably look a bit darker in reality.

[MesTCS]

Well what a thoroughly confused and pretty much botched release this is.

However, thinking about the fairly eye watering price in more detail, it doesn't sound too bad to me at all.

Splitter £1200

Wing £1500

Skirts £500

Canards £250

Access Panel £1000?

Seats £2000?

Battery £1350

Brakes £1500

Wheels £1500

Komotec EX370 £1400 (ok I know this is different but it's about what you'd need to spend to get a similar power hike)

That's a (possibly slightly conservative) total of £12,200 before adding the new polycarb window, fuel tank, gearbox oil cooler and new tyres (not sure if there's a cost difference there) but that's pretty much all extra money too.

Then there's the better front track and contact area. The addition of 60% downforce without any extra drag. The increased power. The longer range. Better longevity on track. The improved soundtrack thanks to whatever they did to the Evora exhaust. The better (more hardcore) looks (in places!), lower COG, better tyres (maybe), etc.

There's a lot to love and be excited about there. So why am I not as blown away as I should be?

1. It feels like a half assed job at a Cup car. But I guess that's all we're getting post closure of Motorsport.

2. Bigger fuel tank adds weight from the 350 version? No it doesn't, ask Pro Alloy. Shocker.

3. That wing is utterly hideous and should never have gone any further than feasibility stage. Feels like they're trying to get rid of extra stock of the Elise wing. Not fit for the car at all.

4. That rear light arrangement, new sculpted area and removal of the little vents has ruined the look of the rear end to me, even though I love the new winglets. Why mess around with it? They're just making more work and more grief for themselves in the future.

5. All this Cup style stuff yet the better suspension is still an option?

6. Why oh why are the canards not carbon? It's the little details that can make you look so silly.

7. Lotus telling owners "you can't possibly do that you'll kill your car" until they decide it's ok.

It could all have been so much better I think. There are good reasons why so many appear underwhelmed. And I don't like Lotus presenting this as a roadster so they lose the weight of the roof to hide the additional weight of the fuel tank and the gearbox oil cooler. Add to that the shockingly poor photography and the car dressed up like a tart's window box in order to show off the new parts... it's all a bit embarrassing really.

All that said, if the car was presented in a much more acceptable colour scheme, shot properly in a studio by a competent photographer, had a Cup R style rear wing and came with Ohlins and a baffled sump... this would all have looked SO much better and I've had been all over it like a freaking flannel.

To me, it's much better than Lotus have made it look, and could have been so much more desirable with a few sensible considerations.

If I had the money, I'd specify the carbon roof and tailgate and the titanium exhaust and then Cup it up myself with Ohlins and the other bits missing and I'm sure I'd be very happy.

Dream on

[550superfast]

I wonder where the oil cooler for the gearbox sits? Anyone know?

And how much is the titanium exhaust and how loud will it be?

[MesTCS]

@550superfast £5,500 on the Evora I think... and too loud! But sexy as hell!

Edited November 24, 2016 by MesTCS

[550superfast]

Just now, MesTCS said:

@550superfast £5,500 on the Evora I think.

Gulp....