Not for the faint of heart! - Now "Exige Cup 430"

[The Pits]

It's possible they need larger aperture front air intakes to feed the chargecooler? Either way I can't see Lotus agreeing to that. Might be better to matt black the nose like the 380 Cup, that would help I think and maybe add some canards if you can find some that fit. I suspect the Cup 380 ones will be too big to fit there now. Biggest loss for me is the rear wing. Might just be the endplates but the new, higher wing is definitely less butch!

@cobwatch I think the relative lack of track performance from the 311 is even more curious but perhaps this discussion should be taking place here. I think the larger boots of the GT430 help, maybe lacking an LSD has a part to play here too? Hethel has three tight 2nd gear exits. Perhaps at some other tracks the extra power would start to show more? Given 380 and 430 Cups share the same tyres there might be parts of Hethel where you will be flat out in the 380 while you have to be more patient with the 430. I know first hand that the Evora GT430 can take full throttle in 2nd without wheelspin so you can use all the power too. A relative defecit would start to arise if the driver or ecu are having to back off to maintain good drive. I've experienced this with Caterhams. An R300 is flat out everywhere while an R500 requires the power to be fed in more progressively. As a result the laptime difference is usually less than the power/weight ratios suggest.

I'm also missing the 380 Cup's barge boards and extra aero trim under the rear wheel arch vents, they looked amazing, especially with the exterior colour pack. But I think the 430 Cup's finned front splitter is nicer. Maybe the factory would consider adding Cup 380 bargeboards at least?

[cobwatch]

Jonny, please move my comment as needed...got myself into a tizz earlier in the week over transferred comments and made a right plonker of myself...cringe!  Luckily Bibs is a gentleman and made no fuss. Seen it all before i expect!

I prefer the cleaner look of the Cup 430 over the 380. Maybe Lotus have deliberately left a little in the locker with the performance of the Cup 430? I was not certain that the Cup 430 was without a LSD...so likely a factor in getting all the power down. Whatever, the Cup 380 gang have a remarkably competitive drive...limited edition to boot.

 

[lovus]

430 cup definitely looks less aggressive. Looks like they save the good stuff for the 450 cup limited edition. I still think 380 cup is a very very special car..

[cbaileyuk]

On the barge boards front, they are pennies for any v6. Got a set of them sat on my garage floor, I'll install them when I've braved the rivnut gun

As to Alias asking for a custom clammed 430...just Komo yours. Then you likely have the current MM +2. Yes, that's Model Month. Also Eltech the sides

Edited November 11, 2017 by cbaileyuk

[cobwatch]

440, 450, 460bhp...all possible but isn't the manual gearbox  maxed out?  More power/torque likely to be auto only. 

[cbaileyuk]

The noise the current 350 model gbox makes would make you think it's well past it. Noisy.

[LF1]

On 10/11/2017 at 10:08, The Pits said:

If Lotus waited 4 years to update the cars the mob with the pitchforks would be saying the cars are too late, development too slow!

You say this but as everyone knows we bought a GT4 for these exact reasons. And we’re a good new car customer from Lotus having bought 3 in a 3 year period. A primary reason for going for the GT4 is we knew the reliable product update schedule means we would not get pissed off when the better car was anounced shortly after we took delivery. Again. 

That said, if you time it well as you did with your original Cup (and we hoped we had done with the Elise Cup when first announced) the you’ll have a bunch of happy years motoring without being superseded. My genuine hope here is with the Exige 430 we are back to those days and this car will be around for a while. 

I’d prefer an Exige Cup to the GT4 right now and would have loved a 380, which would have been perfect. But the worry of a new version within months of taking delivery was a big concern... and low and behold...

[cbaileyuk]

None of us can truly know but I believe next year will see more in the way of 'new' editions.

Could you honestly see the 430 being the end of this? Not a chance. And saying 'but whichever you buy is a good car' is a demonstration of the point being missed (wilfully or otherwise). Lotus have form and 430 is dangerously close to numbers which flow much better from a brand perspective. Spend a ton with them at your peril if current/best is what you seek as I'd expect you could be staring at about 20k every 4 months to preserve the desired status. Or just buy and don't look at the net ?

New pulley? 450 Sport / Cup / Hethel? 

[DK7]

Nice car, but sorry Lotus i would never ever pay 130k€! 

Funny price imho.

[Mark030358]

On 09/11/2017 at 20:22, Mark030358 said:

Can't remember which forum I posted on, but I said the next gen car will br 6 figures, well here we have it with the old gen car, 6 figures. Very nice indeed, but would I lash out 100K+ with options.... errmmmm NO.

Basically Lotus are pricing existing customers out of buying a new car and moving to another sphere; just my opinion.

Ha, quoting my own quote here, and going back on it.... Took a spin to my favourite dealer the other day with the intention of getting a Px price for a 430 and seeing where it would leave me. Anyway, after a chat about everything but cars, I couldn't help but admire the little Glacier White Caterham. Had a think to myself, did the mental maths, and realised I could probably get said Caterham and a TVS upgrade for the same price. Didn't even ask about the 430, as lovely as it is.

cheers

Mark

[stephenwhyte]

Just spotted that the black decal spats I said I liked don’t actually appear on the Motorsport Green launch visual. Here they are on the Metallic Grey one pictured on track. The front end looks better in the photo too. Let’s face - it’s stunning!!

[cbaileyuk]

Lovely looker for sure, really could do with barge board though. It looks incomplete without them.

[Bravo73]

11 hours ago, cobwatch said:

please move my comment as needed...got myself into a tizz earlier in the week over transferred comments and made a right plonker of myself...cringe!  Luckily Bibs is a gentleman and made no fuss. Seen it all before i expect!

Done. 

[NANO]

I do not understand ... I do not know how Lotus has changed ( if it is really so ? ) His strategy with Motorsport since as far as the previous model we have always seen that CUP versions ( from the first V6 CUP followed by 360 and 380 ) have always been built in limited edition (numbered and with relative plate).

The latter 430 in my personal opinion should have been defined as Sport ( like its previous 350 and 380 ) and I would have expected Lotus, after a few months, to have a true VERSION CUP of 450 or 460 horses, road , naked, essential, even lighter, with the right accessories ( see the first V6 CUP series ) from the track and few, I repeat a few, additional options but ... Motorsport TRUE, numbered and limited version to 80 or 100 pieces - finished !  ).

What do you think ?

[550superfast]

wonder what has brought on the change of position of the number plate - to me that has more of a visual effect than the other changes to the front end.

I have no problem with either front - both are very nice indeed.

[The Pits]

GT430 moved the numberplate to aid airflow to the radiator apparently. I think it has improved looks quite a bit, the lower mount was very clunky on the Evora. 

Phew, I thought we were getting dragged back into another tirade about Lotus's new model launch strategy (or lack of). Nice to be discussing the actual car!

[alias23]

Or maybe remove the front plate completely...

[Swiss380Cup]

7 hours ago, NANO said:

I do not understand ... I do not know how Lotus has changed ( if it is really so ? ) His strategy with Motorsport since as far as the previous model we have always seen that CUP versions ( from the first V6 CUP followed by 360 and 380 ) have always been built in limited edition (numbered and with relative plate).

The latter 430 in my personal opinion should have been defined as Sport ( like its previous 350 and 380 ) and I would have expected Lotus, after a few months, to have a true VERSION CUP of 450 or 460 horses, road , naked, essential, even lighter, with the right accessories ( see the first V6 CUP series ) from the track and few, I repeat a few, additional options but ... Motorsport TRUE, numbered and limited version to 80 or 100 pieces - finished !  ).

What do you think ?

Maybe they'll do it the other way around this time..... have a 430 Cup charged cool, and afterwards a 410 Sport or something like that... I wonder, maybe they don't know either... they just throw out as many models they can sell to keep the numbers in the black..... maybe it's the new era, (after having heard a lot of complaints about heat soak), with all charged cool superchargers ??? and you'll have detuned charged cool cars...... 380 to replace the Sport 350 - 410 for the 380, etc.  - 430 Cup ?????? A lot of the price hike is in the carbon, titanium, suspension, brakes, etc.... you can take out several 10s of thousands by removing those and replacing them with standard parts.... really have no clue as to what they are doing exactly..... but maybe they believe now thy can box in the Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborhini, McLaren category and they'll go for it ?????

[mbes2]

It's just a v6s with a KT430 pack... lotus prices are crazy as I can't see it being twice the car...

Or... has anything else been done to the engine internals / gearbox etc ? 

[Swiss380Cup]

Does anybody know something about this engine, the Edelbrock S/C, where the charged cool radiator is, etc etc etc ? 

[cbaileyuk]

9 hours ago, mbes2 said:

Or... has anything else been done to the engine internals / gearbox etc ? 

I very, very much doubt it - we can't be sure until we get to see one but I doubt the changes are at that level.

[French Frie]

I really like the new front clam ! and I must confess I was not a big fan of the racer-wanabee canards  ... the new face looks neater to me ! I also noticed the larger side engine scoops... were they already present on the 380 ?  

the grey 430 is really beautiful  !

[The Pits]

Gearbox cooler helps a lot according to the factory.

Larger side scoops are straight off the 380 Cup. They are carbon too, although they will need stone chip protection, quite vulnerable where they are.

@Swiss380Cup Not much is known yet about the 430 Cup chargecooler install but the extra radiators must be at the front as they are on the Evoras and 311. The Exige/Evora S Harrop TVS1320 supercharger makes 0.5bar boost at a maximum of 7000rpm. Whereas the Edelbrock supercharger is 1740cc and makes 0.58bar with a max revs of 7500rpm. That's on the 400, I assume the 430 runs slightly higher boost pressure. I was told the extra power came from a remap and revised cam timing, no mention of smaller pulleys. It now runs on 97 Octane minimum, 410 can run on 95.

 

 

[Swiss380Cup]

Tx. It was about time they move on the charged cool solution... apparently wasn't that difficult to achieve....very glad they did it. It opens up a lot more possibilities up to 500 HP, I think this engine will live for a long time still.... I was wondering wether a retrofit would be possible ??? If SSC can install a TVS 1900 and have a charged cool solution for their race cars and possibly for road legal cars, why not go for the "original" OEM solution.... that would be an interesting topic to discuss and a possibility to explore...very excited about it. I love my 380 Cup, but you know how we are, we always want what's best ......

[The Pits]

I don't see the point in modifying the Cup 380 unless you want to keep it forever (entirely possible that you might, given it's still the best looking V6 Exige!). I'd rather put the modifying money towards a new factory chargecooled car personally. From there it's an easy remap for more power should you wish.

Can they really go to 450bhp in an Exige?! There is no mention of LSD so I think we can assume it doesn't have one. I can remember Matt Becker saying the first V6 Exige was right on the point of needing one!