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An even-more-extreme version of an extreme version of an extreme performance car, this is the Lotus Exige Cup 380.
Evolved from the Sport 380, which in turn is a development of the Exige Sport 350, the Norfolk-based company says this is the ultimate 'on track and back again' road-legal vehicle, with the Cup 380 genuinely eligible for various motorsport competitions around the world. Just 60 examples will be made, making this one of Lotus' most collectible cars.
Exterior
Heavily revised bodywork contributes to the Exige Cup 380 having 43 per cent more downforce at top speed than the Sport 380 model - the Cup can generate 200kg of the stuff when travelling at 282km/h. It achieves this via the use of front louvres to equalise the pressure differential in the wheel arches, plus cut-out sections behind the back wheels that work in conjunction with the aero blades either side of the rear diffuser. It also boasts front canards and a load of high-gloss, handmade carbon fibre components, including the new front splitter, front access panel, bargeboards, the roof, the diffuser surround, larger-aperture air-intake side pods, a fresh one-piece tailgate and that unmissable motorsport-derived rear wing.
To make the most of that downforce and aero - even the Cup 380's windscreen wiper rests in an upright position, so as not to disrupt airflow - the rear tyres are upsized from the 265/35 ZR18 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 items on the Sport 380 to 285/30 ZR18s here (fronts are 215/45 ZR17s). And weight is the key issue; keeping the Cup's dry figure at 1,057kg (9kg lighter than a Sport 380) is helped by the one-piece carbon rear tailgate (-6.5kg), the removal of gas struts (-1kg) and the carbon side pods (-0.5kg). You can finish the Exige Cup 380 in hand-finished Essex Blue, Metallic White, Metallic Silver, Metallic Grey or Metallic Black, while the car wears a bespoke red highlight on its front access panel. Wheels, spoiler uprights and mirror caps can be finished in red, silver or black in contrast to the main paint colour, while the whole car wears 'Cup 380' badging.
Interior
Inside, you'll find visible-weave carbon fibre on the seats and door sills, while more weight-saving comes in the form of such attention to minutiae as deleting the boot carpet to reduce mass. Lucky buyers can up the carbon content further by optioning one-piece door cards, the HVAC console and air-vent surrounds - do so, and you trim another kilo from the Cup's kerb weight. As standard, the Exige Cup 380 has a T45 steel rollover bar but you can go the whole hog for competition work by specifying an FIA-compliant rollcage, a full racing harness, an electrical cut-off switch, fire extinguisher controls, airbag deletion and a non-airbag steering wheel, plus a front towing eye and rear fabric tow strap on the Lotus' exterior.
Alternatively, you can go the other way and luxe it up instead, as the Alcantara-clad carbon seats can alternatively be finished in leather or tartan, with contrast stitching, for no extra cost. There's an Alcantara steering wheel, too, while lightweight carbon sill covers are said to not only save 0.9kg, but lower the profile of the sills by 10mm, allowing for easier entry to and exit from the car. New graphics are drafted in for the instrument cluster to make it easier to read and the Exige Cup 380 can be personalised through the Lotus Exclusive programme.
Mechanicals
This car is capable of 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds and 282km/h flat out, so it's a proper missile. The Exige Cup 380 achieves these numbers through use of the 3.5-litre supercharged V6 petrol engine as found in the Exige Race. The Cup can lap Lotus' Hethel test track in 1min 26secs, which is in advance of a Sport 350's 1m 29.8secs time and the Sport 380's 1m 27.3secs, and it does this thanks to 380hp at 6,700rpm and 410Nm delivered at 5,000rpm.
As standard, the Cup comes with a close-ratio, six-speed manual transmission, so what with that and the aero increasing drag, the top speed is reduced slightly to that 282km/h from the Sport 380's 286km/h figure. But of course it's a tenth of a second quicker from 0-100km/h than the Sport. There are four ESP modes - Drive, Sport, Race and Off - and a variable traction control system that's linked directly to the ECU, allowing varying degrees of wheel-slip between one and 12 per cent, or the option of switching it off completely. Nitron two-way adjustable dampers and Eibach adjustable front/rear anti-roll bars form the suspension and the brakes are AP Racing forged, four-piston callipers gripping grooved two-piece discs. An optional full exhaust system in titanium not only improves the sound, but removes 10kg from behind the rear axle if specified.
Anything else?
Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Group Lotus, said: "Developing the Cup 380 has allowed us to indulge our motorsport ambitions on a car that can be used and enjoyed every single day. This is an Exige that's not just unbeatable point-to-point but also capable of winning highly competitive races. The biggest surprise for many is that it's fully road legal - a considerable achievement considering the car's performance capabilities. Unlike some rivals' cars, this is something that really can drive to a track, set the fastest lap and take the win, before heading home. It's supremely usable, yet outrageously fast."
The Exige Cup 380 is available as a limited production run of only 60 cars and as a Coupe only. Pricing, or indeed an allocation of cars, for Ireland has not been confirmed.