Lotus Exige Sport 410: the sports car you'd love to drive

Derived from the track-focused version, the Exige Cup 430, the new Lotus Exige Sport 410 has everything you would ask of a sports car to enjoy pure driving on open roads.

There may be no other sports car on the market that can match the value for money in driving enjoyment offered by the new Lotus Exige Sport 410 for lovers of more sporting driving. Let’s see. It costs around 110,000 euros, and we can consider it the “road” version of the Exige Cup 430.

The numbers speak for themselves, and these are the most important ones: a 3.5-litre supercharged V6 engine with 410 CV at 7,000 rpm, a six-speed manual gearbox, rear-wheel drive and a weight of just 1,054 kg. With a power-to-weight ratio of 2.53 kg/CV, the Lotus Exige Sport 410 accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 3.5 seconds. To put that in perspective, it is only about 0.3 seconds slower than a Porsche 911 Turbo. The top speed of 290 km/h is the least of its concerns: the Exige Sport 410 is a car to be enjoyed on winding roads. The same goes for fuel consumption, at least the homologated figures. The combined-cycle average is 10.6 l/100 km; driving at the limit will easily double that figure.

Carbon fibre and titanium for featherweight performance

More details that Lotus provides about the Exige Sport 410, in its inevitable comparison with the Exige Cup 430. The titanium exhaust (optional, costs 7,300 euros) and the use of carbon fibre make it up to 5 kg lighter. For road driving, however, you do not need the aerodynamic downforce of the Exige Cup 430, and the 220 kg generated by the latter is reduced to 150 (60 on the front axle and 90 on the rear). And the Sport 410 is offered in coupé and roadster variants, whereas the Cup 430 does not have a Roadster version.

The suspension features adjustable dampers signed by Nitro and adjustable Eibach anti-roll bars, while the brakes are supplied by AP Racing, with 4-piston calipers. For the tyres, genuine “pata negra” are fitted, the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2, in sizes 215/45-17 at the front and 285/30-18 at the rear.

Inside, just what is needed to link one corner after another without worrying about anything else, although air conditioning, the audio system, cruise control and a basic multimedia system can be specified as options. An even more “racing” configuration is also available, with 4-point seat belts (3,500 euros) and fire extinguisher and battery cut-off switch fitting (3,500 euros).

Lotus Exige Sport 410