Lotus Exige Cup 430 revealed with 430 hp, 440 Nm

If you thought Lotus was done improving the Exige, you’re sadly mistaken. This is the new Exige 430 Cup: Unlimited Edition, which the Hethel-based company says is the “most extreme Exige ever conceived.”

The 3.5 litre V6 receives a new Edelbrock supercharger and charger cooler, and together, output is increased to 430 hp at 7,000 rpm and 440 Nm of torque at 4,000 to 6,800 rpm.

Compared to the previous “bestest” Exige – the Cup 380 – the new model makes 15%, or 55 hp and 30 Nm, more power. A six-speed manual transmission is mated to the V6, which features a larger 240-mm diameter clutch (up 12 mm compared to the Cup 380) to cope with the additional power.

From a standstill, the Cup 430 will sprint to 100 km/h in just 3.3 seconds, and can continue accelerating to a top speed of 290 km/h. As is the case with Lotus, the new car is lighter than the one it succeeds, shedding 12 kg for an overall dry weight of 1,059 kg. Spec the car with further weight-saving options, and that figure goes down to 1,056 kg.

Unsurprisingly, carbon-fibre is the main material that contributes to this, and you’ll find it on the front splitter, front access panel, roof, diffuser surround, air-intake side pods, one-piece tailgate and the motorsport-derived rear wing. This contributes to another statistic – the Cup 430 has a power-to-weight ratio of 407 hp per tonne.

The car’s revised styling is part of a new aero package that generates 220 kg of downforce at maximum speed. Forged alloy wheels measuring 17 inches at the front and 18 inches at the rear are wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres (215/45 profile front and 285/30 profile rear).

Also part of the package is a variable traction control function with five pre-set traction levels (1%, 3%, 6%, 9%, 12% slip) as well as insurance worrying “off.” The function is only active with the ESP switched off, and is controlled with a six-positon rotary switch.

The interior gets its fair share of carbon-fibre parts too, like the instrument binnacle surround, race seats, door sills and seat runners. Other areas receive Alcantara, leather or tartan upholstery, but if you want to personalise things further, there’s the Lotus’ Exclusive programme.

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