The new Lotus Exige S Roadster had its world debut today in Geneva, promising to be a real hardcore soft-top. To power the new roadster version of the Exige S, Lotus uses the 3.5-liter V6 engine, which is good for 345 hp at 7000 rpm and 400 Nm of torque at 4500 rpm. The Exige S Roadster is rated with a 0-60 mph acceleration time of 3.8 seconds (0-100 km/h in 4.0 seconds) and a top speed of 233 km/h (145 mph). Lotus says that the new model can get from 0 to 160 km/h in an unbelievable 8.5 seconds. The Exige S Roadster's fuel consumption is rated at 14.5 l/100km (19.5 mpg) in the city, 7.6 l/100km (37.2 mpg) on the highway, and 10.1 l/100 km (28.0 mpg) on the combined cycle. Lotus says it emits 236 g of CO2 per km. The supercar-like performance of the new open-top Exige is made possible by its low weight of just 1,100 kg.
To transfer the horsepower from the engine to the rear wheels, the Lotus Exige S Roadster uses a paddle-operated automated manual transmission equipped with Serial Precision Shift (SPS). The advantage of the SPS system is that it removes shifting errors while being lighter and more compact than a normal torque-converter gearbox.
The suspension of the new Exige S Roadster has two settings: a standard one for the road, and 'Race' for track use.
The Lotus Exige S Roadster's price and availability will be announced at a later date.
