Meant as a hardcore alternative to the commercially successful Elise, the Exige was launched in 2000 to showcase Lotus's street-to-track fluency offering both a road car and a track variant. Over the years the Exige has seen many iterations, from naturally aspirated 4 Cylinder, to supercharged, and currently fitted with a 6 cylinder supercharged engine also seen in such limited production Lotus cars like the 3-Eleven. Unfortunately due to non-compliancy, the Exige was last offered in 2011 with only 30 units of the Exige S260 Final Edition brought to the US. While not street legal, Lotus customers do have the option to access the current and special Exige track variants through Lotus Motorsport.
One such car that represents Lotus's ultimate development of the 15+-year-old design is the Exige V6 Cup and Cup R. Offered as a track only version here in the US; this advanced Exige developed by Lotus Motorsport is a homologated FIA compliant racecar out of the box. Offered in both manual transmission and Paddle Shift Sequential transmission versions, the Cup R features a weight reduction of about 150 pounds through the use of lighter materials where able. Performance figures include a 0-60 time of 3.8 Seconds, a top speed of 170 mph, and a weight on the R model coming in at 2,293 pounds. More interesting is the fact that Lotus will now invite and support the Exige Cup R in the Lotus Cup USA series making the example on offer a viable contender in an active race series an opportunity to sharpen any enthusiast's interest in really getting use out of a rewarding and exhilarating track car.
The example on offer, the more rare, lighter R Model is a one-owner car that was ordered new in paint-to-sample Bentley Ice grey. Further it is a Lotus Motorsport exclusive delivery whereby the current and only owner took delivery at the Factory in Hethel. At which time a track-day with Lotus instruction was carried out to properly break-in the transmission. Upon the cars arrival to California via Virgin Atlantic Cargo in November of 2014 the car saw further track time, twice over the next 4 years for further break in and use. However, not without proper servicing and care, never languishing and heat cycles always conducted. Today the car shows as essentially new with 165 miles indicated. The interior is still sheathed in its factory plastic protective wrappings and the car has no notable flaws or issues to be noted.
Offered with the car is the original shipping paperwork, Fuel and Roll Cage certifications, tools, and USB stick with manuals as issued by Lotus. This is a fabulous opportunity to own an as delivered and unique V6 Cup R with the immediate option to go racing in the Lotus Cup USA and have fun.
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