Lotus Exige Sport 350 Roadster revealed in Geneva

Lotus has revealed an open-top version of its ultra-light Exige Sport 350 at the Geneva motor show.

The new 350 Roadster weighs just 1085kg, 10kg less than its coupé equivalent, making it the lightest iteration of the current Exige to have ever made production.

The car makes use of the same supercharged 3.5-litre V6 as the regular 350 Sport, which produces 345bhp and 295lb ft of torque, but thanks to the Roadster’s weight advantage, power-to-weight is up by 2bhp to 318bhp/ton.

This small but noticeable saving enables the car to sprint from 0-60mph in just 3.7sec, 0.2sec quicker than the coupé, while top speed remains 145mph.

As standard, power is sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox that Lotus has engineered to be as light as possible. A six-speed automatic with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters is also available, which can be operated in manual or full auto mode.

Like the coupé, the car features a carbonfibre tailgate and side intakes, and there’s also a lightweight battery and engine mounts. Buyers seeking maximum performance can option in carbonfibre aerodynamic addenda, comprised of a spoiler, front splitter and rear diffuser.

Inside, Lotus has equipped the 350 with a lightweight centre console, and a there’s a choice of leather, Alcantara or heritage-oriented red and yellow tartan for the rest of the cabin.

Though pricing is yet to be confirmed, we expect the Exige Sport 350 Roadster to command a £1000 increase on the coupé, which currently retails from £55,900. For comparison, the similarly focused Porsche Boxster Spyder starts at £60,459, but this car weighs a substantial 305kg more.