Lotus Exige Sport 380

The Lotus Exige Sport 380 is the British automaker’s last car to debut in 2016. The company has always been based on the idea of adding lightness, but a bit of extra horsepower is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact the Exige Sport 380 gets 375 horsepower from a 3.5-liter supercharged V6 sitting right where God intended it, the middle of the vehicle.

That power by today’s high standards isn’t bad, but doesn’t impress too much. That is until you realize that the car weighs just 2,345 lbs. Think about it as putting a little more power than the base Porsche 911 Carrera in a car that weighs a bit less than a Mazda MX-5.

The result is a focused performance machine that can rocket from 0-60 mph in just 3.5 seconds. Flat out it can hit a top speed of 178 mph. Handling is second to none thanks to the low curb weight and the natural balance of the mid-engined layout.

The aerodynamics provide 308 pounds of downforce at top speed, helping to keep the Exige stuck to the ground. Add this to the standard Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires plus the lack of nanny assistance devices and you have a incredible driver’s car.

Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Lotus: “We’ve saved something special for our last new car of 2016. We have built upon the foundations of the excellent Exige Sport 350 and developed a perfectly proportioned, intuitive and attainable supercar for real roads. The cut in weight is nothing short of drastic and, combined with the hike in power and its enhanced agility, we’ve created something exceptional – far greater than the sum of its parts. The Exige Sport 380 is so good, that it is no longer the best in class, it’s now in a class of its own.”

Unfortunately, the Lotus Exige Sport 380 will not make its way to the United States. However, in the UK it will start at £67,900 ($84,826). While not inexpensive, that is a rather good price for the available performance.