ROAD WARRIOR
DAY TWO OF Targa Tasmania 2019. Lotus Exiges occupy four of the top five places, including a comfortable outright lead for Steve Glenney. Before us and our Exige Sport 410 is 45km of one of the best tarmac rally roads in the country. Sadly, though, the Mansfield-Whitfield road is in Victoria, not Tasmania, so instead of race suits, timing gear and marshals, we have speed limits, cyclists and crabby locals who view taking photos by the side of the road as a threat to the neighbourhood.
Nevertheless, the happenings across Bass Strait suggest we’ve chosen an appropriate route to test Hethel’s latest supercharged circuit star. In layman’s terms, it’s a harder, faster Exige – no mean feat – created by incorporating components and lessons from the ultra-hardcore Exige Cup 430. The recipe is tried-and-tested: more power, more grip, less weight.
Stripping kilograms from an Exige isn’t easy, but ultra-lightweight forged alloys (staggered 17s front, 18s rear) do their bit, as does the increased
