Despite being unveiled last year, the Lotus Exige S Roadster has been missing in action ever since. That will all change this summer, as the British automaker has confirmed it’ll be heading to dealerships – at least in Europe.
The fastest convertible Lotus has never made, it’s the first Exige model to come fitted with a soft-top straight off the assembly line. Powered comes from a 3.5-liter V6 borrowed from the Exige S coupe with 345 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque.
SEE ALSO: Lotus Exige S Roadster Unveiled, Not Heading to America
The roadster variant will actually be weight about 22 pounds less than the coupe allowing it to hit 60 mph from a standstill in 3.8 seconds. The top speed however has been reduced from 170 mph to 145 mph. Standard on the Exige S Roadster will be a six-speed manual transmission with the automaker’s Serial Precision Shift (SPS) paddle-shift transmission available as an option.
Lotus is claiming fuel economy of 28 mpg on the European cycle and options include a race pack which adds track-optimized suspension settings and launch control. There will also be a more bare bones interior option for those looking for a true, sporty drive.
Lotus has no plans to offer the Exige (which is essentially the front half of an Elise and the rear half of an Evora), in North America
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GALLERY: Exige S Roadster
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