Big news for the Sport Exige. Let's start off with it's name. The Exige 300RR. Their first race was this weekend. qualified right in the middle, which was fairly good for a first start. Come race day, it didn't start. That's alright, but they insisted that this season was purely for testing reliability and not speed. That's what next season is for. The car's got a new paintjob and it looks as if the wing has been raised in the back. Here's some more info (some old, some new).
"Lotus will be returning to GT racing with the debut of the Lotus Exige 300RR in round three of the 2005 SuperGT Championship at Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit on June 26, 2005.
The one-off vehicle is based on the production model aluminium chassis tub of the road-going Exige but will be powered by a 400hp three-litre V6 engine. The engine is rated at 294lb.ft of torque and capable of enabling the car to hit speeds in excess of 300km/h with a 0-100km/h time of four seconds flat. However SuperGT regulations require the use of a restrictor that will limit the car's performance to 320bhp.
The car will be entered by the PROTON R3 Amprex Team, which is led by Malaysian car manufacturer PROTON which also owns Lotus, in association with its Motorsports Division, R3 and former Japan GT Championship contenders Amprex Motorsports."
"Designed and engineered from the ground up at the Lotus Sport headquarters in Hethel, the Exige 300RR had taken six month to complete with the assistance of RTN, the same people responsible for developing the prestigious Le Mans winning Bentley.
The car was then shipped to R3 headquarters in Malaysia where local engineers and race technicians spent another three months carrying out a whole host of modifications and reengineering to ensure that it complied with the technical rules and regulations of the SuperGT Championship while at the same time remain competitive.
"A considerable amount of work had to be done before we could start shakedown and testing," said R3's head and PROTON R3 Amprex driver Tengku Djan Ley. "Extensive modifications needed to be carried out on the bodywork of the car, to parts of the cooling system, the electronics and aerodynamics just to comply with the regulations and still maintain competitive."
The bodywork of the GT car was pretty much dictated by the size and position of the engine. The wheelbase was lengthened by 200mm that in turn meant widening the track by 100mm to get the proportions of the car just right.
The overall aerodynamics was also redesigned and while the end result is sympathetic of retaining the overall looks of the Exige, this one of a kind GT car is longer, wider, more muscular and hundred times more menacing. With the exception of the Exige doors, the entire bodywork was constructed from carbon composite.
"The results from several test sessions carried out at the Sepang International Circuit indicate that the car is competitive in terms of lap times. It's a good sign considering it's a car that evolved from the standard production model Exige, compared to the top-flight Japanese sports cars it will be going up against that are essentially bodywork that fits on to space frames," said Tengku Djan.
"We'll be gunning for reliability rather than outright speed in the race. Whatever the outcome, it's going to be a learning season for us, especially when the championship returns to Japan. If everything goes well then we'll look for a full season next year."
Sounds like it's just going to kill it's light weight.
