It's a week of launches - this afternoon's the turn of the Lotus Exige S Roadster, which receives its official launch in Malaysia at Lotus' flagship showroom in Sg Penchala, PJ.
When it opened last year, the showroom hosted the introductions of the fixed-roof Elise S and Exige S models - today we see the version of the Exige S with infinite headroom finally landing on our shores, after having gone on sale last year.
This is Hethel's fastest convertible yet - behind the driver sits a Toyota-sourced 3.5 litre V6 with a Harrop HTV 1320 supercharger strapped on to it. The result is 345 hp at 7,000 rpm and 400 Nm of torque at 4,500 rpm. Gearbox is a six-speed close-ratio manual.
Remarkably, the Lotus Exige S Roadster is 10 kg lighter than the coupe at 1,166 kg; its bonded aluminium chassis proving strong enough to not need extra bracing. 0-100 km/h is dealt with in four seconds. Top speed is limited to 233 km/h, down from the coupe's 272 km/h.
The vehicle sits on 205/45 R17 alloys up front and 265/35 R18 alloys out back, both wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero tyres. Peeking through them are silver-painted four-piston AP Racing callipers that grip ventilated and cross-drilled cast-iron discs.
There're fully independent double wishbones and anti-roll bars all round, and the Eibach coaxial coil springs are damped by Bilsteins.
As announced last year, the Lotus Exige S Roadster is priced from RM452,030. This nett selling price excludes insurance, road tax, registration fee, inspection fee, number plate and delivery, but includes a three-year/100,000 km warranty.
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