Lotus Cars Australia Managing Director John Startari explains: "The government's import duty reduction at the start of 2010 has offered some assistance, whilst favorable foreign exchange rates have been a further catalyst to these announced price changes."
The star attraction over at the British firm's Tokyo Motor Show booth is the special edition Exige Scura or as it will be sold in Japan, the Exige Stealth. Lighter and more powerful than the standard Exige, the Scura is distinguished by the matte-black paint finish accented by high-gloss "Phantom Black" stripes and carbon fiber aero parts such as the front splitter, oil cooler inlet vanes, side air-scoops and rear spoiler.Lurking beneath the bonnet is the 1.8-liter supercharged inline-four from the Exige Cup that makes 260 horsepower, enough for a 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 4.1 seconds (0-60mph in 4.0 sec) and a top speed of around 245 km/h or 152mph.
You can read more details about the Exige Scura that will be produced in a limited run of 35 units in our previous post on the car here.
On a side note, Lotus caught our attention with a special disclaimer in the press release about the Scura's matte-black finish. According to the British automaker, while the water borne matte black paint finish is resistant to most normal forms of atmospheric attack, the color may fade over time.
Here's the part about the paint warranty:
"...due to the textured matt finish, fading or discoloration of all or part of the matt paint finish may occur during the early life of the vehicle and this is considered normal and is specifically excluded from any warranty given by Lotus. The special matt paint finish utilized on the Lotus Scura is provided with a limited warranty of the earlier of 12 months or 12,000 miles/20,000 km from the date of first registration of the vehicle."
Image Credits go to our Tokyo Motor Show reporter, Phil Alex
The star attraction over at the British firm's Tokyo Motor Show booth is the special edition Exige Scura or as it will be sold in Japan, the Exige Stealth. Lighter and more powerful than the standard Exige, the Scura is distinguished by the matte-black paint finish accented by high-gloss "Phantom Black" stripes and carbon fiber aero parts such as the front splitter, oil cooler inlet vanes, side air-scoops and rear spoiler.Lurking beneath the bonnet is the 1.8-liter supercharged inline-four from the Exige Cup that makes 260 horsepower, enough for a 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 4.1 seconds (0-60mph in 4.0 sec) and a top speed of around 245 km/h or 152mph.
You can read more details about the Exige Scura that will be produced in a limited run of 35 units in our previous post on the car here.
On a side note, Lotus caught our attention with a special disclaimer in the press release about the Scura's matte-black finish. According to the British automaker, while the water borne matte black paint finish is resistant to most normal forms of atmospheric attack, the color may fade over time.
Here's the part about the paint warranty:
"...due to the textured matt finish, fading or discoloration of all or part of the matt paint finish may occur during the early life of the vehicle and this is considered normal and is specifically excluded from any warranty given by Lotus. The special matt paint finish utilized on the Lotus Scura is provided with a limited warranty of the earlier of 12 months or 12,000 miles/20,000 km from the date of first registration of the vehicle."
Image Credits go to our Tokyo Motor Show reporter, Phil Alex
The sports car also features carbon fiber front splitter, oil cooler inlet vanes, side air-scoops and rear spoiler plus unique matt black lightweight forged wheels shod in high-performance Yokohama A048 LTS tires.
Continuing the dark theme into the interior, the Scura's seats and centre console are crafted from carbon fibre and the handbrake and gear knob have a special anodized treatment which leaves the metal with an anthracite color finish. All carbon fibre components inside are finished in high-gloss clear lacquer.
The Exige Scura makes use of the Toyota-sourced 1.8-liter supercharged four-cylinder engine from the range topping Exige Cup 260. It produces a maximum power output of 260 horsepower at 8,000 rpm and a peak torque figure of 236 Nm (174 lb-ft) at 6,000 rpm. Power is sent to the rear wheels through a lightweight C64 six-speed gearbox.
Lotus said that the extensive use of lightweight carbon fibre components, including sports seats, interior centre console and the exterior bodykit help to keep the weight to 10kg or 22 pounds less than the 220HP Exige S at just 925 kg or 2,039 lbs.
The company claims a 0 to 100km/h sprint time of 4.1 seconds (0-60mph in 4.0 sec), a zero to 160 km/h (100 mph) in circa 9.9 seconds a top speed of around 245 km/h (152mph). Combined cycle fuel consumption is said to be 8.5 lt/100km (27.6 mpg US or 33.2mpg UK) with CO2 emissions of 199 g/km.
Other features include a launch control system, a variable slip traction control that enables drivers to tune the car to track surface conditions and their own driving style, two-way adjustable dampers from Ohlins that have 60 compression and 22 rebound settings and ride height adjustment to reduce the ride height from 130 mm to 120 mm.
Production of the Exige Scura that will be offered in Japan as the 'Exige Stealth' will be limited to 35 units globally.
Lotus said that orders will be accepted from 21 October 2009 in Europe, South Korea, Australia, South Africa, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Indonesia and Malaysia with prices set at £45,950 in the UK, €61,820 in Belgium, €61,200 in France, €61,885 in Italy, €60,000 in Germany and CHF90,225 in Switzerland.
