2012 Lotus Exige V6 Spied

The 2012 Lotus Exige will trade up its engine to the V6 from the Evora, as Lotus moves the Exige upmarket to meet the next generation of Lotus cars.

We’ve reported, sometimes cynically, on Dany Bahar’s plans for Lotus. And some do seem to be a bit less than credible, certainly when you factor in cost.

But the spy shot we have of a 2012 Lotus Exige V6 sporting a more grown-up look – and the Evora’s V6 engine – show Lotus to be serious about its upmarket direction.

With the current Exige coming to the end of its life, Lotus are looking to the 2012 Exige to be a more Evora-like car, rather than the lightweight, track-day inspired creation the current Exige is.

Fans of the current range of Lotus cars probably won’t be impressed, but Lotus is convinced they need to move towards a more ‘GT’ future, and the new Exige is designed to bridge the gap to the start of the new Lotus range in 2013 with the Lotus Esprit.

The 2012 Exige in the photo above seems to have grown from the B-pillar back, no doubt because of the need to accommodate the V6 from the Evora instead of Toyota’s 4-pot 1.8. The nose seems to have morphed in to the Evora (although it’s not easy to be sure from the side) and the Exige just looks more grown-up.

The most powerful version of the current Exige (although the current car has actually not been made since Euro 5 came in at the start of 2011) was 257bhp in the Exige Cup. If the 2012 Exige is getting the V6 from the Evora it will mean power starts at 276bhp and goes up to 345bhp in the S.

Even with some added girth and weight, that should still make the 2012 Exige V6 a very fun car to blat indeed.

Image Source: Autoblog