Lotus Exige V6 Cup & Cup R: The Street Legal Go-Carts Get Race-Ready

Lotus Exige V6 Cup R

The Lotus Exige S is already a road-going go-kart merged with a rocket ship.  Now, Lotus has revealed two new versions, the Exige V6 Cup and the Exige V6 Cup R, the former for road and track and the latter purely race-bred.

Lotus Exige V6 Cup R

The Lotus Exige V6 Cup R is strictly a racetrack beast, albeit, at 2,292 pounds, a svelte one.  With a 3.5 liter supercharged V6 that's good for 366 horsepower the V6 Cup R should make the 0-60 run in about 3 and some chance seconds.  A lightweight battery, quick release engine cover, tow loops, performance brake pads, performance aerodynamics, AP Racing four-piston calipers on all four corners, adjustable dampers, high performance oil and cooling systems, FIA-approved roll cage, six point harnesses and a fire extinguisher are further evidence that this car means business.   

Lotus Exige V6 Cup

On the slightly less crazy side, the Lotus Exige V6 Cup is a track day car that you can drive on the road.  The dual-purpose speed machine boasts the same 3.5 liter supercharged V6 as the V6 Cup R but moderately de-tuned to 345 horses.  At a light 2,830 pounds, the Exige V6 Cup will take about 3.8 seconds to hit 60 mph.  The same full FIA-approved roll cage, six-point racing harnesses and fire extinguisher mean that you can enjoy the two-way adjustable dampers, AP Racing four-piston calipers, Lotus Dymanic Performance Mangement systems and all 345 hp and feel safe doing it.

The Lotus Exige V6 Cup and Lotus Exige V6 Cup R are happiest on the track, which is exactly where they belong.  Both were developed by Lotus Racing and will be standing fender-to-fender with their sibling the Lotus Evora GT4 at the 2013 Autosport International.