Lotus Exige Anniversary Special Edition

Lotus are celebrating 20 Years of the Exige with the Anniversary Special Edition

We are either living in an age where there seems to be a new anniversary car every month, or more likely certain car marques are now starting to reach ages worth celebrating. Though Lotus seem to release special editions more sparingly than others. Take the Lotus Exige sports car for example. It may surprise you to know that the Exige is now 20 years old – and to celebrate, Lotus are releasing the Exige Series 1 inspired Exige Sport 410 20th Anniversary Edition.

The Exige appeared as a hardcore sport alternative to the arguably better-known Lotus Elise in 2000. That original Exige Series 1 arrived with a 177hp high performance version of the 1.8-litre Rover K Series engine. The little sports car had a top speed of 136mph and a 0-60mph time of 4.7-seconds; fast enough for most.

The twenty-year anniversary version arrives with a choice of three traditional colours, each reflecting the original Series 1 options. But if either Laser Red, Calypso Blue or Chrome Orange colour ways aren’t floating your boat, then there are also three more modern colours to choose from in Saffron Yellow, a mean looking Motorsport Black or Arctic Silver.

Lotus says that they want to celebrate the impact that the Series 1 Exige had when it arrived into the automotive world of sports cars back in 2000. Though if you had one originally and the nostalgia of a special edition is making you reach for your wallet once more, it’s worth noting that the original Series 1 reviews while marvelling at the excitement of the car, did often like to point out that this was car hardly your daily driver. The Exige Series 1 was too stripped back and noisy for fast long motorway journeys, and while you may have leapt in and out of an Exige 20 years ago, those low doors may take their toll these days…

Leaving such grim thoughts of ageing aside, the Exige 20th Anniversary Edition, apart from a fine and varied selection of colours to choose from, features special edition badging with a silhouette of the original Series 1. You don’t get an uprated engine with this special edition though; the Exige Sport 410 3.5-litre V6 is standard. 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds shows a minor improvement over the original. Forged alloy lightweight wheels are a nice addition, as is Nitron 3-way fully adjustable damping.

Inside, colour-coded Alcantara seats are based on the original Exige’s stitching design. Each seat has special 20th anniversary edition badging with the silhouette and a ‘20’. The dashboard also gets a Lotus Exige build plaque. All in all, badging is fairly subtle. The lightweight wheels are standard, as is DAB radio, cruise control, Bluetooth and an Alcantara steering wheel.

So what will this set you back? Well, if you are capable of getting in and out of one then expect to pay around £79,000 for the Lotus Exige Sport 410 20th Anniversary Edition. Deliveries are scheduled for later this year.