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Lotus Cars Celebrates 1000th Exige S

The 1000th Exige S has just rolled off the Lotus production line marking a key milestone for the British sports car and is testament to the skill and dedication of the workforce based at Hethel, Worcester, Wellingborough and North Norwich.

Since its launch in 2012 the Exige S and its Roadster sibling has achieved critical acclaim for its agility and handling performance, receiving praise from the international media and high profile accolades. The Exige has been impressing customers too, particularly in Japan where the car has received most of its orders followed by the UK, Switzerland, Australia, Hong Kong and Belgium.

Lotus continues to expand the appeal of the Exige S and the 1000th car (pictured) is destined for Lotus's Test and Development team where it will be used for the final sign-off of the new automatic gearbox, an optional extra that can be specified on either coupé or Roadster variants.

Lotus Cars Chief Executive Officer Jean-Marc Gales commented, "Our customers want a pure driving experience and the Exige S epitomises the Lotus DNA of performance and handling excellence. It is thanks to the considerable talent and experience across our UK manufacturing facilities and at our Hethel headquarters that we are able, and proud to give this exceptional machine a Lotus badge."

Gales continued, "We have just recorded our strongest October since 2009 for sales which demonstrates the demand for Lotus cars, but we also acknowledge the strong global demand in new markets. There is incredible potential for growth in the Middle East, China and ASEAN countries, where the automatic option for the Exige is anticipated to stimulate customer demand further."

Fuel consumption for Exige S;

Urban 19.5 mpg - 14.5 litres / 100km

Extra urban 37.2 mpg - 7.6 litres / 100km

Combined - 28.0 mpg - 10.1 litres / 100km

CO2 emissions 236g CO2 / km

Notes to Editors:
Our media site http://media.lotuscars.com is packed with news, eye-catching images, specs, stats, and videos of everything we're up to, from our latest models to our heritage, and cutting-edge engineering developments.

About Lotus
Group Lotus plc, wholly-owned subsidiary of DRB-HICOM, is based in Norfolk, UK, and has three operating divisions: Lotus Cars, Lotus Engineering and Lotus Motorsport.

Lotus Cars builds world class, high performance sports cars including the award-winning Evora, the iconic Elise and the stunning Exige.

Lotus Engineering provides comprehensive and versatile consultancy services to many of the world's OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers and is an internationally recognised automotive engineering consultancy. Global facilities include those in the US, China and offices in Germany and Japan. Lotus is a global high-tech company, committed to driving forward technology for both Lotus Cars and its Engineering clients, spearheading research into such areas as hybrids, electric vehicles and renewable fuels.

Lotus Motorsport builds and develops vehicles for GT racing with the Evora GX, GTC, GT4, and GTS, in addition to racing vehicles such as the Exige V6 Cup and Elise Cup cars. PETRONAS is the Official Lubricants Partner for Lotus Racing vehicles competing in various high profile international GT categories. Lotus also competes in F1® with the Lotus F1 Team, racing in the iconic Black and Gold Livery.

Lotus Originals is the retail operation for all of Lotus' non-car products. A diverse collection of luxury apparel, luggage, gifts, toys and limited edition collectables can be bought online at www.lotusoriginals.com or at any of the dedicated Lotus Originals outlets including the flagship Regent Street store in London's Piccadilly.