For years, British car manufacturer Lotus has always enjoyed an elite badge that distinguished it from other sports car brands. Its mid-engine Lotus Esprit model and its versions were one of the longest and most iconic names in the industry. Unfortunately, that all came to a halt when Lotus experienced near-bankruptcy and receivership.

Fast forward to the present and the news that the company has enjoyed a robust profit after almost four decades. To mark the occasion, Lotus has launched its fastest, most powerful road car, the Exige Sport 380. It's described by Lotus executives as a "supercar killer" and looking at the specs, it's easy to see why.

The Lotus Exige Sport 380 has a Toyota-supplied 3.5-liter, V6 supercharged engine with a maximum output of 375 horsepower and a top speed of 178 mph. It goes from zero to 60 in just 3.5 seconds. For that much output, engineers had revised the supercharger pulley, added an uprated fuel pump and recalibrated its engine control system. It has rear-wheel drive and either a six-speed manual or paddle-shifted automatic transmission.

To balance the power-to-weight ratio, some of the Lotus Exige Sport 380's body parts were replaced with lighter carbon fiber pieces and the rear window replaced with polycarbonate instead of glass. Other weight-saving replacements were carbon-fiber seats, forged wheels and a lithium-ion battery. The result is a curb weight of just 2,425 pounds, according to Motor Authority.

The price tag for the Lotus Exige Sport 380, which is in the six-figure range, raised quite a few eyebrows but considering the Lotus brand, it's pretty much expected. For the uninformed, Lotus has priced its vehicle upwards of more than £67,000. When it reaches US shores, the price would be hovering in the $100,000 range, said Business Insider in its article.

Its price notwithstanding, Lotus cars have always appealed to drivers who are not so keen on hi-tech electronics. These driving purists will be happy to know the new Lotus will have analog features reminiscent of the golden age of Lotus when cars were raced based on its good old-fashioned mechanical capabilities.

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