This gleaming Lotus Exige 350 Sport belongs to a Mr. Mufizal. To him, this car is driving perfection personified, and the connection it delivers between man and machine is unrivalled. It’s even claimed to be the fastest street Lotus to lap the Sepang International Circuit. We’re inclined to believe it.
Welcome once again to The Build Log, and here we have the story of real, no-nonsense driving machine. The Lotus philosophy has always been about ‘adding lightness’ for a purer experience behind the wheel.
Join the fastest cars in Malaysia at the CarTell Track Attack Volume II happening on May 27th 2023 at the Sepang International Circuit. Featuring 2 sessions for 8 hours of on-track action and up to RM10,000 in cash going to the fastest cars of the day. Register now!
It’s a little ironic that Mufizal has chosen such an analogue car given the fact that he is a digital artist and video game developer by trade. He knew he wanted to take it to the track, so the Lotus fit the bill of something that’s purpose-built to be driven hard.
In addition to that, the other criteria was that the car should, by virtue of driving it, teach him to be a smoother, faster, better driver.
It seems to have worked. As we mentioned earlier, this is claimed to be the quickest street legal Lotus to lap Sepang with lap times regularly sweeping below 2 minutes and 28 seconds. However, this wasn’t always the case.
Though there is hesitation to fit the car with too many modifications, some carefully selected ones have made a significant impact on how the car behaves on road and especially on track, enabling his personal best lap times to tumble.
The most impactful, according to him, were the choice of tyres, which were swapped out for Hankook Ventus TD Z221 semi-slicks, a set that’s well regarded in the time attack, hill climb, and tarmac rally scenes for its performance.
Other notable alterations made to the Exige 350 also include a Komo-Tec Phase EX430 upgrade kit that adds a variety of new components to the supercharged 3.5-litre V6 and takes power to approximately 430hp.
Lastly, there are a set of Nitron racing suspension components that have really transformed it through the corners. All this together have lead to an Exige 350 Sport that’s quite special and an overall more honed instrument than the car it emerged out of Hethel as, at least according to Mufizal’s preferences.
All the car’s idiosyncrasies and odd details, such as its famously spartan cabin and bonded aluminium chassis, only add to the charm. Inside, the exposed gear linkage for its 6-speed manual transmission and seriously bolstered bucket seats + racing harnesses let you make no mistake that this car isn’t messing around.
You can catch Mufizal and his Lotus Exige in action at during CarTell Track Attack Volume II, happening this weekend on May 27th at the Sepang International Circuit as the centrepiece event that forms CarTell Speedfest co-organised with our friends at Velocity Motor Show.
Speedfest admission is absolutely free, letting you enjoy the many custom cars on display, live DJ, music, car audio competition, and the many exhibitors there offering amazing deals and promotions. It’ll be an amazing way to spend a Saturday, celebrating all things speed and automotive culture.
The track action will begin at 4pm and will continue over 2 sessions to midnight with up to RM10,000 up for grabs for the car that posts the fastest overall lap! If you’re keen to get in on the action yourself, limited track slots are might still available but are going fast! Register here to book your place NOW.