The Force is strong with this one: Lotus embraces its inner Vader with new limited edition Exige Scura

Lotus Cars knows the power of the Dark Side. The British automaker has unveiled the special edition Exige Scura coupe, wearing a matte black and carbon fibre theme.

Only 35 examples will be offered globally (the car will be known as the Exige Stealth in Japan). It debuts tomorrow at the Tokyo International Motorshow.

The name ‘Scura,” means ‘dark’ in Italian. The low-production Exige wears high-gloss ‘Phantom Black’ triple stripes to contrast with its matte black paint job and lightweight forged alloy wheels. Carbon fibre is used for the front splitter, oil cooler inlet vanes, side airscoops and the rear spoiler to save weight.

Inside, the carbon fibre theme continues on the seats and centre console. The handbrake and gear knob wear an anodized treatment for an anthracite colour.

All told, the Exige Scura is 10 kg (22 lbs.) lighter than the already flyweight Exige S model (at just 925 kg/2,039 lbs.).

The Lotus is powered by the most powerful engine in the Exige range, a 1.8-litre supercharged and intercooled four-cylinder from the Exige Cup 260 model. It generates 257 horsepower and 174 lb-ft of torque. Top speed is pegged at 245 km/h, with a 4.1 second 0-100 km/h run.

Said Roger Becker, Lotus’ vehicle engineering director: “There are very few cars in the world that turn in the performance of the Exige Scura without the penalty of very high fuel consumption and emissions. As with all Lotus sports cars we offer the best of both worlds… all this is down to light weight and a strict adherence to Lotus’ core brand values.”

The Exige Scura boasts impressive all-round fuel economy on the Euro combined cycle of 8.5 L/100 km (33 mpg).

Other standard features on the coupe include launch control, tunable traction control and an adjustable suspension.

Those looking to ‘indulge their dark side,’ can place their order beginning tomorrow. North American pricing and availability hasn’t been confirmed, but the Scura’s UK price is around $76,000 Cdn.