Lotus Exige Cup 260

December 2009

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If you want an extreme Lotus then look no further than the Cup 260. Designed to be a road legal but track optimised machine, the latest 2010 model year version is now even more focussed.

Visually, enthusiasts will spot the bigger wing and larger front air intake, while under the skin, rear chassis stiffness has increased by 30 per cent. Adjustable dampers are now standard, while the excellent adjustable traction control system, which allows you to vary intervention by using a rotary dial, remains.

Thanks to the famed Lotus obsession with weight-saving, the Cup weighs just 890kg and with the 1.8-litre Toyota engine benefiting from a supercharger and considerable tuning, the power output is an impressive 257bhp. So it’s no surprise straight-line performance is rapid, but it’s the sharpness of the steering and handling, plus the huge levels of grip that make the 260 Cup such a superb performance car.

Obviously the no-compromise suspension set-up and lack of space means this isn’t a practical day-to-day sports car but compared to the 2009 model, emissions and fuel consumption have improved. And in this price range, road legal track bias machines don’t get much better.