Lightness and lots of power – it’s a recipe for a serious performance car. And Lotus has taken it to the extreme by fitting the 345bhp 3.5-litre supercharged V6 from the flagship Evora S into the lighter, more focused Exige.
The result is the Exige S. It’s the only Exige you can now buy, and is longer, wider and more aggressive than any previous Exige, with its stretched body and more angular lines. It looks the part, and under the skin the transversely mounted Toyota-sourced V6 is cradled by a new rear subframe, which extends the car’s wheelbase by 70mm.
Video: Watch Owen's video of the Exige S on track
All that power would be wasted if the engine’s extra weight dulled the razor-sharp handling. But by using a mix of Evora, Exige and bespoke suspension components, Lotus’ engineers have managed to retain the taut body control and plentiful grip that have made the Exige such a track day favourite.
Still, the S is more usable on the road, due to the V6’s torque and flexibility. And with the highest power-to-weight ratio ever seen in an Exige, at 0.29bhp per kg, it’s very fast: 0-62mph takes only four seconds. The tuneful exhaust and rorty V6 engine note echo into the cabin and while the rigid ride, road noise and heavy unassisted steering limit day-to-day usability, the less frantic nature of the engine gives the car a new character.
Opt for the £2,000 Race Pack and the Exige S becomes even more focused. This brings high-performance cut slick Pirelli Trofeo tyres and Lotus’ Dynamic Performance Management system. Developed with Bosch, it provides three-stage traction control, which allows you to tailor intervention depending on driver ability and road condition.
In the race setting, the system also increases maximum revs and opens the exhaust valves to make the engine sound even louder. Yet the snappy action of the six-speed manual gearbox and the natural feedback of the steering that Exige and Elise owners love remain. So do the bare aluminium and the simple controls of the confined, basic but well executed cabin.
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Such a great car from a great company. If only it had the looks to go with it. It will appeal to fans of the light weight sports car concept but that alone is not going to save Lotus. It needs a design language that appeals to everyone which is what Dany Bahar is trying to do. What I don't understand is if they tooled up to create this new body shell for this Exige why did they not use the up and coming new Elise designed by Donato Coco or some elements of it? Surely it looks much better
Please repost this video without the music you added to the images of the tracktesting. Why did you do that anyway? Thought the video wasn't interresting enough without it? Could we hear the gentleman speak to clearly, wasn't that the intention. Or did you think that we weren't interrested in hearing the engine roar?
Please repost and loose the noise!
Not at that price. You could buy a Cayman R and have plenty left over. Not as quick I grant you but in the real world...
Why the Horrible loud music? I see that Auto Express are still using limp wristed video producers, to make their videos.
Do Auto Express not realize that motoring enthusiasts do not want pop music over the sound of a dedicated and well produced vehicle report, or are the editors of Auto Express of the same ilk??
Get rid of the music !! we want to hear what the tester says, and the only music should be from the engine.
Registered to say: someone should be fired for that video.
Simply amateurish.
suspect that if you looked up amateurish in the dictionary it would say see auto express, and if you looked up auto express it would say see amateurish?