Car: Lotus Exige S
Prices: £34,333 – on the road
Insurance Group: 20
Emissions: 199g/km
Performance: [Performance Pack] Max Speed 145mph / 0-60mph 4.5s
Fuel Consumption: (urban) 23.9mpg / (extra urban) 44.1mpg / (combined) 33.2mpg
Safety: Twin front airbags / ABS
Dimensions: Length/Width/Heightmm 3797/1850/1159mm
S EXPRESS
Our Rating: 6.7 / 10
Lotus bills the latest Exige S as one of their most radical production models to date. Jonathan Crouch reports
‘Add more power and you’ll be faster on the straights. Lose more weight and you’ll be faster everywhere’. The words are from the late, great Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus Cars. And it’s hard to think of a car that more aptly puts his thinking into practice than the latest Lotus Exige.
The lightweight Exige has one of the highest specific power outputs of any globally emissions certified car and 133hp per litre is a perfect demonstration of Chapman’s philosophy of performance through light weight and of Lotus’ relentless pursuit of efficiency. The same technology that makes a lightweight car a high performer also makes it efficient – how many cars have performance figures of 0–62mph in 4.77 secs but produce only 199 g/km CO2? Exactly.
The Exige has been improved for the latest model year – but not beyond all recognition. There’s a revised front end, a more aggressive rear wing and a more efficient engine with lower emissions and improved economy. Since the second generation Exige was launched in 2004, its power has increased from 190bhp, through 220bhp and on to 240bhp for the Performance Pack version that most customers buy.
That eye-catching composite rear wing is based on the design from the Exige GT3 road car concept shown at the Geneva Motorshow in 2007. Compared to the old tailgate-mounted wing, it’s 181mm wider and mounted 46mm higher and 61mm further back. It is attached to the rear bodyshell clam via rear end plates which not only increase the stiffness of the whole structure but also ensure that as much of the airflow as possible passes over the rear wing. This careful airflow management increases stability, reduces drag and, most importantly, maintains the impressive downforce figure of 42kg at 160
km/h. That might not mean much to you but the astonishing mechanical grip that this car generates at high speeds on the move certainly will.
The restyled front end includes a larger, more angular air intake mouth to help funnel more air through the radiator and to improve the efficiency of the engine system. Ahead of the front wheels on either side of the main aperture, two larger air intakes increase the airflow to the twin oil coolers. Horizontal vanes bisect these oil cooler air-intakes to stabilise the airflow to further increase t
The statistics for the Exige S are impressive. It gets to 100mph in a fraction less than ten seconds, is quicker to 60mph than a Porsche 911 Turbo and within a tenth of a second of Ferrari’s F430, neither of these cars having a hope of replicating the Exige’s 31mpg combined fuel consumption figure. Fuel economy may not seem too much of a concern to target buyers but when you have a mere 43.5-litre fuel tank, it equates to more laps between top ups. Identifiably by its body-coloured intakes and S badging, this Exige can also be ordered with a Performance Pack which adds an extra 19bhp and a more focused approach for a £3,000 premium.
As well as the power hike (which reduces the 0-62mph time to 4.5 seconds), Performance Pack buyers get 308mm front cross-drilled and vented brake discs with AP Racing four piston callipers, uprated front and rear brake pads, a full length upsized roof scoop, variable slip traction control, an uprated clutch plate and cover and launch control for those F1-style starts from the traffic lights.
We especially liked the launch control system. From the driver’s seat, this allows you to determine the engine revs you wish to use during a standing start. Having programmed that limit, it will not be exceeded when you then hold down the throttle and sidestep the clutch at departure from a standing start. The clutch damper cushions the severity of the clutch / transmission engagement to minimise the stresses to the drivetrain (though doing this repeated will inevitably destroy the drivetrain components). The launch control also keeps wheelspin at bay until 6mph, after which the traction control assumes its duties.
As with launch control, you can dial in the amount of traction control you need from the driver’s seat, altering it on the move to suit driving style and the characteristics of particular corners. The amount of traction control can be varied in over 30 increments from an optimum 7 percent tyre slip to completely off. The message disp
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