The featherweight beauty of the Lotus Exige has come to America. And that's not even the whole newsflash: this is the fastest production car made by the British manufacturer, said to go 0 to 60 in 4.1 seconds.
The Exige comes in a standard model (not readily available in North America) as well as the S model, which is the one now sold in the U.S. The Exige is similar to the Elise roadster but with several important modifications. The chassis and mechanical underpinnings are the same, but the Exige has a front splitter, rear spoiler, fiberglass hardtop, and an underbody diffuser. These mid-engined cars are designed to be of extremely light weight, as they are racers by nature.
The extreme light weight (about 2,050 pounds) is such a desirable quality, in fact, that some buyers opt out of the standard air conditioning to save weight. How's that for an options switch?
The Exige is powered by a 218-horsepower, 4-cylinder Toyota engine and is mated to a 6-speed transmission unchanged from the previous model year. It features a single exhaust pipe that is oval in shape.
The Lotus Sport Suspension, with monotube shocks by Bilstein, comes standard, and the ProBax sport seats are designed for comfort as well as healthy back support. Fuel economy numbers are 24 mpg city and 29 highway; gas-tank capacity is 10.5 gallons.
All of those jaw-dropping curves and appendages on the car's body serve a purpose, be it to increase aerodynamics or to keep the car hugging the ground. This coupe takes 218 horses and converts them to speeds that sports cars with larger engines and a lot more behind their dollar sign can't meet up to.
Lotus drivers are a rarefied group for sure, and due to the labor-intensive production (some of the body work is done by hand), not more than 400 of these cars will be built for the U.S. market each year. It must be quite a treat to drive one just once - so, then, imagine what it would be like to drive one daily.