and a cup holder, but more about that later.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/contentImages//Car/Lotus/Exige/16117723940.jpg

Ever Since the crazy little Exige was born, people have been crying out for more power. Well Lotus have now released a PP, or in Hethel terms, Preformance Pack.

The power is uped from 218 to 240. Yes its not as much as might of wanted, say up to about 280bhp, but in such a light car it makes all the difference. The Preformance figures still look pretty much the same, 0-60 in 4 seconds and a slighly higher top speed of 153mph.

But in usual Lotus fashion, theres the addtion of beefed up brakes and you guessed it a weight reduction. They've managed to shave off 50kg, so instead of 990kg, theres 935kg. Of course despite this theres a new interior, which looks amazing. Which of course you can see here.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/TestGallery.aspx?RT=229247&ED=53474&IM=145279
Overall this gives a the BHP per ton a boost to 256, in the range of the likes of Nobles and the Gt3

But of course with this beefed up interior comes a bit of a shock, a cup holder, have the leaders in the way if stripping the car in terms gone slighty soft. I doubt it.

For a review of the new Exige, go to the link
http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/FirstDrives/Lotus-Exige-1.8-S-Performance/229247/

http://www.autocar.co.uk/contentImages//Car/Lotus/Exige/16117724127.jpg

Love it. The Exige lost more weight! 50kg not bad at all. What more can I expect from this car. It handles well, fun to drive, and its very quick. I don't have anyhing bad to say about the Exige.

the Exige is the best lotus methink's so far from the Elise line up .

the Exige is the best lotus methink's so far from the Elise line up .


Im 100% with you on that!! and it looks so good in Orange! i saw one the other day..It is such a head turner!Great work by Lotus :)

50kg?! That's like dropping a teenager....

It's a lot of weight to shed, on a car that was rapid enough before. Never has there been such a well-made nimble little machine available to the puclic.

Chris.

the weight they dropped is like comparing the old weight to the new weight via driving the other car without a driver ( a fairly light driver, but still you get the point)

and yes, 22 hp is less than what I'd like, but their taking baby steps to get to where I want them to be. i'd like to know torque figures as well, but I doubt there's much of an increase on that

While the extra power and drop in weight will definitely make this car even more exciting to drive, I wouldn't say the Exige S "needed" a power boost. It was hardly underpowered before. In fact, it was nearly supercar fast in terms of acceleration.

a guy here in Australia twin-turboed his exige and it was phenomenal, sounded so good. all lotus' need more power, even the 2-eleven :).

^^they don't "need" because they are superlight , but it would be nice if they had more power.

^^ True. Lotus doesnt need all that power. If you look at the ratio between the Power to Weight, it's pretty amazing. Damn, that just makes me want to get the Exige S even more.

a guy here in Australia twin-turboed his exige and it was phenomenal, sounded so good. all lotus' need more power, even the 2-eleven :).
the exige is plenty quick, plus more power would possibly detract from the car/driver intamicy that made the car so special in 1st place.

that said a 300BHP turbocharged I4 would be ok as long as lag was minimal

i would personally like to see the motor from the integera type r...... it would match the cars personality of being sharp light and potent

^^ They have a contract with Toyota I think that limits them from getting motors from Honda.

if you ask me, they have perfected the Exige here. Utterly and Completely.

Look at all the cool little interior lights, it all looks so new and funky. The engine start button is such a sweet looking thing, you just want to press it.

Another main problem people complained about while driving the Exige on public roads wasn't the ride, it was superchargers scream that got on their nerves, so with that gone, and a meatier sound, and extra sound proofing if you want, i honestly could see myself having this a daily drive.

Actually, when you think what they've done, they've added sound proofing, adjustable TC, and a bigger supercharger, the fact its 50kg lighter is astonishing.
Not only that, apparently it will now do 1.5g's. Holy cow

Another main problem people complained about while driving the Exige on public roads wasn't the ride, it was superchargers scream that got on their nerves, so with that gone, and a meatier sound, and extra sound proofing if you want, i honestly could see myself having this a daily drive.

where did you hear this, i've only ever heard 1 person mention the noise of the supercharger, and 2 people asking if its noisy, the whine has never bothered me at all, i actually quite like it, its not loud anyway, only under acceleration...

The Performance version (which i had already included in my Elise SC post), has a motorsport clutch, meaning its heavier and in traffic is not so comfortable or easy as the regular car is. Also, while driving the car into MPH and manouvering it around the stands and positioning it, really felt it in my leg :p It is however a great looking car, our current Exige S Performance Pack car is black, and looks great.

a 300HP Exige would be fine, because Lotus has been racing their Exige with 400HP out of a V6 for a while now