If you want to be asked 'what kind of car is that?' and get unwanted attention from middle-aged men, go buy a Lotus. Seriously, Mercedes owners can just change the color of their interior lighting and get a million Instagram followers, but there's literally nothing about the sporty Exige out there.
Top Gear bucked the trend with a drag race also featuring the Cayman GTS and Audi RS5, a video that has a pinch of British pride. The problem? There's a huge price gap going on here.
That's because the mightiest Lotus sports car is a track special, with technology that's not intended for simple drag racing. No, a big wing doesn't make you faster in a straight line. But as a result, the Exige Cup 430 is priced at almost £120,000, almost as much as the Audi and Porsche combined. You could start a small car collection with that kind of cash.
Let's look at the specs first. The Cup 430 has a 3.5-liter supercharged V6 making 436 PS and 440 Nm of torque. At 1,093 kg or 2410 lbs, it's over half a ton lighter than the Audi. The quattro car compensates by having two turbochargers and the only all-wheel-drive system in this race, plus a hefty 450 HP and 600 Nm of torque.
The quattro, combined with the torque of the 2.9 TFSI makes the RS5 much faster off the line. But just before the end of the quarter-mile runway, the lighter Lotus edges ahead. We think the Lotus even got a bad start here, as it's got supercar-like 0 to 60 times.
The big loser here is the Cayman GTS. It's still about 400 kg heavier than the Lotus but features a much less powerful 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. It's completely outclassed by both of its rivals. Hopefully, Porsche is watching and does something about this before the 718 series becomes totally irrelevant.
That's because the mightiest Lotus sports car is a track special, with technology that's not intended for simple drag racing. No, a big wing doesn't make you faster in a straight line. But as a result, the Exige Cup 430 is priced at almost £120,000, almost as much as the Audi and Porsche combined. You could start a small car collection with that kind of cash.
Let's look at the specs first. The Cup 430 has a 3.5-liter supercharged V6 making 436 PS and 440 Nm of torque. At 1,093 kg or 2410 lbs, it's over half a ton lighter than the Audi. The quattro car compensates by having two turbochargers and the only all-wheel-drive system in this race, plus a hefty 450 HP and 600 Nm of torque.
The quattro, combined with the torque of the 2.9 TFSI makes the RS5 much faster off the line. But just before the end of the quarter-mile runway, the lighter Lotus edges ahead. We think the Lotus even got a bad start here, as it's got supercar-like 0 to 60 times.
The big loser here is the Cayman GTS. It's still about 400 kg heavier than the Lotus but features a much less powerful 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. It's completely outclassed by both of its rivals. Hopefully, Porsche is watching and does something about this before the 718 series becomes totally irrelevant.
The Lotus Exige is an agile lightweight with a heavyweight punch. Rewarding on the road. Supreme on the track. The greatest 'track and back' car, bar none. The LE-Standard was developed as an original equipment item for Lotus. It was used in a very special “limited edition” production run of the Lotus Elise and then sold as an official Lotus upgrade part.
One of the world's best sports cars meets one of its most challenging road courses.
The Lotus Exige has been around in its current form since 2012. It’s the British marque's most hardcore car (not counting the roof-less 3-Eleven track special), designed for people who want both lightweight and a big dollop of power to play with. Sadly, this latest generation isn't available in the United States, depriving Americans of one of the purest driving experiences out there—a mid-engine, stick-shift sports car with no stereo and a power-to-weight ratio on par with a Porsche 911 GT3.
Lotus Exige Racing Parts
Depending on spec (from 345 hp to 430), the Exige is either 'quite angry' or 'incredibly miffed', with various wing and spring configurations to suit pretty much any driver from the road-going enthusiasts to the track types. There’s a sweet spot in the range, though: the 410 Sport. Producing 410 hp (thank you for making a numeric name matter, Lotus) from its mid-mounted, supercharged 3.5-liter V6, it’ll crack a 0-60 mph run in 3.3 seconds if you’re quick enough with its six-speed stick on its way to 174 mph.