Lotus Exige
By Michael Austin
This is the new Lotus Exige. It may look familiar, because the Exige is based on the other Lotus, the Elise roadster. For the sake of clarity, the Exige is just like a hardtop Elise with the optional sport package (which includes larger, lighter wheels and stiffer dampers) and a brace of aerodynamic doo-dads. Both have the same running gear and the same aluminum chassis. Despite the common appearance, though, almost every body panel on the Exige is unique, and in person the Exige looks more sinister than the verging-on-cute Elise.
It's also a lot more hardcore. At 100 mph, the front lip and rear wing generate 42.3 and 48.2 pounds of downforce on the front and rear axles, respectively, compared with 8.5 and 4.4 on the Elise at the same speed. Other changes from the Elise are not so functional, like the air intake on the roof, which looks racy but is closed off in this Exige. The intake is used to funnel air to an intercooler on a supercharged version available in Europe and Lotus just left it there for this normally aspirated version. And the exterior's rear spine and hexagonal mesh that make the Exige look like a very fast trilobite tend to obscure objects behind you. You can sense the presence of large stuff, but you really wouldn't know whether that dark blob is a garbage truck or a small building. The roof also makes the interior a little claustrophobic and exacerbates the already gymnastic process of climbing in and out of the thing. This is not a car for the stiff-jointed or large-bellied. Once inside, the interior is cramped, but new orthopedic seat padding (also found on the Elise) makes things surprisingly comfortable.
There are a few new items available on both Lotus cars for 2006 in addition to the seat foam. There are some new paint colors and interior options, like a cupholder. Lest you think Lotus has gone soft, the cupholder is aluminum. And,as part of a $700 option package, you will pay dearly for it. A limited-slip differential is offered for the hardcore autocrosser, and most significantly, traction control is available. The system works as part of a new electronic-throttle unit, and cuts the fuel supply to limit power when the rear wheels are slipping. It also makes the car sound either like a race car or a flatulent horse, depending on whether or not you watch Formula 1.
Now for the important part: The Exige is the one car you should drive before you die. If you can't get into an Exige, an Elise is pretty close, but not quite the same. Why? Because the stiffer, stickier Exige is as close as you can get to sliding down the road on your ***, and we mean that in the best possible way. The unassisted steering provides so much road feel and precision that you don't really turn the car so much as lean into a corner. If you simply must bake your cranium, you can unbolt the Exige's roof. But that requires tools. Also,you'll have to leave the panel at home and the car will look a bit silly.
It's fast,as well. In the time it takes your inner monologue to say, 'Oh ****,I'm already in third!' it's time to shift to fourth. More than straight-line speed, though, the Exige excels at cornering. Achieving lots of outright grip isn't really much of an accomplishment—big tires and the right suspension setup can make any car corner quickly. The Exige is different. Lotus is the only major carmaker left in the world that is wholly, fanatically devoted to delivering performance through the reduction of mass. Want proof? Each of the 190 horses in the Exige has to pull just 10.6 pounds of car, slightly overweight driver not included. That's better than a Mitsubishi
Evo (11.4) and in the same league as a BMW M3 (10.3) and a Porsche Cayman S (10.0). The Exige weighs 300 pounds less than a Chevy Aveo econobox. Every single component of the car, down to the paint on the wheels, is considered in terms of weight. (The Exige is about 30 pounds heavier than an Elise thanks to thicker body panels.) Still, this devotion is what makes the Exige so good, so lithe,and so immediately obedient to your whims. Driving the Exige on a track is a lot like bungee jumping. Behind an impending sense of peril is the knowledge that you're probably not going to die. The Exige, for all its mid-engined liveliness, is actually very forgiving, and its responses are so instantaneous that you can make corrections before you get into trouble.
But to tell the truth, the Exige is a trackday special. Even without the optional track package's adjustable suspension, this is a car that most would consider harsh. There's barely any sound dampening—although the engine noise in sixth gear could be considered tolerable—and the small trunk behind the engine only fits small, soft bags.
It would be a shame to own an Exige and not give it a regular track workout. That's not to say the Exige isn't great on regular roads, but unless you think your M3 is too soft or you want to piss off your neighbor who just got his Cayman S, you're better off with an Elise. For a car to drive both to and on the track, though, there's nothing better.
