Fond
memories of my test-drive with the previous generation
Exige S still cloud my mind. The car was clad in a
bright orange hue and stopped people dead in their tracks wherever I went.
The Exige S had already build for itself quite a reputation
then, a no-frills, no nonsense track-bred weapon designed for sheer
acceleration, awesome handling and not much else. The cabin was stripped nearly
bare of any anything sans for climate control and an after-thought audio unit.
The 1.8-litre Toyota sourced 4-potter was then supercharged and tuned to
perfection by Lotus before being strapped to the mid-ship of the car’s tub-like
chassis. It went like the wind, back then, there wasn’t a single car on the
streets that accelerated or drove anywhere close to it.
The Lotus Exige S is rough, loud and pure
So you can
imagine my delight when I was offered to test drive the latest iteration of the
famed Exige S. Lotus has stopped production of the
old Exige quite awhile
back, and in 2012 unveiled to the world its successor. Retaining the old Exige’s incredibly rigid tub and centre
section, Lotus has redesigned a whole new front and rear for the Exige S and here’s the biggest news of all – a supercharged
3.5-litre V6 from the Evora S.
Now, Lotus
fans might scoff at the insertion of a heavy V6 into the Exige’s
minimalist ethos, and the stats really do tell. While the old Exige S was 3,797mm long, 1,727mm wide and 1,159mm high,
the new car balloons slightly to 4,052mm by 1,802mm though its
slightly lower at 1,153mm. Wheelbase has also increased by 70mm. Kerb weight has gone up from 928kg to 1,176kg.
Transverse,
mid-mounted V6 delivers plenty of power
But despite
the weight gain, the new Exige S’ power to weight
ratio still exceeds the former with the old Exige S
producing 288bhp per tonne and the new Exige S cranking out 294bhp per tonne.
However, the real gains can be felt when it boils down to torque figures thanks
to the beefy supercharged V6 that pumps out 400Nm compared to the previous
215Nm.
Other key
changes that have been changed include a faster variation of the previous
steering rack; Lotus has dropped the ratio from 18:5:1 to 17:25:1 thanks to a
shorter more effective lever ratio. Paired that with a wider
front track for more steering lock, allowing the driver to hold power slides
longer via increasing steering angle up from 32 to 35 degrees, which reduces
the potential of hitting lock stops and spinouts. This should be highly
apparent once you take the Exige S out onto the
tracks.
Rear LED lights are
intended as brand signifiers
The rear
track has also been widened with an entirely new rear sub frame built around it
and revised springs and dampers all round. What’s even more intriguing is an
anti-squat angle found in the new Exige S’ wishbone,
which Lotus has devised to prevent – you guessed it – squatting under
acceleration. Lateral stiffness at the rear has also been upped 100%, making
sure the car rolls along its centre-line through
corners whilst the old Exige’s structure would flex
and cause it to roll diagonally.
