Topless Exige Adds Mystique (Part 3)

On the other hand, the firmer suspension tune of the Coupe might not suit those who use the car as a daily drive, and here the softer Roadster may prove preferable. In top-down mode entry and exit are also easier.

Lotus Exige S Roadster Light

On track the two are quite similar in their beautifully balanced mid engine demeanour but the flatter stance of the Coupe allows you to attack the corners with a bit more brio, and hold slightly more mid-corner speed. The hardtop also feels more stable in the higher speed corners, thanks to its aero aids, and there’s a jot less under steer when nearing the adhesion limits because of limited roll.

Scroll from Touring to Sport in the Dynamic Performance Management set-up and you get more exhaust noise, and a change in the ESP system which allows more slip than the five per cent permitted in Touring mode. If you plan on track only use, best to option the car up with the stiffer Race pack which includes launch control for a stylish getaway.

Lotus Exige S Roadster Badge

The competition consists of Boxster S and Cayman S, both around the $150k mark. We’d bet the Lotus Exige pair are quicker around any track – they’re lighter and more powerful – and the Porsche pair would be easier in daily use. The Lotus is more for the purist who wants something a bit edgier, less common. The Porsche is for those who want something more measured, and really competes more with Evora.

AP stoppers a convincing foil to Exige’s rapid accumulation of speed 

And on that note, we had a quick road fang in the $146k Evora, at which point the heavens opened and overwhelmed the sexy single wiper. What’s this? An auto box with paddles, no lever? There’s power steering even. A Lotus so civilized, with the best ingress of the bunch, and a surprisingly cosseting ride, though tyre harmonics aren’t subtle. The 206kW atmo engine pulls handily from 2500rpm and ferally from 4000rpm. I can’t recall power steering that feels quite so right, inducing effortless direction changes, and the brakes are functionally fantastic. Instruments look a little sci fi, and rear visibility is joke worthy, as is oddments space, but dynamically this is startling. A wet couple of on-track laps afterwards confirmed as much. If it’s this confidence-inspiring in the wet…