Lotus Exige S: everything about driving purity

By Botchi Santos February 23,2016
THE LOTUS Exige S eschews the modern conveniences of most current performance cars.

THE LOTUS Exige S eschews the modern conveniences of most current performance cars.

 

When we think sports car, especially in the local scene, we think Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini. We think Mercedes-Benz AMG, BMW M or Nissan’s R35 GT-R. At the lower-end, we think Toyota 86, Subaru BRZ or even Mazda MX-5.

 

But nobody even thinks of Lotus, the small, British firm from Hethel that has a storied motorsport history from Formula 1, WEC, Le Mans and so on.

 

Why? Many of today’s sports car manufacturers build a very complete, jack-of-all-trades performance vehicle, happy to trundle along in traffic with the convenience of an automatic transmission, cold A/C, a powerful multimedia infotainment system, swathes of carbon, leather and Alcantara, with power this and power that.

 

The result is a truly amazing car that defies both the laws of physics and the land, should absolute, maximum performance ever be unleashed, preferably on track.

 

The Lotus way is different. Lotus puts a premium on the exact opposite of the technological achievements the competitors have achieved.

 

Colin Chapman’s most famous guiding principle in a car is “add lightness.” Adding lightness, or rather removing weight as the more correct technical term, improves a car’s performance considerably. Acceleration, braking and cornering performance is elevated.

 

The less weight also means you need smaller wheels and tires to manage the vehicle’s footprint, which reduces rolling resistance, improving fuel efficiency.

 

The lower weight means you can use a smaller, less powerful, and less thirsty engine to achieve a very high level of performance, ultimately making the vehicle a very efficient, well-balanced and responsive car.

 

Ultimately, adding lightness means only putting in the bare essentials for the car to work at its absolute best.

 

Leather? Heavy. Plastic dashboard? Irrelevant. Carpet? Useless. Surround-sound system? The engine provides the best sound track on track!

 

It is this single-minded focus of only putting in the bare essentials to unlock a driving experience akin to motoring nirvana is at the very core of what makes Lotus tick. It’s definitely not for everyone.

 

Lotus doesn’t put a huge premium on outright speed or power. It’s all about going from point to point as quickly as possible.

 

Ideally through the most twisted, circuitous and lace-like stretches of road, Lotus and cars like its Exige S really shine. But it does so feeling organic, alive in your hands, making you a crucial part of the equation rather than an innocent bystander, an observer to the phenomenon.

 

Yes, a Nissan GT-R R35 will be just as quick, if not quicker around a series of bends, but it won’t deliver HALF the excitement of the Lotus Exige S.
Just staring at it and the Exige looks like it is truly from another planet. The lowness is what catches you off-guard. The roofline is so low, you doubt whether you can actually even fit inside of it. The door, long but very low in height, defies belief, and the ultrawide doorsill equally begs disbelief.

 

The front and rear diffusers are optimized to deliver real down-force, and you can order the race pack options for bigger, more powerful brakes, a huge rear wing and more go-fast goodies.

 

Exige Roadster4

Exige Roadster4

 

The Lotus Exige S eschews the modern conveniences of most current performance cars. The very long-travel clutch requires an elephant-sized shove to move. The steering is heavy, and getting in and out requires the skill of a contortionist (plus his or her stretchy spandex outfit), and the grace of a ballerina to not fumble it all up and hurt oneself. And that’s only getting in and out.

 

Once you get in, you realize that it’s surprisingly roomy. Overcome the massive door sill, and it’s quite airy actually.

 

You practically sit on the floor, a few inches off the road. The heavy clutch pedal is canted slightly inward to make way for the wheel-well, but the seating position, despite limited adjustment from the leather-bound fixed back bucket seat (this being the only concession to luxury), the seating position is divine.

 

The steering wheel also has limited reach and rake adjustment, but it’s perfect.

 

The instrument cluster is positioned perfectly above the steering wheel’s center hub so you have a good view of everything ahead without any distractions.

 

The rest of the car is bare stamped aluminum, which is what the Exige S to cynics: a car made from extruded aluminum and plastic, held together in many places by glue. Literally.

 

And amazingly so, for the construction method was pioneered by Lotus and has now been adapted by other sports car makers.

 

Despite being a roadster with a sometimes leaky fabric roof, the chassis is as stiff as any closed-top competitor.

 

The suspension is de rigueur for a sports car: double-wishbone setup on the pointy end, and a multilink design at the business-end, with Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs all around.

 

Being a mid-engine car, the Exige feels light, and carries so much speed through corners it feels terrifyingly unnatural at first, but grin-inducing on succeeding tries.

 

OK, you do get a 1DIN CD-tuner, two speakers, and a simple A/C system as additional concessions to comfort and civility. You also get ABS-EBD brakes with cornering brake control, traction/stability control and dual front airbags for added safety in case the Exige S catches you napping.

 

On the move, the magic of Chapman very much remains prevalent, despite the founder having departed over 30 years ago.

 

Suddenly, the steering lightens, the 6-speed gearshift snicks with the reassuring mechanical precision of a well-used hunting rifle, and the engine, Toyota’s venerable 3.5-liter V6 2GR-FE, is a real gem and screamer at the 7000-revolution-per-minute redline.

 

You need gloves to drive the Exige hard, because the tail can get lively on bumpy roads, and the sticky tires tend to tramline on the grooves on the road.

 

Despite the hardware being from Toyota (pop the rear deck-lid and you’ll see Toyota/Denso badging), the ECU and tune are resolutely Lotus, achieving 345 horsepower and 400 Newton meters of torque.

 

Thanks to the 1166-kilogram curb weight, which is comparable to a B-segment hatchback or sedan, the Exige S accelerates like it has an extra 150 HP and 200 Nm of torque, and supercharging has made the Toyota lump far more flexible than it previously was in its humdrum sedan.

 

Acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour is around four seconds, onto a top speed in the region of 235 km/h. For the power hungry, tuners in the United States and United Kingdom have unlocked an additional 100 HP or so and 200 Nm of torque with a custom ECU reflash, upgraded intake or exhaust, and a boost-up, thanks to a smaller supercharger pulley, and of course, high-octane fuel.

 

The Exige S has relatively modest (for a sportscar) tires and wheels. The fronts run 17 x 7.5 tires sized 205/45R17, and the rears run 265/35R18 tires on 18 x 9.5 wheels.

 

Obviously, a spare tire isn’t available (there’s no space), so you get a tire sealant.

 

Ultimately, for this money, you can buy a more civilized, well-rounded car that’s just as fast, if not faster. But none will deliver driving purity as the Exige S.

 

The Lotus demands commitment stronger than most marriages. The Lotus requires skill, dexterity and grace, not just to drive, but to actually get into the damn thing. But it is worth it.

 

If you love driving, not just for outright speed or pose value, but admire the delicacies and nuances of feeling the car and the road, challenging your skills constantly, seeking improvement, and mastering the craft of driving, this is for you. TVJ

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