Exige V6 arrival in the US

plastique999 · Dec 19, 2012

The very first Exige V6 debut'd at our LotusCupUSA final race weekend at Spring Mountain.
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Aedo · Dec 20, 2012

The first reviews on SELOC are very positive - seems to be a major improvement on the previous Exige... I think I want one

ScuderiaWithStickPlease · Dec 20, 2012

I can't believe that the government of the USA didn't grant such a fine, limited production vehicle road legal status, over a driver safety issue.

Aedo · Dec 20, 2012

Thorburn on SELOC (UK Lotus forum) was lent the Exige S for a day and posted his thoughts here - http://forums.seloc.org/viewthread.php?tid=353345

Text copied here (with permission) for those without access:

Thorburn on SELOC said:

Borrowed the B&C Exige S for the afternoon

Had a rather nice email on Monday asking if I fancied popping down Bell & Colvill to borrow their new Exige S for an afternoon - naturally this meant rearranging a few things and showing up there the very next day.

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Bumped in to another SELOCer (John, ferris bueller) as I arrived who'd popped in to see the car as he was passing by so talked with him and Jamie about it for a bit, was nice to chat but I have to admit I really wanted to grab the keys and get going.

It's not the first time I've seen the new Exige S or even the first time I've driven it having gone to Silverstone for one of the demo days, but there's a big difference between a short drive with someone sat alongside you telling you where to go and getting chucked the keys and being told just to make sure you bring it back in one piece. Kudos to Jamie as I don't think I'd have his level of trust if I had hold of the only one in the country!

First job was packing in all my camera kit that I'd brought along (large rucksack, a couple tripods and then my jacket and some other bits and piece) which went in with ease - it's a fraction wider than the Elise I'd wager although the battery means you have more space to the left than the right - and then closing things up. You have to press down on the bootlid to latch it, not the spoiler as it'll flex, which is a bit of a faff as that's what you naturally go to do. But at least it doesn't on the rear deck like the MY10 Exige spoiler and get in the way while you're trying to load things in.

Once inside it's all as you expect for an S2 Exige, there are a few minor interior changes in terms of trimming, but it's what's happening behind you that grabs your attention - you have a rear view, the rear arches look BIG in those mirrors (the wider plinths may look a bit funny, but they are there for a reason) and the flair of revs as you fire it up.

The exhaust is carried over from the MY12 Evora S, but the noise carries through the Exige far better. There's a little button on the steering wheel cowl to let you toggle the exhaust flap open or closed regardless of what mode you have the car in for if you want to be discrete(ish) and could be useful for track days, although it will open at high engine loads even in Touring mode.

Out on the road and a quick drive up to Newlands Corner to get some photos in before the light went was enough to remind me of what I learnt last time out. It rides nicely, a little stiffer than the Elise S I drove a few months back but no real harshness even over the bigger bumps. Heading up the hill and even in Touring mode it gives you a good firm shove along the road - the throttle pedal mapping makes it less sensitive at small opening, but given just how annoyed people would be if I stacked it I figured the extra safety net was probably wise for the first few miles while I got to know the car, and foot to the floor it still gives you the full beans.
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[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPJalBkglIo[/ame]

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Back on the road and switching over to Sport mode and it has to be said, it's REALLY hard to find enough space to push this thing. Every time you open it up you can just tear up the road at a rate that's completely beyond what I'm comfortable doing. There's not a heady top-end rush, just a constant surge of torque that lets you pick apart a road at whatever rate you choose - there may be faster accelerating cars but the Exige manages to blend together the traditional Elise levels of feedback with more power than any previous factory effort, while giving you a very useful safety net.

It disguises it's extra weight well and the electronics make the performance so easy to access that for an average drivers like myself, while an engine converted car may boast greater power to weight ratios, I'd expect to be able to drive the Exige S faster, sooner - I threw the car down a damp, bumpy and narrow road as fast as I dared and the worst I got was a few flickers on the telltale light on the dash over some of the bumps and the SLIGHTEST twitch as a rear wheel spun up on some mud, but nothing more. It really is astonishing how you can just devour a road in this car, even in less than perfect conditions.

As a road car though that ability to carry speed down the road can be both it's greatest strength and it's greatest weakness - you still feel involved and in as if you're doing the hard work, just rather than getting bitten by over-exuberance you have something there to rein you in and let you know pushed that little too far without completely spoiling the fun.

If I'm honest though, as fantastic as the Exige S is, as a pure road car - I'd take the Elise S. To me in terms of driver enjoyment that car was damned near perfect. The Exige S will tear it apart down any road without even pushing past about 5000rpm, I mean barely even breaking a sweat, but in my eyes it needs an owner who is either going to track it or who has FAR less imagination than I do.

But if my lottery numbers come in this weekend however, an Exige V6 Cup would be near the top of my list - just after the Chrome Orange Elise S they had in the showroom....
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Thorburn on SELOC said:

Couple bits to add as well.

While I think the Elise S is near perfect for the road, the Exige S is a far more important car as it's the first Lotus in a long time that really moves the Elise platform forward. I never quite 'got' the S2 Exiges as, Cup cars aside, it always seemed you were just a few option packs from an Elise, while as good as the Elise S is it's very similar in character and performance to it's predecessors. That's something you could never level at the V6, it's on another plane and it finally gives Lotus a car which impresses on paper, not just when you're sat behind the wheel.

It's great to see Lotus are finally catering for people who do want more performance, and on track I bet it's an absolute monster!

Finally before anyone mentions it - I didn't try Race Mode. Jamie showed me how to select it, but when left alone with the car I tried it and it lit the Traction Control TC tell-tale light as well as Race Mode so I wasn't 100% sure that I'd selected it and not just turned everything off. Decided that given it's the only car available for people to drive at the time of writing that I'd rather err on the safe side then explain my uncertainty about whether I was in Race Mode or not from a ditch surrounded by broken fibreglass.
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yvesolution · Dec 20, 2012

When are the fist customer cars delivered?

Flash G · Jan 4, 2013

My God I want one.

Derek at FoD · Jan 8, 2013

Flash G said: ↑

My God I want one.
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I've got a Carbon Grey example for sale

Flash G · Jan 16, 2013

Derek at FoD said: ↑

I've got a Carbon Grey example for sale
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I need a *street legal* one.

GuyIncognito · Jan 16, 2013

Flash G said: ↑

I need a *street legal* one.

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when did silly details like legality and registration stop people from driving sports cars in SoCal?

BlueBiturbo · Jan 16, 2013

Nice !

c4sdriver · Jan 18, 2013

I don't understand why they don't declare it road legal in the U.S. because of driver safety, when you can go and buy a motorcycle and drive that on a public road. How is that more safe?
They should have the buyer of the car sign a waiver and let them drive it.

That's my 2 cents.

ScuderiaWithStickPlease · Jan 18, 2013

GuyIncognito said: ↑

when did silly details like legality and registration stop people from driving sports cars in SoCal?

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When the sky started falling again . . .

Bullfighter · Jan 26, 2013

Flash G said: ↑

My God I want one.
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What he said.

Flash G · Jan 31, 2013

GuyIncognito said: ↑

when did silly details like legality and registration stop people from driving sports cars in SoCal?

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Truth.

In fact, I've never put the plates on my Exige. I don't even know where the hell they are.

GuyIncognito · Feb 20, 2013

STL Motorsports got theirs in this week (they have another inbound). some nice Lotus porn here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stl-Motorcars/125146474176251?fref=ts
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