This year model changes are what we will talk here and the addition of an optional Performance Pack for the supercharged Exige S, variable-slip traction control, plus some trim and detail changes including a new key fob and, wait for it, a cup holder. The Elise will be on the receiving end of a supercharger too, but that’s a test for another time…
The Performance Pack brings another 20bhp to the party giving the S a 243bhp punch, which is surely not to be sniffed at. And if 0-60mph in four seconds and a 153mph top speed doesn’t do it for you, then perhaps we could politely recommend reaching for your pipe and slippers.
That 0-60mph time shouldn’t require the throttle/clutch dancing dexterity of a pro road tester since, combined with the aforementioned variable slip traction control, is a launch control system pinched from the Lotus Exige GT3 race car and the 2-Eleven track car. Not that Lotus recommend that you employ it for every traffic light burn up, since it is a bit tough on the drivetrain.
The traction control works via a rotary knob on the steering column and can be varied in over 30 increments from an optimum seven percent tyre slip to completely off. A message display in the dash displays what degree of traction control you have dialed in.
For that perfect standing start the launch control allows you to choose your revs and then, with foot hard down on the throttle, simply side step the clutch and off you go. A clutch damper offers some sympathy to the potentially tortured transmission and the launch control also keeps wheelspin in check until 6mph, after which the traction control assumes its duties.
Lotus recommend that you reserve the launch control for the race track only, and we reckon that the novelty would soon wear off once you’ve demoed it a few times to your mates.
The traction control cuts in with a rally car style barp-barp-barp, but in the dry you've got to be pretty brutal to call on its intervention. Lotus reckons that it’s great for drifting though, allowing you to reach a certain angle and hold it there.
Lotus is pretty good at blending the dynamic variables that go into making the near-perfect sports car. Despite a track bias, the Exige is astonishingly good on the road, working with the bumps and undulations and never against them.
The way that the Exige keeps itself flat under braking and cornering means that weight transfer is always kept in check, which is useful because there’s actually more weight at the back than you might imagine with the engine sitting tall and directly over the rear wheels (that’s how the Lotus test drivers achieve all those wild smoky sliding shots). In short it’s this stunning body control that makes the Exige so devastatingly effective.
Despite the assistance of the supercharger it still needs to be worked pretty hard and that full on 243bhp only arrives at a screeching 8000rpm. And I might be in a minority here, but the aural delights of the supercharger would, I think, drive me round the bend.
Lotus are very proud of the new key fob, which combines the functions of the alarm and immobilizer and adds a quality 'mainstream' touch.
And most Exige owners these days spec a few creature comforts like air-con and leather so perhaps that cup holder is no surprise, sliding from the center of the dashboard. Crafted from aluminum with a leather strap to support your large latte, it looks like some sort of S&M jock strap.
The Exige is still the most focussed, fully-clothed sports car on the market. Consistent fettling has knocked off a few of the rough edges, and owners of the original Exige S1 would probably view it as positively soft, but rest assured, this is still hardcore.
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Lotus today introduced a special edition version of the Elise SC in a tribute to Jim Clark, an F1 driver who won 25 Grand Prix races and was the first Briton to win the Indi 500. The Clark Type 25 Elise SC will be limited to just 25 cars in UK with donations of each unit sold going to the Jim Clark memorial fund.
