Lotus Exige V6 Cup

By the time I get to Sonoma on the morning of our test, Senior Editor Jason Cammisa already has the British Racing Green Lotus fueled and ready to go in pit lane. First impressions are fantastic: If the original Lotus Elise had a sort of insectile grace,  this  scooped-and-vented  final  take  on  the  formula is more killer wasp, nakedly aggressive and ready to attack slower-witted prey.


The specs wouldn’t impress the man on the street, but they’ll elicit a knowing nod from the racers in the paddock. Three hundred and forty-five supercharged horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque from the 3.5-liter Toyota V-6, plus a bonded-aluminum chassis and composite body that owe much to the second-gen Lotus Elise.

Lotus Exige V6 Cup

And here’s a secret about that Toyota V-6: It might be twins with the one in your neighbor’s Camry, but it’s got the right stuff. Big bore, short stroke, plenty of room for tuning. As a consequence, it loves to rev, and when Cammisa blips the throttle against the light flywheel fitted for Lotus duty, it doesn’t sound close to street-legal. Which is fair, because in the United States, this Exige doesn’t meet safety regulations and can’t wear a license plate.

At 2381 pounds the Exige is, amazingly, the heaviest car in this test by quite a bit. But it’s still light enough to threaten the outgoing Corvette Z06 in power-to-weight, and compact enough to make the Chevy feel like a Seventies personal luxury coupe.
Which leads to a problem. At six-foot-two with a 48-inch chest, I can’t sit up in the thing or move my left shoulder freely. A change of helmet from my top vented Impact to a smaller Bell from Sonoma’s Simraceway school makes it possible for me to hold my head upright.

Just because you fit in a standard Elise or Exige, don’t assume you’ll be comfortable in this factory-caged variant. This engine is something special. The Evora S, which shares the Exige’s V-6, never feels overpowered, but here the engine shoves me hard uphill through the track’s first turn with a snarl. The grip is spectacular and easily a match for the available thrust all the way to Turn 4, which arrives far too quickly for comfort. Luckily the brakes are strong and reassuring, biting from the top of the pedal’s travel despite a lack of heat in the pads. Still, I overshoot 4 by quite a bit. The car is faster than it seems to be, and by quite a margin.

British Racing Green Lotus fueled and ready to go in pit lane. First impressions are fantastic: If the original Lotus Elise had a sort of insectile grace,  this  scooped-and-vented  final  take  on  the  formula is more killer wasp, nakedly aggressive and ready to attack slower witted prey.

Earlier in the day, Cammisa expressed his concerns about the relatively high center of gravity in this car the Exige’s short platform was originally designed for a smaller, lighter four-cylinder and it’s true that the Lotus’s rear seems to move with more inertia than it would in a four-pot Exige. I provoke a few dramatic looking slides while taking the long way around Turn 7 and am able to catch the car with a quick spin of the usefully small Alcantara steering wheel.

This Lotus isn’t quite as nimble as the junior Exiges, but as  I press on through Sonoma’s “fast 9” turn, I’m reassured by its solid high speed grip and the predictability of the rear tires.

Each time I blow by the flag, I’m more impressed. Above all, the Lotus is smooth, responding to disciplined inputs with well-damped responses. There’s no obvious heat soak going on behind me despite the fact that the blower is working hard, and the car is easy enough on its 205/45R-17 front and 265/45 R-18 rear R-compound Pirelli P Zero Trofeo tires to keep lap times consistent.

Simraceway’s chief instructor, Nico Rondet, agrees to fold his diminutive frame into the Exige and crank out a hot lap for us. He runs a respectable 1:54.39, and his refusal to pit the Lotus immediately after makes it plain that he’s enjoying himself. “Balanced, solid,” he notes, but before he can say more, I’ve cramped myself back into the driver’s seat for a few more laps.

The Exige’s $98,500 sticker would buy a house in much of this country, but it’s a value when you look at how much you’d spend on the German competition. Out of the box, the Lotus is usefully faster than most advanced track-day cars, but more important, it’s more rewarding than virtually any thing with more power and weight.

From the vibration in the wheel when you rub the shoulder of the outside tire against a curb to the shifter’s wrist-flick precision, this is a boutique experience, coupled with limits that will take the average driver a long time to find.

The fact that it looks the business doesn’t hurt. If you’ve liked any of Hethel’s new cars over the past 15 years, you’ll love this one. It’s the sharpest modern Lotus, fit for
purpose and deeply satisfying.