Car of the Day - 2010 Lotus Exige S

Car of the Day - 2010 Lotus Exige S

Lotus is fast becoming the British Porsche and the Elise/Exige is the 911 of the range, an icon for enthusiast drivers. Bold statement but fact.

The Elise on which the Exige is based was first launched at the end of 1995, so we are now approaching the fifteenth year of evolutionary development and refinement. With the 2010 Exige S change is minimal, which is a good thing as the old adage should hold sometimes - if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

The 2010 Model Year sees refinement to looks and improvements in aerodynamics and efficiency. There is a restyled front facia and a larger rear wing that reduces drag. The composite wing is based on the design from the Exige GT3 road car concept from the 2007 Geneva Motorshow and is 181 mm wider and mounted 46 mm higher and 61 mm further back than the outgoing model.

Design detailing and airflow management that includes three new air intakes and a new aerodynamic splitter has resulted in increased stability and significant reduction to drag while maintaining the downforce of 42 kg at 160 km/h.

This refinement results in improvements to fuel economy which is now 8.5 litres/100 km on the Official European Combined Cycle and a 6.5 litres/100 km on the Official European Extra Urban Cycle. Emissions are also improved at 199 g/km CO2. These figures are achieved in a car that can run 0 - 100 km/h in 4.77 secs

Lotus offer three main package for the Exige, Touring, Sport and Performance as well as an extensive options list.

The contents of the Touring pack, for the Exige S includes:

* Full leather or Microfibre suede-effect interior
* Leather trimmed centre console
* Leather handbrake gaiter
* Sound system iPod* connection
* Full carpets, with embroidered logo
* Auxiliary driving lights (in markets where legally allowed)
* Sound insulation kit
* Cup holder

The Exige S Sport pack includes:

* Bilstein sports dampers
* Traction control
* Adjustable front anti-roll bar
* T45 roll bar, with integrated harness mounts

The Exige S Performance Pack - more punch, more ability for Exige S:

* 308 mm front cross-drilled and vented discs with AP Racing four piston callipers
* Uprated front and rear brake pads
* Full length upsized roof scoop
* Variable slip traction control
* Uprated clutch plate and cover
* Uprated vehicle performance through enhanced power and torque delivery
* Launch control

With the Exige performance pack, the power is raised to 240 PS / 179 kW (minimum) at 8000 rpm with a Magnuson/Eaton M62 supercharger, .torque is increased to 170 lbft / 230 Nm /23.5 kgm at 5,500 rpm from the standard 158.6 lbft / 215 Nm / 22 kgm at 5500rpm. Zero to 60mph comes in at 4.5 secs and 0-100km/h in 4.77 secs, and on to 100mph in 11.97 secs. Top speed rises to 145 mph.

Air conditioning, Lotus traction control and limited slip differential are available as stand-alone options. Customers wanting to add further finishing touches to their Exige - such as specifying adjustable dampers and forged wheels can do so by ordering from an extensive range of accessories. Driver and passenger airbags are standard on all models while an on-board

Where Lotus actually has it over Porsche is than they are capable of building an attractive car with 4 seats.

Rod