There has been a lot going on with Lotus in these past few years. Besides of being acquired by Proton, they had also made a comeback in F1, where another issue arises for the rightful usage of the “Lotus” name, and so forth.
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| An Exige resting in the pits. |
Shoving aside the boring stuff, they had also unveiled some new concept models, showing some new design line for future Lotus cars. While some say that the new designs looks cool and aggressive, others claim that the new ones had lost their original flair; the Lotus identity. Lotus cars are easily recognized by their sleek and almost organic-like sexy body. And the new ones? They’re more like Lamborghini-ish, sharp lines combined with jet-like intakes. In this subject matter, I’ve got to agree with both parties though. Yes, I do really like the new concept design Lotus had overtaken, but I’d really do love to see its iconic features to be embedded in it too. It’s like an Italian Lamborghini hypercar without its eat-yer-guts-out looks or a Japanese Mitsubishi rally machine minus its big wings, it just doesn’t work. A totally different case however, with the Exige S.
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| Similar, but worlds apart. |
Another great creation from what Clarkson calls as “turnip farmers”, the Exige S could somehow be put in the same class as the Ariel Atom or the Caterham; a small, agile,2-seater sports car, only that it is much more lavishly equipped compared to the standards of those two. It has an aircond when it gets too hot, a boot for your stuffs, and a radio to listen to. And if those aren’t so important and still can live without, a windshield to avoid your face from being splattered with bugs, and a roof to keep you dry. Of course, when we’re talking about Lotus, most of their models today look pretty similar to the other, like Porsche’s 911 line. At the time I’m writing this, I still have difficulties distinguishing the Exige from the Elise, Europa, Estoque, Evoque, Elope, and so on. (Yes, I know the last three aren’t Lotus cars, and the last one is not even close on having four wheels) Maybe it’s also due to the entire Lotus cars’ names that start with “E”, making it a bit hard to tell them apart.
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| Erotic and exotic, that's how I'll describe this. |
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| Kinda looks like a bug with those eyes. |
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| Advan semi-slicks and AP Racing on the stoppage power. Dare to challenge the S? |
Nevertheless, this road-going track-killer is no force to be reckoned with. Yes, it may only have a 1.8l Toyota engine (supercharged) in the middle with somewhere around 220 hp to push em off the line and on the numbers, it’ll definitely be minced meat by other mega-bhp monsters. But when it starts to become bendy, is where this baby shines, and have them all for dessert.
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| Extra nostrils, essential when hyper-ventilating the 1.8l heart. |
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| A wing, and it's not to provide lift mind you. |
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| Seriously, who'd ever think to give a flower's name for a car? Well I guess it's better this than... I don't know...lard? |
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| It's so fast that I could only get a fraction of this speedy flower power. |
I’ve always liked the idea of a small, nimble sports car that everyone will look down onto when you line em up on the starting line, and have the last laugh for yourself when you cross it in first, like the AE 86 or the Hachiroku. Maybe that’s why Lotus wanted to use Toyota’s engine… Coincidence? I don’t know man, I’m just sayin’. But the Lotus is definitely another triumph in British engineering, but with ownerships of Malaysians. ;)
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| Braving the Storm. |
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