2004 LOTUS Exige 1.8 6MT (192 HP)

Vehicle Overview

The first series of the Exige was produced between 2000 and 2002, and it took another two years for the British car manufacturer to launch the second iteration of this nimble sports car.

The Exige S2, as it was known, was launched in 2004 at the Geneva Motor Show, and people were shaken to see that the carmaker didn’t give up on its dream to build a road/track vehicle. The car was created to offer excellent performance on the track.

From the outside, it was clearly an Elise spin-off. Its front fascia still featured the ellipsoid headlights with a pair of additional parking lights between them and a set of fog lamps installed in the lower grille. While these features might not be needed on the track, Lotus considered that their users will find them helpful on a daily driver. The waved, aerodynamic shape of the vehicle was interrupted on the sides by the air intakes placed behind the doors. These were needed to feed and help cool the mid-mounted engine. Unlike the Elise, the Exige was a coupe with a fixed roof that added more rigidity to the already kart-like sports car. At the back, a wing adorned the rear end and provided the vehicle 21.9 kg (48.3 lbs) of downforce. The front also added 19.3 kg (42.5 lbs).

The cabin featured a pair of sports seats mounted low on the floor and separated by a short center console. In addition, an Alcantara-covered dashboard emphasized the racy spirit of the vehicle.

Behind the cabin, mounted transversely, was a Toyota-sourced 1.8-liter naturally aspirated engine. In addition, a supercharged version of this engine provided 219 hp (225 PS), which helped the car get a 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) time in less than five seconds.