Wise Buyer: Exige
Offering hardcore thrills for the road, the Exige is now an appreciating rarity
Lotus’s little supercar: we show you how to buy the best.
The Lotus Elise revolutionised the sports car market when it arrived in 1996, with its blend of pace, affordability, economy and handling. Lotus upped the stakes further in 2000, with the Exige. This was effectively a fixed-head Elise with extra power and even sharper handling, but the Exige is not a car for the faint-hearted…
Why you want one
If you want an ultimate car, one that was designed with just one thing in mind, then the Exige is for you – as long as the one thing that you want to do is turn every drive into an event, and possibly a white-knuckle one at that. The Exige is one of the most driver-focused sports cars ever created so it’s a thrilling drive, but getting the best out of one of these cars can be really hard work as they’re unrefined, the ride is firm and the steering is very direct, so it really is a race car for the road. It will be either everything you ever wanted in a car, or something that you’d never even consider.
There’s nothing in between.
Why now is the time to buy
Crash damage has reduced the number of surviving Exiges, while electrolytic corrosion and mechanical wear aren’t helping. However, most of these cars are now bought by collectors and used sparingly, so the rate of attrition has slowed dramatically.
Just 583 Exige S1s were made (499 in 2000, 84 in 2001) and you’ll be doing well to buy anything for less than £25,000, while £35,000 is the minimum for something that isn’t a liability. The best S1s are now touching £60,000. The S2 starts at £25,000 for something tidy, but an extra £10,000 secures a car that’s been really cherished and has a low mileage.
Which one?
The Exige S1 was a 177bhp fixed-head Elise with a close-ratio gearbox and more direct steering; a 190bhp upgrade was optional. The extra power was achieved by fitting a decat kit (it’s a factory modification); some reckon the standard car is more tractable, while others reckon the high-power engine is more free revving.
The S1 went out of production in 2001, then the S2 was launched in 2004, with a Toyota 1.8-litre twin-cam engine featuring variable valve timing and an updated bodyshell. These cars have anti-lock brakes and are more refined than the S1, but they’re still not exactly plush. In 2005 the supercharged Exige 240R arrived; just 50 were made. A year later the more hard-core Exige Cup debuted in 190bhp naturally aspirated or 240bhp supercharged forms, with a limited-slip diff. In 2006 the Exige S was also launched, with a 218bhp supercharged engine to give 0-60mph in 4.1 seconds. Later would come the hardcore Exige Sprint, GT3, Club Racer and Stealth.
Completely standard Exiges are rare; non-factory wheels, brakes, exhausts and suspension aren’t unusual. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, and neither are factory options such as air-con, sports seats and leather trim.
It’s a lot easier to find an Exige S2, and these later cars are also easier to live with in terms of refinement and build quality. But whichever one you buy you’ll get the best out of it on track, and if you want to go touring you’ll probably find the
experience wearing. In short, these are generally cars to enjoy for short bursts only.
Make it better
On an S1, switching from the original Koni dampers to the S2’s Bilsteins will improve the dynamics noticeably for around £150 per corner. The standard brakes are fine on any car not driven really hard, but they soon wilt on the track. Spend £200-£1200 on upgrades, depending on your budget.
Hangar 111 offers three supercharger packages for K-series cars, with up to 260bhp available depending on engine build and what exhaust is fitted. Some owners have swapped the K-series engine for a Honda VTEC unit. It’s expensive, but reliability and performance are both improved. If you don’t want a screaming VTEC engine in your Lotus, another favourite swap is the Audi 20-valve unit. Either conversion costs at least £10,000.
The S2 doesn’t really need any upgrades unless you plan to do lots of track days. Then, coilovers (£1300-£2500) and stronger brakes (£1000-£3000) might be worthwhile, along with a more efficient radiator (£230-£400). If it’s a supercharger you want, you can fit a blower for around £6000, while a sports exhaust is £700 or so.
Specialist advice
Phil Benfield is the sales manager of long-standing Lotus specialist Allon White, based in Bedfordshire. He says: ‘The Exige is an incredible machine that offers a driving experience that’s unmatched pretty much anywhere else. Finding a really good one and driving it really hard might seem like sacrilege, but unless you buy it as an investment, that’s what you need to do to get the best out of one of these road-ready racers. However, the Exige’s fragility means hard-driven cars will need plenty of expenditure, so you really must buy with care.
‘It’s worth investing in a four-wheel suspension alignment once a year, because if the wheels aren’t all pointing in exactly the correct direction, the handling will be compromised and the tyres will wear unevenly as well as prematurely.
‘Make sure the wheels haven’t been damaged, as replacements are no longer available. Used or aftermarket items can be tracked down, however. If the wheels are badly kerbed there is a good chance that the suspension will have been knocked out of true – so make sure the tyres are wearing evenly.’ If there’s a fresh set of tyres fitted, be wary; this is the cheapest way of masking a twisted chassis. ‘The chances are that anything you buy will need some TLC as some steering, suspension and brake parts need to be treated as consumables.’
‘On an S1, swapping the Koni dampers for the S2’s Bilsteins will improve dynamics