30 replies to this topic

[Duncan]

£35K, 190 brake Toyota Celica engine. Didn't have time to read much more as someone stole it of the bookshelf at work Gits!

[Purebob]

And its still uglier than a bowling shoe !

[streetboy]

I like bowling shoes.

[paulb]

I'm not doing this deliberately, but I beg to differ. I think it looks great.

[Thorney]

Its getting a bit of a kicking on SELOC

[paulb]

We all know SELOC's view on some good looking cars. The Exige must be one sexy motor

[PaulCP]

Its getting a bit of a kicking on SELOC

What doesn't??

[speedyK]

Apart from the Lotus website "style rendering" are there any decent pics of the new Exige? If so, where?

Also on the Lotus website I found this intersesting remark:

"A comprehensive study of the U.S. market and the success of the Elise in Europe and world markets have shown that there is a demand for a small, lightweight and very high performance sportscar in the U.S. While remaining a hand-built car, a new state of the art manufacturing facility at its Headquarters in Hethel, England has enabled Lotus to build cars at a higher volume and introduce unprecedented quality standards, vital for today’s discerning customer."

Now I wonder what other cars are built at this "state of the art manufacturing facility"

Lotus say the Elise keeps the K-series...

except in the USA where it gets the Toyota 190bhp motor (? weighed down with all mod cons???)

Going on the "style rendering", I agree with paulb that the new Exige looks good – more sophisticated than the first – but that has to be secondary to performance for this car IMO.

[paulb]

Pics from the mag... Not brilliant I'm afraid

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•  exige_001.jpg   98.17KB   0 downloads

[paulb]

and the three quarter view which I rather like

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•  exige.jpg   85.9KB   0 downloads

[speedyK]

splutter! ... thanks for the pics

I hope these are particularly unflattering angles because from the front pic it looks like a miniature hearse and the back looks very lardy and top heavy

But who sees an Exige/Elise/VX from below as in these shots? Hope I'm right in saying that this is just Autocar's photographer trying to be dramatic, but really just being stupid!

[Jim_Cross]

I much prefer the S2 Elise to the S1, but those pics make the S2 Exige look far less mean than the S1. I'll reserve judgement until I've seen Evo's pics

[paulb]

I think the angle is terrible also. But I think the rear three quarter view could be superb from the right place. The thing that interests me is that it has no visible exhaust pipe. I saw an Elise with a 'new' engine and no visible exhaust testing at Hethel on one of my trips there. It had five stud rear wheels and was running on VXT rear wheels with Lotus fronts. The new Exige has custom wheels made by Rimstock. I can't see them having five stud on the rear and four on the front on the production so think there is a chance that the Exige has VX stud pattern wheels (especially as it has ABS). Could be an alternative wheel solution (16 front and 17 rear again) Paul

[paulb]

Forgot to say I think black does the car no favours. It's been suggested on SELOC that as the car is prerelease, they want the shape to obscured in case it changes before release.

[Duncan]

The funniest thing is the "Hardcore" Exige will be availible with air-con, ABS and central locking and weighs over 900KG. Someone give them a prod on seloc please!

[paulb]

SELOC are already going mad about it. Central locking was something Lotus learnt from the VX Turbo and they were very excited about it. Air con is an essential in a car like that if you are going to drive it on a hot day. The engine is in the car with you! And ABS is an EU requirement from 2004 or 2005 so is also essential. I thought the official weight was "under 900 kg"? Still, Gavan Kershaw got it lapping quicker than the S1 Exige around Hethel. Can't all be bad!

[garyk220]

The thing that interests me is that it has no visible exhaust pipe. I saw an Elise with a 'new' engine and no visible exhaust testing at Hethel on one of my trips there. It had five stud rear wheels and was running on VXT rear wheels with Lotus fronts.

The new Exige has custom wheels made by Rimstock. I can't see them having five stud on the rear and four on the front on the production so think there is a chance that the Exige has VX stud pattern wheels (especially as it has ABS).

Could be an alternative wheel solution (16 front and 17 rear again)

Paul

Just checked the small photo on the front cover of Autocar Paul, and it does have 5-stud rears and 4-stud fronts. Might still be a pre-production job though

[JimH]

It's just another parts bin car from a company that seems as short on ideas as it is on hard cash. I really wish someone would go and sort Lotus out rather than have the poor thing passed around like a plate of yesterday's french fancies. Either that or take the mangy old thing out into the yard and put it out of its misery.

[paulb]

It sounds like Proton are sorting Lotus out. Now back to making an operating profit and effectively reducing their debt.

Remember that the Elise style chassis is the most innovative thing to hit car design since the monocoque.

I think Proton are doing a sterling job. Rather than waste valuable resource on developing a brand new car right now, do enough to keep interest alive and return the company to health and then start working on a multiplatform development. They are taking the Elise to the US, which should help a lot. They have a new, and very capable, engine in the car. They are slowly sorting out the dealer network.

Hats off to Proton as far as I am concerned...

Paul

Edited by paulb, 24 September 2003 - 11:50 AM.

[JimH]

I know, I know. I'm being hard on them. I spent the morning in a paper mill that was closing down and I was (am) in one of my "state of British manufacturing" moods.