LOTUS EXIGE S

One of the greatest cars on the planet, the giant-killing Lotus Exige S, has been given a power boost. The light-weight pocket rocket now puts out 179KW from its 1.8 Supercharged engine, up from 163 KW. Now that might not sound all that exciting, but in a car weighing less than just about any other on the market that's huge. The Toyota sourced engine will now take the Exige S from standstill to 100 km/hr in 4.16 seconds. 4.16 seconds! That's faster than just about anything the better side of half a million dollars can muster! Who needs a Ferrari hey? Not only is it so quick that it'll burn the hairs of your face, but with go-kart-like response from the agile chassis, this makes for one formidable track weapon. Lotus Exiges are quite common on race tracks throughout the world. Their popularity stems from their easily accessible chassis and light weight, making them reasonably gentle on their tyres and largely untouchable in the twisty stuff. This power increase will scare quite a few of those people out there who battle Exiges on the track.

Of course, as a daily option, the Exige is a bit complicated. The interior, while featuring solid brushed aluminium and some lovely exposed body work, is minimal and industrial. Then there's the ride. When they say this thing is a go-kart they're not kidding. You feel every bump, every ripple on the road. A characteristic that's great fun on a Sunday drive up the hills, but potentially painful on the daily commute to work. In spite of all this, though, this is by far the best bang for your bucks, in the best roadster you can buy today. Forget all those TTs and SLKs. Leave them to the hairdressers and Real Estate Agents. This is the real deal, and isn't afraid to let you know it at each and every turn. Sure, you're back will be stuffed, and you'll have a massive headache from all that road noise, but my God you'll still have a smile on your face. This is the closest you can come to a track focused touring car for the road. And doesn't it just look a million bucks!