Auto News and Reviews

The new 2006 Lotus Exige is a true driver’s car. Ok so the Elise is a driver’s car, but the Exige takes it to a whole new level. Although it may just look like an Elise with a hardtop, Lotus claims that the two cars share almost no body pieces.

The Lotus Exige uses the same 190hp Toyota inline 4 as the Elise. Though slightly heavier, what with the gigantic rear wing and the roof, it still weighs in at just a hair over 2,000 pounds, meaing each horse pulls just 10.6 pounds. Thus the little Toyota engine has enough to get you to 60mph in 4.9 seconds, and to a top speed of about 150 mph.

But as with the Elise, the Exige is not about straight line performance. The jarring ride of the Elise seems downright cushy when compared to the Exige. If you can live with that, though, you’ll find the handling is phenomenal. This is the perfect track day car that can be driven home when you’re done.

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