Lotus Exige S2: PH Buying Guide
Thrilling to drive, built to take punishment and a solid investment - what are you waiting for?
One of the most important changes for this second generation of Exige was the adoption of the Toyota 2ZZ-GE 1.8-litre engine. It shared the exact same capacity as the previous Rover K-Series motor and happily revved to 8,500rpm, so it was an ideal match for the Lotus. With 190hp at 7,800rpm, it knocked out 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds and topped out at 140mph.
Just as crucially, the Exige S2 gained wider front and rear wheels, with broadened bodywork to accommodate them, and Yokohama Advan A048R tyres. Lotus also raided its Sport division shelves for 10 per cent stiffer dampers, while the new aero kit created true downforce at the front and rear. Together, this allowed the Exige to lap the Hethel test track two seconds faster than its Elise 111R sister model.
Yet there were those within Lotus who felt the Exige had more to offer. The official line is the 240R was the result of work by Lotus Engineering Powertrains, but the reality is a group of Lotus workers in the Motorsport department reckoned a supercharger was just the thing to realise the car's potential. They were right. The 2005 240R delivered 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds and reached a maximum of 155mph. The £43,995 asking price did nothing to slow its popularity.
Search for Lotus Exige S2s here
A halfway house arrived a year later in 2006 with the Exige S that came with 221hp from its supercharged 1.8-litre motor. This £33,995 iteration covered 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds, yet could average 31.0mpg thanks to its 935kg kerb weight.
Other Exige models have come and gone, and they include the Cup 190 and 240, S British GT Special Edition, Sport Exige Cup 255, Club Racer, Sprint, Cup 260, Type 72, Scura and Stealth, and the RGB to mark Roger Becker's retirement from Lotus. While there are differences between these models and the standard versions, the same buying advice applies to all.
For the inside line on the Exige we spoke to Jamie Matthews, Sales Manager at Bell and Colvill. "Values have not dropped for the Exige S2 in two years, so it's a great buy," he says. "It's cheap to run, great to drive and very reliable."
That sounds like good news to us. Prices start at around £20,000 for an early, high miles car, while late model versions and the rarer special editions can run to £40,000. Don't be put off by cars that have seen a lot of track use - so long as they have been cared for this is what they are designed for. Heavily modified cars are less desirable, so look for a standard car unless the spec of a car exactly matches your needs.
PHer's view:
"I started looking at Elises, but the Exige was something that had always caught my eye at track days. The mini Group C racer look really appealed, as did the supercharged whine of an S model."
Dave de la Riviere
Buying Guide contents:
Introduction
Powertrain
Rolling chassis
Body
Interior
At a glance
Search for Lotus Exige S2s here
Photos: Dan Trent and Tom Begley
On my 6th Lotus now and residuals have always been impressive. Buying sensibly, they have some of the cheapest cars to own when you take into account the minimal depreciation.
Those eight words carry a great deal of weight, given the punishment track sessions can inflict.
Dealerships seem a bit sparse and have varying quality/reputations (see moreso specialists)
I guess if you know what you want, have a dealer/specialist reasonably local with a decent rep. and aren't the sort who'll suddenly need to get out of it in a hurry then go for it .
I don't like the idea that 'there's no much to go wrong' tho - body and frame damage is a BIG issue for one thing, I know 2 people who've had Lotuses written-off for what amounted to relatively minor knocks (one was bumped in a carpark reversing mistake - clamshell damage wrote-it-off then-and-there despite it driving 100% aok)!!
As for writes off for minor damage, it only really happens if people want a hire car. A replacement clam including spraying is something like £5k (which admittedly is a lot, but not enough to write off a decent Elise) but unfortunately it can take weeks or even months to get hold of one for older Elises so courtesy car costs can write the car off. Exiges may well be even worse than Elises in that regard because they're rarer so clam batches will presumably be even less frequent.
Lack of dealers is a problem if you use them, but how many people take a 5-10 year old car to a main dealer? There's a reasonable number of specialists about and they're very easy cars to home-service.
ETA: Chassis damage is indeed catastrophic but it's quite hard to manage because the crash structures are detachable.
I'm looking to buy something fun next year around the £15k mark and an S2 Elise would be a dream, any owners on here with longer legs got any mods/advice? Its mainly the fact In 5th gear my knee is wedged between the wheel and the gearstick. Or shall this dream be dropped now...?
Spacing the wheel out certainly gives you more space between wheel and gear stick. A smaller diameter wheel might also help a bit.
I'm looking to buy something fun next year around the £15k mark and an S2 Elise would be a dream, any owners on here with longer legs got any mods/advice? Its mainly the fact In 5th gear my knee is wedged between the wheel and the gearstick. Or shall this dream be dropped now...?
For less than £100 I solved the problem by fitting 24mm of spacers to the steering wheel.
There's a solution for everything, if you really want it...
Spacing the wheel out certainly gives you more space between wheel and gear stick. A smaller diameter wheel might also help a bit.
For less than £100 I solved the problem by fitting 24mm of spacers to the steering wheel.
There's a solution for everything, if you really want it...
My feed were also a bit big, size 11's. But I'm pretty sure some driving shoes could sort that issue.
Thanks for your help!
Shoes do make a huge difference to how much knee-room you have. I drive mostly in bare feet in the summer but in the winter when it's too cold to do that I can really feel the loss of legroom. Ideally you need shoes without a protruding heal. If you find you can drive in bare feet you'd probably be OK in proper driving shoes - yes they'd make you look a bit of a tt but you can always change in them for something else before you get out of the car.
I can even just drive my Wife's new Elise without mods but due to some gubbins under the column I really need to be wearing the trainers to drive it without issues.
Getting in and out is hilarious, out is more difficult, but I reckon it's worth it as the cars are just so much fun. I get disappointed driving everything else now. Seriously!
The thing is I don’t intend to start track days so I see them as overkill for the road, plus every time I have been out with a few Exiges I don’t think they are having any more fun than me in my mere 155bhp Elise.
…Saying all that the look of the things in your mirror or in front on the open moorland or mountain roads is fantastic. The noise from one with a Jim Valentine exhaust is phenomenal too !
If I do change weekend cars, it may just be for an Exige S, one of the few cars that could tempt me away from my S1.
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