Lotus Exige S3 | Spotted
All of the 3.5 Exiges were great track cars - imagine how good this might be with another £50k spent on it...
Those after a sports car to drive and love on both road and track could do a whole lot worse than a Series 3 Exige. Whatever it lost in terms of delicacy against earlier, lighter, four-cylinder versions, it made up for in sheer brawn and useful technology like the Bosch ABS and TC system. Plus the sound, of course.
All the S3 Exiges, though eventually becoming more aggressive as the years passed, looked like shrunken Group C race cars, and felt like them to be in as well, with a big single wiper and prominent manual lever. They were plenty fast, too, but required work to get the best from them, which played nicely to that retro sportscar racer feel. The chassis was communicative and capable, the powertrain durable and all the Exiges felt like bonafide mini supercars even when not going for it. Right down to being a faff to get into and see out of, they were brand-new, old-school exotica.
For those that did want to completely fulfil the potential of the Exige, a host of parts were available to upgrade the car, both via Lotus Motorsport and third-party suppliers. While it was a car that stopped, steered and screamed along very well as standard, regular track day goers will have been keen to maximise their Lotus. Which is what a previous owner of this one did. Quite a lot.
The advert for this suggests it’s a race car, which the spec is easy to believe, though it began life as a road-legal Exige in 2016 and has an MOT. It seems an even more extreme proposition than the Cup 430 from later in the production run, and that was a truly exhilarating little car. Power is up to 460hp thanks to a Komotec upgrade kit (ECU, carbon airbox, modified supercharger pulley, new exhaust manifold and sports cats), which reaches the road through a Quaife limited-slip differential. A very encouraging start.
And that's just the beginning. According to the ad somewhere in the region of £50k has been spent on the Exige; lots of money has gone on some stunning carbon fibre additions, in case it didn’t look racy enough, but there are some proper chassis bits as well. There are Nitron dampers, which presumably have some adjustability in them, Team Dynamics wheels, ‘oversized race brakes’ and even a steering rack upgrade. A new shifter and cables for the manual should prevent any baulking with any quick changes on track.
There’s an FIA-spec roll cage and Nankang semi-slick tyres included as well, so it’s hard to imagine there being much faster on your next track day than this Exige. It’s easy to see where money has been spent. Moreover, while that exhaust will need a cat for its MOT, there seems little reason why it couldn’t make for a truly wild road-going Lotus experience as well. If not a bargain, clearly a lot of money has been spent on this Lotus that’s now being included for not much of a premium - something equally low mileage and standard might still be more than £40k. A close-in-spirit Cup 430 might be nearer £90k. This isn’t the Exige for fans of originality or factory spec, sure, but adrenaline junkies need look no further.
SPECIFICATION | LOTUS EXIGE V6
Engine: 3,456cc V6, supercharged
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 350@7,000rpm (standard)
Torque (lb ft): 295@4,500rpm (standard)
MPG: 28 (NEDC combined, standard)
CO2: 236g/km (standard)
Year registered: 2016
Recorded mileage: 4,220
Price new: £55,900 (Sport 350, 2015)
Yours for: £49,995
. Maybe too unforgiving on road, but on track ....You can of course just buy a road legal Exige with the 460 conversion and there's not a lot of road cars that will keep up on the country lanes or trackdays.
Great cars.
Why do it - if you have the money to burn and enjoy projects then why not?
Me - I hate spending money spending money to upgrade cars, so with that budget I’d have just bought a Cup430 with longer term resale in mind.
I’m sure this one is epic to drive though.
Power, weight and performance actually remarkably similar to an F40.
Dashboard looks a bit of a dogs breakfast, and that roll cage would make getting in and out of a complete PITA, given I struglle enough without the cage.
But Im sure once seated, and holding onto that lovely alcantara wheel, very little, this side of a full race car, comes close to the feeling and peformance of this around a race track.
Modified V6 Exiges are pretty much the only thing that can match a Porsche GT3/GT4 for those (with the budget) who want to do lots of track days and drive to/from the track. Certainly if you want a manual gearbox...
I'm 20yrs past modifying cars, but I've done plenty in my time, taking a £10k car, then spending a few hundred quid on suspension, then a few months later another few hundred quid on wheels, then a few months later another few hundred quid on an exhaust, then a few months later another few hundred quid on engine bits, then a few months later another few hundred quid on something else etc.
Dashboard looks a bit of a dogs breakfast, and that roll cage would make getting in and out of a complete PITA, given I struglle enough without the cage.
But Im sure once seated, and holding onto that lovely alcantara wheel, very little, this side of a full race car, comes close to the feeling and peformance of this around a race track.
I was in a 410 the other day and it was like being shot out of a canon when the driver floored it!
I looked long at hard at them last year but eventually went for the Emira but it'd be lovely to have the Exige too (but not the ensuing divorce!)
I was in a 410 the other day and it was like being shot out of a canon when the driver floored it!
I looked long at hard at them last year but eventually went for the Emira but it'd be lovely to have the Exige too (but not the ensuing divorce!)
I get the impression many Exige owners would be waiting for a more hardcore Emira Cup version or suchlike.
Modified V6 Exiges are pretty much the only thing that can match a Porsche GT3/GT4 for those (with the budget) who want to do lots of track days and drive to/from the track. Certainly if you want a manual gearbox...
These V6 Exiges are an absolute blast and feel seriously fast, much like a motorbike, this one looks like great value too
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