Exige S2 - anyone bought one yet ?

[umbongo]

Have been looking at these recently - like most people concerned that it'll cost £35k all in for something not any quicker than a 111R, and only for Lotus to bring out one with the TRD supercharger on it within weeks. (www.fensport.co.uk BTW)

Considering getting a porker for summer and seeing how the Exige prices settle for the end of the year.

How about the other side of the fence tho' ? How is it for the guys who have bought one ? How's it compare to an Elise ?

thanks

[Roadrunner]

Nope. Had a 111R for a while. It's ok but very noisey, rattly and physically tiring after a while. The on / off power delivery becomes such a chore too. After a while I just wanted a little comfort and a big fat wad of low down torque. My advice would be to buy one as a weekend toy in addition to what you may already have. If you can't afford it as a spare extra toy then I wouldn't bother.

I got a pretty good price for mine, although I expect they will tumble through the floor soon as more are traded back in. The newer model's won't help either. Buy used if you must and save a wedge!

[DanH]

Roadrunner have you owned an Elise before? Trying to work out if the 111R is worse than a normal Elise, or if you just haven't taken to the whole thing.

[bogie]

the 111R is like a limo compared to an S1 Elise !...if thats what you want then dont buy a Lotus ...think caterham with a few more mod cons and youre there........

[Bonce]

Roadrunner, you had the car less than 3 months!

May I ask how much you sold it for?

[Roadrunner]

Never had an S1. I drove them but that was ridiculous.

I had a few silly offers on it from dealers although in the end I got back RRP for a standard model example. Trouble is mine had a lot of options, hence loosing about 3k all in.

Worked out that I effectively hired the thing for an extended 3 month thrashing at around 1k a month. Probably no more than usual hire rates! Even a shit vectra will cost 800 a month from Avis. Mind you, I bet you couldn't do that agian as they're now getting pretty common. I was the first on the list in the SE as I heard about it even before PH - so my residuals will be way better than most will get later on.

I did have fun for a while but I need a practical load lugging car now anyway for a business idea.

[DanH]

Sounds like the wrong car for you to be honest

[paulwakinshaw]

well people I decided to buy the Chris Neil exhaust and fitted it this weekend without the cat. Sound is excellent (it's turned a few heads alright) and the fit is great too.

Thanks for all thr advice.

Paul

[sydneyse]

umbongo, I couldn't find anything on the fensport site about TRD supercharger for exige..

[umbongo]

Look here...

www.fensport.com (Peterborough) already supply them to the UK for 4500. (Parts->select the Celica ZZT231->Engine Tuning) Then scroll to the bottom.

It's the same engine although I think the Lotus ECU is different. Fensport specialise in Toyota tuning.

[bogie]

yeah - but have you seen the size of the supercharger? - I spoke to Turbo Technics about this whilst I was there - ...they are familiar with the JDM kits as they supply some of the superchargers. It wont fit in the Elise engine bay. And as you can see it requres a large chargecooler rad - this is a front clam off job and more dosh - then you'll want a couple of oil coolers etc (if you didnt get that option)

I reckon you are gonna be looking at £6-8K on top of an Elise/Exige price IF Lotus Motorsport offer it - very much doubt it will be a 'factory' car due to emissions/SVA regs etc

Lotus wont bolt you a 135 head on for £1-2K...let alone 50bhp with a blower

[umbongo]

agree - but I think it will fit in an exige engine bay.

even if it was an easy install I'd expect the installation and tuning costs to be close to the original purchase price of the kit and of course you'll lose you warranty on the spot.

to be honest I'm starting to think it's not worth waiting as Lotus would be fools to bring it out within 12months of the original coming out as it would simply stop all N/A Exige sales dead (like the VXT appears to be doing to the VX).

the question still remains from the top of this thread though - has anyone bought one of the bloody things - dealers are telling me that they are selling quickly (well as quick as they can get them) but I've not seen a single post by anyone saying they've taken the plunge.

[bogie]

not on here - a couple of guys over on SELOC have picked them up recently

[shakman]

B&C said they couldn't get any until at least October. Make that what you may.

Personally, disappointed with the car. Fab looks, great handling, good improvements here and there, but just didn't feel all that quick (on the road). Needs another 50BHP and a decent sounding exhaust and air filter and all for the same money! Okay ... we can all dream.