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KC Hill
Craig Hill
Oracle of DelphiLotus Exige
February 5th 2008 17:23
The Lotus Exige (pronounced: ex-seej) is a two-door, two-seat sports car made by Lotus Cars. It is essentially a coupe version of the Lotus Elise, which is a roadster.
The original Exige (NA or naturally aspirated Exige) was launched in 2000 and had a 1.8 L Rover K Series engine. It produced 170 bhp in standard form and 190 bhp (142 kW) in the VHPD version. Compared to the Elise, it had wider wheel arches, a front splitter, a large rear spoiler and a fiberglass roof.
In 2004, the Series 2 Exige was introduced. It features a 1.8 L 16-valve DOHC Toyota/Yamaha engine that produces 189 bhp with the Toyota engine designation of 2ZZ-GE. Compared to the Series 2 Elise, it has a front splitter, fiberglass hardtop roof with roof scoop, rear engine cover, and rear spoiler. The sole purpose of these aerodynamic additions to the base Elise is to create more downforce (100 lb of downforce at 100 mph (160 km/h) in the Exige versus 13 lb at 100 mph (160 km/h) in the Elise).
In February 2005, Lotus announced a limited production run of 50 Exiges, using the Toyota engine with a supercharger, that increases the power output to 243 bhp. These vehicles were only available in yellow or black, representing the colors of Lotus Sport, and are badged 240R. They have a projected 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h) time of 3.9 seconds and 0-100 mph (0-160 km/h) of 9.9 seconds, with a top speed of 155 mph (249 km/h) at a cost of £44,000.00 (approximately $76,500.00 or €65,000.00).
The North American Exige was unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January 2006. In February 2006, Lotus announced the Exige S model which used a supercharged Toyota engine producing 218 bhp. The S was also made available in North American markets as a 2007 model.
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