This or a Z06?

[srivendel]

Group Lotus announced this week two track versions of its already performance-oriented Exige. Dubbed, the Exige Cup, the 2006 model-year cars feature a stouter clutch, sports exhaust, Ohlins springs and two-way adjustable dampers, uprated brakes, limited slip differential, switchable traction control, a roll bar with harness mounts, fuel and ignition kill switches and a built-in fire extinguisher system. A full FIA-approved 6-point rollcage is optional.

Two engine options are offered, the base Exige Cup getting the 189 hp, 1.8-liter VVTL-i engine, while the all-out Exige Cup 240 adds a supercharger and intercooler to the little 1.8-liter, good for 243 hp at 8,000 rpm [ Ed.]. Ready to light up your next SCCA Track Attack right out of the box! No word on U.S. price and availability.

I'll bet this thing will cost around $60k, which puts it in the same price class as a Porsche Cayman or a Z06 Vette. I wish I were in a position to make such a hard decision!

S.

[Titus]

... I swear I've been good!

[Kakkyo]

That Lotus Exige Cup (hardcore edition) with the supercharged 1.8 sounds mighty tasty.

It's more British refinement rather than American brute force... That's a hard choice when you mention the German options at that price range too.

[Treibenschnell]

To answer your first question: the Exige... in a heartbeat.

[onething]

Exige over the

[RX7-2nr]

need to see performance stats on the exige. thatd be pretty interesting.

[altiain]

I'd have to drive them all before I decided.

I liked the C6 Corvette I drove, but the ergonomics of the cockpit left a little bit to be desired. I also felt like the regular C6 already had way more power than grip - on the track at higher speeds this might not quite be the case, but this car was already desperately crying out for more grip. I'm sure the Z06 will be an even more extreme case. Driving either on the street would be an exersize in restraint, because there is nowhere that you could legally even use a quarter of their capability. I think driving a C6 Z06 on the street would feel like riding a thoroughbred race horse everywhere... at a trot.

On the other hand, the Exige Cup is a hardcore track car... but for that kind of money you could buy a Radical and run circles around the Exige on the track, if what you're after is a track-only car that seats two. The Exige Cup is just too compromised (to me, anyway) to serve as much of a street car.

Me, I'd probably take the Cayman. There's a car that going to be comfortable enough to drive cross country, sophisticated and refined enough to take the your significant other out for a night on the town, yet still more than capable of acquiting itself well at the race track - certainly it should lap pretty closely to the Exige Cup, although a C6 Z06 will walk away form it on a course with long enough straights.

Yeah, I'd take the Cayman, out of those three.

[Miatamoto]

That would be a really touch choice, but I'd probably want the supercharged Exige.

Altiain has a good point on the Cayman though. I'm a sucker for German cars.

[Sharpie]

I'd have to drive them all before I decided.

On the other hand, the Exige Cup is a hardcore track car... but for that kind of money you could buy a Radical and run circles around the Exige on the track, if what you're after is a track-only car that seats two.

A new engine for a Radical is only $10k. On the Open Track Challenge a few years ago, an independent had to buy an engine from the Radical team, and that was the price he was quoted.

[icepenguin66]

A new engine for a Radical is only $10k. On the Open Track Challenge a few years ago, an independent had to buy an engine from the Radical team, and that was the price he was quoted.

I thought they used a hayabusa engine? In which case, you can get a nice entire hayabusa for $4-7k.