The supercharged 3.5-litre V6 Lotus Exige S has secured the top honour from evo magazine’s ‘Car of the Year’ test in 2012, coming joint first with the 720 hp Pagani Huayra hypercar from Italy, in what has become the toughest test in the industry.
Battling against nine opposing candidates to make the top six selection in a high octane shoot-out on road and track, and then taking on the giants in the final round on some of Scotland’s finest driving roads, the evo team clearly felt the spirit of the Exige S, and in turn waxed lyrical about its attributes. Lotus is incredibly proud of the 345 hp Exige S, and even though the calibre of this year’s competition was immense, it could not top Hethel’s sportscar. The Alpina B3 GT3, Toyota GT86, Mercedes C63 AMG Black Series, and Morgan 3 Wheeler were also entered, but were eliminated in the first round.
For the £53,850 Exige S to tie with the 6.0-litre £820,000 Pagani is a massive accolade and illustrates just what amazing value for fun the Lotus powerhouse delivers. The car weighs in at only 1176 kg, and is capable of reaching 62 mph from a standing start in just 4.0 seconds and boasts a power to weight ratio of 293bhp/ton, as well as 400 Nm/295 lb ft of torque (@ 4500rpm).
Fuel economy figures for the Exige S are mpg (l/100km): Urban 19.5 (14.5), Extra urban 37.2 (7.6), Combined 28.0 (10.1), whilst CO2 emissions come in at 236 g/km. For more information on the Lotus Exige S, visit www.lotuscars.com