Lotus Ups Ante with New Supercharged Exige S

Lotus, the builder of some of the best handling car in the world, recently announced it would be replacing its recentlyintroduced Exige with an all-new supercharged version, to go on sale in the U.S. later this month. When it hits your local dealer youd better be sleight of hand if you plan on acquiring one as only 300 to 400 per year are expected for North American consumption, with about 10 percent expected to go north of the 49th parallel.

The first fifty cars will be fully-loaded examples painted in Storm Titanium (metallic gray), offset with black wheels and trim.

From behind its easy to see the differences between the Exige, and now Exige S and the more well recognized Elise, the big wing of the Exige S only drawing greater attention to its raked and vented engine shroud. Atop the roof, which can be removed in an identical fashion as the Elise if desired, is a functional air scoop that sends much needed wind to the Eaton-built Roots-type supercharger (contrary to bulletin board chatter, the blower isnt a TRD component). Altogether, the new Exige S puts out significantly more power and torque than either the Elise or last years naturally aspirated Exige, up 30 horsepower (16 percent) to 220 at 7,800 rpm and 27 lb-ft of torque (19 percent) to 165 at 6,500 rpm. More importantly, 80 percent of the new cars torque is available at 2,000 rpm, with 90 percent coming on at 3,500 rpm. This more than compensates for a slight increase in curb weight when compared to the Elise, from the latter cars 1,984 pounds to 2,015 lbs.

While 220 horsepower and 165 lb-ft of torque doesnt sound like all that much when compared to todays run of the mill family sedans, those cars weigh upwards of 3,500 lbs apiece. Keeping things light results in a 0 to 60 mph sprint of 4.1 seconds and a run to 100 in only 11.1 seconds, all while having the capability of returning thrifty fuel consumption of 23 mpg in the city, 29 on the highway and 25 combined, if driven more conservatively. On that note, the Exige S is also emissions tested to EPA Tier 2 and C-ARB LEV2/OBD2 levels, making it a clean supercar.

As mentioned, production numbers will remain low due to its hand-laid fiberglass body panels, while pricing will start at $56,990. Yes, youd better get in line.