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Cut two seconds from the quarter-mile time of your 2001 Nissan Sentra SE. Lightness is key. (Via Jim U.) Speaking of lightness, last week I drove (briefly) a Lotus Exige:
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Zero to 60mph in just over four seconds, using only a naturally-aspirated Toyota four-pot. Cost in Australia runs to around $140,000; you pay for what you don’t get, meaning mass. There’s barely any padding inside, much less luxury. The Exige is such a racer it felt weird driving it without a helmet, given all the aural and tactile racer stimuli. I’d post a longer review, but I don’t think I even got the brakes up to temperature, let alone the tyres.

Smallest steering wheel I’ve ever used, by the way. About a hand-span wide. Due to the fantastic lightness, however, no power-assist is needed.

Posted by Tim B. on 02/23/2007 at 01:28 PM

  1. Drools.

    Stands in awe of Mr. Blair.

    more drool.

    Posted by rbj1 on 2007 02 23 at 01:51 PM • permalink

  2. I love the bit about the Aussies fighting naked. Obviously that must be something that was lost in the translation from Arabic. I tried to find out more about it, but Jules only has the original quote. Can any of you gobbers enlighten me?

    Posted by CraigC on 2007 02 23 at 02:25 PM • permalink

  3. Whoops, wrong thread.

    Posted by CraigC on 2007 02 23 at 02:26 PM • permalink

  4. I guess so.

    Posted by Spiny Norman on 2007 02 23 at 02:30 PM • permalink

  5. Oh, sure, Tim, rub our noses in it….  Bad enough you Oz’s have to prove we can’t even build a decent performance car any more (Pontiac/Holden), but then YOU have to go off into the wind with your <strike>Opel</strike> Lotus (sniffle)....

    Posted by Challeron on 2007 02 23 at 02:33 PM • permalink

  6. I got wood.

    Posted by Dave S. on 2007 02 23 at 02:35 PM • permalink

  7. Al Gore should buy me one.  It’s light, so it must get good fuel economy.  Much more reasonable than jetting around the world and causing snowstorms, I say.

    Posted by MarkD on 2007 02 23 at 02:57 PM • permalink

  8. Damn thing even looks light, just sitting there. Colin Chapman said the perfect race car would disintegrate as it crossed the finish line.

    Posted by Latino on 2007 02 23 at 04:07 PM • permalink

  9. I popped a chubby, too, Dave. 

    Sweet ride.

    Posted by R C Dean on 2007 02 23 at 04:36 PM • permalink

  10. given that the company i work for is located in Silicon Valley, i occasionally see an Exige on the road.  the first time i saw one, i nearly ran off the road.  that is the first new car design in years and years to make me go “what IS that? i WANT one.”

    Posted by dub kitty on 2007 02 23 at 05:11 PM • permalink

  11. Hmmm…the Exige no doubt uses lots of carbon fiber in it’s construction. If carbon is tied up in carbon fiber, then it can’t be a part of that demon CO².

    Stop Global Heating…..buy a Lotus Exige!!

    Posted by rinardman on 2007 02 23 at 06:15 PM • permalink

  12. Ooooohhhh, Daddy LIIIIKE!!

    The color combo with the black accents makes it look like some poisonous winged insect.  Maybe they should call it the “Hilary” instead?

    Posted by Tex Lovera on 2007 02 23 at 08:13 PM • permalink

  13. Good Lord!
      I just passed one of these things on GA400 while driving off to Wally Word. It was brand new as it still had a 30-day tag on it.  It wasn’t that cool yellow though.
      And yes I passed it in my six year old Sport Trac.  In near rush hour traffic, the driver was definitely driving defensibly. Why he had it on that road at that time, I’ll never know.

    Posted by gajim on 2007 02 23 at 08:50 PM • permalink

  14. My brother’s got one of those. you gotta love a car that comes with an instructional video of how to get inside it. Heh

    Posted by Tex on 2007 02 23 at 08:56 PM • permalink

  15. I love these Lotus’ however a mate of mine was going to buy one. He says that travelling in one for more than 30 mins does a job on your back and rump. I would love to have one that is for sure but not in that heinous colour.

    Posted by Andrew Ian Dodge on 2007 02 23 at 09:17 PM • permalink

  16. I wish it weren’t yellow. I don’t like yellow. Otherwise, nice car.

    Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2007 02 23 at 10:45 PM • permalink

  17. Is that a Godzilla handle on the back? The Puerto Ricans here weld them onto the back of their ‘92 Nissan Sentras.

    Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2007 02 23 at 10:46 PM • permalink

  18. Bear in mind that this car weighs about 700 kilos and that Tim isn’t very tall.

    Posted by AussieJim on 2007 02 23 at 10:57 PM • permalink

  19. #17 Andrea

    Is that a Godzilla handle on the back? The Puerto Ricans here weld them onto the back of their ‘92 Nissan Sentras.

    Godzilla handle? LOL!

    Here in Caleeforneeah, all the idiot kids bolt them (too lazy for welding, I guess) onto anything with wheels. Yes, I’ve even seen one on a lard-ass Chevy Caprice.

    Posted by Spiny Norman on 2007 02 24 at 01:46 AM • permalink

  20. Pretty swish for a Mullahmobile- does the thing come with a power source in the boot, and a link to the mobile phone holder so it’s easier to wire up the C4 and nitopril?

    BTW- I once drove a Proton (I think it was a Sigma built under licence) from Kuala Lumpur to Malacca- what a fucking horror! It had a terminal shimmy over 105kph, every seal leaked (which I found out durinf a monsoonal downpour, which also resulted in the wipers burning out) and it had the acceleration of a Prius in a tarpit, and the handling characteristics of a Mexican watermelon truck. I hope they build Colin Chapmans babies a bit better, but certainly quality control was never a Lotus strongpoint- the Elan I had used to drop bits regularly, and everyone else I’ve known wh’s had one has had similar experiences- ditto for Ferraris, but you have to expect that from something built by pasta benders.

    Posted by Habib on 2007 02 24 at 02:27 AM • permalink

  21. That sexy Lotus looks like the bastard child of a Farrari F-40 and a Volkswagon Beetle.

    Posted by monkeyfan on 2007 02 24 at 11:06 AM • permalink

  22. 16 Andrea:

    I wish it weren’t yellow

    One of us needs a new monitor; it looks orange to me.

    Lotus Yellow, which is a day-glo sort of color, makes the car look like a bass fishing lure….

    Posted by Challeron on 2007 02 24 at 03:24 PM • permalink

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