Quick Spin
WHAT IS IT?
An Americanized version of the Euro-market Lotus Exige Cup 260 and, as such, the most powerful version of the diminutive two-seater that Lotus sells in the U.S. It’s also one of the most intense sports cars you can buy at any price. Bite-sized and featherweight, the Exige S 260 Sport features a supercharged 257-hp version out back of Toyota’s 1.8-liter four-pot, and with no rear window, one-piece racing seats, and door sills as wide as the Great Plains, it is blatantly disinterested in accommodating anything other than two passengers in its cramped, noisy, spartan cabin. Those with back problems will have a horrendous time getting inside, and those same problems will only be made worse after being jostled around for a few miles. But honestly, comfort is soooo not the point of this limited-run Exige. Our scrumptious pearl-white tester was the first of 50 built for the purpose of homologation for numerous U.S. racing events. The track is where this car belongs.
HOW DOES IT DRIVE?
Unfortunately, the track is the only place we didn’t get to take the S 260 Sport during its four-day stay with us in Los Angeles. We did, however, burn through two tanks of fuel (it has only a nine-gallon tank) taking it to the grocery store, Laundromat, and gym and on several high-octane blasts up and down Mulholland Drive—you know, all the stuff single guys do in L.A. We even shot down to San Diego and back, perched atop a pillow the whole time. Yes, it hurts. But it was an absolute riot. For passersby—who are barely visible out the mail-slot windows—and for our hapless passengers—who sort of knew what to expect by looking at it but were nonetheless rendered stupid by the violence with which this car tears up the street—the S 260 Sport provided a lifetime of memories in just 416 logged miles. We got used to the twitchy, unassisted steering that is virtually hard-wired to the driver’s cerebral cortex. We got used to a level of stereo infidelity rivaled only by ham radios. We got used to the symphony of rattling carbon-fiber interior panels. We got used to the funky power door locks that we mostly had to operate from the outside. We got used to the three-step starting procedure. We even got used to asking for help to back it up. We’re not sure, however, that we’ll get used to life without it.
HOW DOES IT STACK UP?
It’s hard to come up with a competitive set for the Exige, let alone the S 260 Sport, but perhaps the Honda S2000 CR on the low end or the Porsche Cayman S. The BMW M coupe would have qualified, too, but BMW doesn’t make that anymore. In any case, it’s safe to say that the real competition to the S 260 Sport will be found only on the track.
WHAT’S THE COST?
The 2009 Exige S 260 Sport costs $76,120, and the white paint on our tester added $3300. Given that eye-popping total, it’s no surprise there are several of the original 50 units available in dealer inventory. As for additional production in the future? We’ll quote Lotus’s PR chief, Kevin Smith: “At this point, we have no plans yet to do a new 2010 version of the S 260 Sport for the street, and we currently have no plans for a Cup 260 for North America because we’re still promoting the 2-Eleven as our track-only car in North America. That’s not to say that if someone had to have a Cup 260 we couldn’t build one for him.”
