The Lotus Exige S gets 218 HP out of its 1.8 liter
inline-4. Its 121.4 bhp per liter makes it one of the most powerful
production cars in the world for its engine size. That much power in a
car that only weighs 2057 lbs. results in a 0-60MPH time of 4.1 seconds with
100 MPH coming at 9.98 seconds. Top speed is estimated to be 148 MPH.
Lotus believes that there is no car on sale anywhere in the world that has
such good performance combined with such good fuel economy.
The heart of the Lotus Exige S is a Roots-type
supercharger and air to air intercooler attached to the tried and tested
4-cylinder, 1.8 liter 2ZZ-GE VVTL-i engine. Using a development of the
supercharger and intercooler package developed first for the already
legendary Lotus Sport Exige 240R, the Exige S has peak power of 218 bhp at
7,800 rpm, 158.6 lb-ft of torque at 5,500 rpm (but 80% is produced at just
over 2000 rpm). Maximum engine speed is 8,000 rpm (8,500 rpm transient for
up to 2 seconds). 218 bhp is the figure that has been achieved by Lotus
Engineers whilst retaining full vehicle type approval for the markets in
which it is sold. Unfortunately Lotus does plan to bring it to the
U.S.
