2006 Lotus Exige

Like a one-ton hornet, the Exige exploits its 10.6-pound/ horsepower figure to an uncanny degree. While it's no drag-racer (a still impressive 4.7 seconds to 60 mph), it'll corner at over 1.0 g and put a track lap together on par with many race cars. This is the kind of machine that doesn't make a lick of sense until you put a wheel on the track. Once you do, you'll come away with an appreciation of what Lotus is all about.

One might think a mid-engine car weighing within a Thanksgiving dinner of 2000 pounds and with what appears to be a 36-inch wheelbase would be a sneeze away from a spin. Not so. What a glance at its specs doesn't show is the fine-tuned suspension (the Elise's Sport package is standard on the Exige), non-assisted steering, and delayed-action ABS that combine to transmit the car's every move and intent to the driver. This car makes time where others must slow down to survive.

It's like piloting a feather: The Exige thrives on any corner it's presented and does so in a way that says, "You could've gone quicker through there--much quicker." Where the Exige outdoes even the most track-minded version of the Elise (upon which it's based) is with aerodynamic features that add just enough downforce (48 pounds rear; 42 front at 100 mph) to subdue a feeling of lightness and neutrality that doesn't promote confidence.

A front splitter, smooth undertray, recontoured body with a hard-but-removable roof, and rear wing do the trick. Despite their similar looks, only the doors are shared between the two Lotuses. While 90 pounds of pressure isn't a bunch, in a car this light it's enough to help a driver focus on and refine his precise braking zone, turn-in point, apex, and throttle roll-on.

When a company chooses to make adjustments to its car's pedal placement and resistance that result in millimeters of difference, you know it's got it as near to perfection as it can be. This is just one example of the numerous and subtle updates to the 2006-model-year Elise incorporated into the new-to-U.S. Exige. Looking like something costing twice the $51,860 price tag, the Exige takes the already dedicated Elise underpinnings to a higher level.