Exige s2

Author
Discussion

highflyer

Original Poster:

1,898 posts

231 months

Wednesday 23rd January 2013
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Hi Guys I have a budget of £35k and am looking at an Exige S2 2010 shape, is there anything I can expect or need to look out for ? probably the wrong forum to ask but given my budget is there anything else I should consider, thanks

Thorburn

2,406 posts

198 months

Wednesday 23rd January 2013
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£35k should be more than enough to get one of the last S2 Exiges, something like an RGB Edition or Cup 260 depending if you are more interested in road or track use.

Worth asking up on SELOC as quite a few S2 owners on there.

highflyer

Original Poster:

1,898 posts

231 months

Thursday 24th January 2013
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thanks for the reply, it will be for road use

zasker

565 posts

209 months

Thursday 24th January 2013
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If it is for road use then as Thorburn says for that money you will be able to get either an RGB or a very high spec run out model.

SCEL1SE

307 posts

195 months

Thursday 24th January 2013
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The RGB and Cup within that price Range, should be a low miler to at that price.
However, 260bhp which these cars have, is to quick for the Road in my Opinion. You cannot get full useage of the power, comparing if you had it on track.
I'd stick to either a cheaper S2 Exige, or opt for a nearly new Super Charged Elise!! Can pick up Near enough brand new for 35k. However, you maynot like the Elise.

Thorburn

2,406 posts

198 months

Thursday 24th January 2013
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As a road car I prefer the Elise - as above you could look at a 2012 Elise S for that money which is a lovely car with the added bonus of a couple years of warranty.

highflyer

Original Poster:

1,898 posts

231 months

Thursday 24th January 2013
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I had an 05 111s Elise in titanium with red leather trim, took it to France for a fortnight was a lovely trip but to be honest it didn't really float my boat, thought I may try an Exige prefer the new shape though, cant really think of anything else other than an Atom but the wife wouldn't agree to that,
ps why a supercharged Elise and not an Exige ?

JACK6284

333 posts

228 months

Friday 25th January 2013
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Like you I have had the S2 111s, I also had the same car with a Honda conversion. Iliked them both. I also had a S2 N/A Exige and enyoyed that too.

This is a great version of the Exige and well worth the effort of finding one.I drove one, exactly the same at Lipscomb Lotus and it was a superb car (260ps)

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...

highflyer

Original Poster:

1,898 posts

231 months

Friday 25th January 2013
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Hi Jack out of the 3 cars which one would you have again and why ?

JACK6284

333 posts

228 months

Friday 25th January 2013
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I will have another Lotus and probably an Elise. If you like the softtop facility and enjoy driving fast then a Honda powered Elise is just fantastic.My car was owned by the same guy from new and he had bought it from Motorway Sportscars, Canterbury. This was the original S2 111S engined car. They lost the lotus franchise and so he took it to Maidstone Sports Cars for its 18k service. They lent him a Honda powered car while his was being serviced! A month after having the K series car serviced MSC transformed it into the Honda version with receipts for around £13k.£3k of which was for brakes and other upgrades.

From the outside the car looked standard S2 Elise. At around 800kg with 189bhp(at the hubs) it was very fast. It was also possible to add a supercharger and go to around 300bhp. Yet, the mpg remained mid thirties. I dont know what the top speed was but the acceleration from 0-100 was fantastic.Imagine your original K series engine with a smooth "Step" from around 4,250 to off the rev counter still pulling like a train all the way to 8,500+ and I promise you the smile on your face needs to be surgically removed.

My car was sold to a guy in France and I believe he still owns it. (Hi Damien)

RobM77

35,349 posts

239 months

Monday 28th January 2013
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If it helps at all I sold my Elise in November and was hoping to trade it in for an Exige. When it came to the test drives though, I found that in the confines of the public road at least, the drive of the Elise was very similar to that of the Exige. The Exige was a bit more focused, but nowhere near enough to warrant the trade in. The refinement and experience of being in the car was also very similar - a case of the more track focused looks of the car deceiving me. If I was in your position I'd look at a good Elise SC - they drive beautifully, and is probably ultimate Elise over the car's long history. For your budget you're very near to affording a new one (my local Lotus dealer are listing them for £36k). Or of course, just find a lightly used example and pocket the change.

Incidentally, I ended up buying a 2-Eleven, which drives like I expected the Exige to, like a racing car for the road.

MarkExige250S

5 posts

150 months

Thursday 31st January 2013
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I've had 3 S2 Elises (2 K-series and 1 Audi engine converted) and I've just bought an S2 Exige. Its on Nitrons just like my last Elise. The drive (not talking power delivery) is very similar. The Exige feels a bit tighter, but that could be down to the fact mine has only done 24k miles where my Elise had done 3 times that.

In my opinion you buy the car you like the look of the most, the rest is either too similar to affect your decision or it can be addressed. Even the fact that you have a soft top on the Elise needn't be a deal breaker, you can take the roof off an Exige and even fit a soft top.

The reason I went for an Exige this time was:

  • I prefer the look, IMO they look more aggressive (wide clams, scooped roof, the engine cover)
  • They are a little more rare
  • I think they'll hold their value better
  • It feels like a step up from the Elise which I've done to death!
And if you're under 40 you're likely to start to see issues with getting insurance on an Elise, insurance risk models are starting to show the Elise as higher risk. This isn't the case for the Exige.

renmure

4,386 posts

229 months

Thursday 31st January 2013
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Go on, you know you want to wink


highflyer

Original Poster:

1,898 posts

231 months

Friday 22nd February 2013
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renmure awesome looking car
markexige250s like your comments I am now looking for 2010 Exige upwards (prefer the new front end and rear spoiler) being over 40 the insurance quotes are coming out quite reasonable thanks.