2006 Lotus Exige

You don't even have to see this car to understand its character; just check the features list — or, more accurately, what's absent from that list. No power steering. No power-seat adjustment. No power mirrors. No cruise control. No auto-dim inside mirror. No glove box. No map pockets. No automatic climate control. No cup holders, at least not as standard equipment.
Minimalism in a $52,000 car? What's up with that? No mystery, really. You don't see power mirrors, cruise control, cup holders, and such in race cars, and that's the essence of the Exige. It meets minimal standards for street use, but its main task is to deliver optimal performance on a racetrack or autocross course. That also applies to the Lotus Elise. So what do you get for the extra $8000?
In a sense, you get vaporware. Although the Exige and the Elise employ the same rigid frame and interior layout, they share almost no body panels. The only commonalities are the outer door skins and the rocker panels. Beyond that, every inch of the Exige's polymeric epidermis was sculpted to increase downward aero pressure, which builds in direct ratio to speed. The faster you go, the more the air presses the car onto the pavement, which magnifies its grip.
The main elements in the Exige's aero advantage are the front splitter and the big rear wing, and the payoff can be expressed on paper. According to Lotus wind-tunnel data, at 100 mph the Elise has 8.6 pounds of aero downforce at the front, 4.4 pounds at the rear. When the Exige is going the same speed, there are 42.5 pounds squashing down the front end and 48.2 pounds on the rear.
But those are just numbers. The practical effect is far more persuasive, particularly in fast corners. Where the Elise is balanced on a pinpoint, the Exige hunkers down and sticks to the track like quick-dry paint.
This does wonders for a driver's confidence, and it also makes for some surprising on-track results. Road Atlanta is a horsepower track, and we expected the Cayman's big edge in horsepower to translate into quicker lap times. And it did, although not by as much as we had anticipated. The difference was just 2.7 seconds, most of it bound up in the Cayman's superior speed down the long (0.8 mile) back straight. But the Exige was quicker in the twisty sections and handled directional changes as deftly as a ferret chasing a rat through a maze.