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The old and the new, a Lotus Elan and Exige, both with four-cylinder blocks. Will this tradition soon change in favour of a V6 configuration?...
A Lotus Exige test car with widened rear fenders (rudimentarily riveted
in place) has been spotted near the company’s Hethel factory, increasing
speculation concerning a possible new V6 powered derivative.
Plainly,
the supercharged Lotus Exige hardly lacks in terms of urge - it weighs
around 900kg, depending on specification, and has 163kW/215Nm. The
company’s very healthy balance sheet has allowed it to encourage
engineers to explore methods of upgrading the Exige with more power.
The
easiest way to boost power is simply transplanting the Evora’s
3.5l Toyota V6 engine, which boasts outputs of 225kW and 376Nm.
There is a mass penalty to consider with the 3.5l V6 engine, as it’s
sure to bloat the Exige V6 past the psychological 1 000kg mark.
Further
changes expected courtesy of the Exige’s new V6 engine transplant are
an increase in tracking width and a longer wheelbase.
Lotus has
been denying rumours of the V6 Exige for a while, yet trackday
enthusiast would seemingly prefer the naturally aspirated output
symmetry of the larger capacity engine to the current (more frantic)
blown four-cylinder 1.8l.
Admittedly the idea of increasing
engine sized and weight does grate against the Lotus design philosophy,
especially as the company’s cars boast some of the lowest
emission/performance ratios around. A change to V6 power, both in terms
of added mass and driving dynamics, might negatively alter the balance
of the Exige experience.
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