Some inside information:

"we have started to do some tuning staff for the Exige but we need the first car to finish it and fine tune it. Basically we want to receive 385-395hp in first step, later 410-430"

Believe me: this is true

Ingredients:
- Stainless steel reworked exhaust
- K&N sport airfilter
- engine management (combustion and injection)
- sports catalyzer (main one)

 

What a beautiful looking car! That's alot of car for that price point!

 

These things like interior fit and finish will be brought into the conversation once you mention it beats another car that has far superior fit and finish 'hands down.'

What you say in your second paragraph is exactly how most of us would describe the Lotus and from the looks of it this new one does all that fun stuff a lot better...It looks to be an amazing car...

Would I buy the Lotus over a GT3? No. The Lotus may come close or even outperform the the GT3 in certain performance categories but in every other variable the GT3 absolutely smokes it. That's why for the vast majority of people - the GT3 is "hands down" the better car.

"It's an effective engine -- it's not an engine like a GT3 that makes you think - Oh my God - I need to marry this car"
-Chris Harris

 

Depends how you are looking at it, or who. Depends also on what you want? For sure most people would choose Porsche, not any doubt, for different reasons.

From my side I had the feeling it is more "rewarding" and yes it is half the price !


Topgear:
Perhaps, then, we should think of it not as a Cayman rival but more as something to worry the track-focused 911s... a sort of junior GT3. It's just as much fun. And possibly even more rewarding. For half the price. Put it this way: if the last Exige was a training jet, this one's a Tornado. And there's nothing soft about that.

Of course, there's no power assistance - electro or otherwise - but it's almost spookily natural, and there really is nothing synthetic between your hands and the wheels. It's enough to make the new 911 feel a bit... dead.

 

As to the first paragraph - a "junior-GT3" doesn't sound like a GT3 destroyer. In regards to the second - what does the 991 have to do with the GT3? ...comparing the 991 (which is now basically a GT car) to the Lotus is even more Apples to Oranges...

 

Wait and see. I have both cars and can/will compare. Only....it will be rather March 2013 as in winter I am not gonna put this at a snowtrack

As said for my feeling it's a nicer car on roads, on track I THINK the GT3 is faster. But ok what's on track? Geo set up, suspension, tyres can make a big difference.

There are no track facts, so we have to wait for that conclusion. On the road, for me, I can agree that the Lotus is more "rewarding" and gives more joy for the driver. I am also pretty sure the Lotus is faster on that part .

 

Where I live -- driving to the point where you'd notice a difference between an Exige S and a GT3 would get you thrown in jail... Therefore; I'd prefer the nicer fit and finish, better looks, easier in and out, better engine noise, and higher status offered by the GT3 - YMMV.

 

i'm a huge fan of this car!