Lotus Exige
The hard-roof Elise that grew into a supercharged V6 weapon.
Where the nameplate started. The S1 Exige is essentially a hardtop, aero'd S1 Elise built in tiny numbers, powered by the high-output VHPD version of the Rover K-series — around 177 hp, highly strung, and hungry for revs. The roof and the wing are the point: more downforce, more track focus, and a coupe silhouette the Elise never had. It shares the bonded-aluminium tub and unassisted controls of its roadster sibling, so it's tiny, raw and demanding. The catch is the K-series — the VHPD is the most stressed version of an engine already infamous for head-gasket failure. Where it places: the cult origin point of the Exige line, rare enough that values track the early Elise specials.
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Very rare — only a few hundred S1 Exiges were built. The high-output VHPD K-series is highly strung and carries the K-series head-gasket (HGF) risk, so cooling and gasket history matter even more than usual.