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Supercharged Honda K24 Engine Makes This Lotus Exige a Proper Screamer

In production since 2000, the Exige first featured a 1.8-liter Rover four-cylinder engine. Lotus soon leveled up to Toyota powerplants, both free-breathing and supercharged mills. This fellow here, however, is a little bit more special.
Lotus Exige S2 with supercharged Honda K24 engine 6 photos
Photo: HillClimb Monsters on YouTube
Lotus Exige S2 with supercharged Honda K24 engine Lotus Exige S2 with supercharged Honda K24 engineLotus Exige S2 with supercharged Honda K24 engine Lotus Exige S2 with supercharged Honda K24 engineLotus Exige S2 with supercharged Honda K24 engine Lotus Exige S2 with supercharged Honda K24 engineLotus Exige S2 with supercharged Honda K24 engine Lotus Exige S2 with supercharged Honda K24 engineLotus Exige S2 with supercharged Honda K24 engine Lotus Exige S2 with supercharged Honda K24 engine
Uploaded on YouTube by the HillClimb Monsters channel, this 350-horsepower Exige S2 competed until 2016 in the hands of Piotr Soja. The midship sports car features a K24 from Honda, an engine that ran from 2001 to 2012 in models such as the CR-V, Accord Type-S, Odyssey minivan, Element, as well as the Acura TSX.

In its most potent application, the 2.4-liter developed 205 horsepower while the maximum torque rating achieved by Honda is 171 pound-feet of torque. Not bad for an aspirated engine, but a supercharging system can do better in every respect.

The widebody kit “developed over 5 years until its final form” is hiding an 800-kg curb weight, which is absolutely insane if you consider the power-to-weight ratio. “Although it hasn't competed now for quite some time, it is still a mighty impressive machine and a pretty unique one too,” said HillClimb Monsters.

For reference, the Exige Series 2 with the 1.8-liter Toyota engine is heavier than this one-of-a-kind build with a sequential transmission instead of a good ol’ H-pattern manual. The video further reveals how easy it is to carve corners with the K24-swapped Exige, which further boasts wider tires for a bit more grip as well.

At the present moment, the most over-the-top Exige in production is the Cup 430. From 3.5 liters of Toyota V6 and a supercharging kit, Lotus has extracted 430 horsepower and no fewer than 325 pound-feet of torque. On the downside – if you can call it that – the British sports car tips the scales at 1,093 kilograms (2,410 pounds) because it’s a street-legal model entitled to wear plates.

As expected of a lightweight machine, the Cup 430 doesn’t come with a stereo or air conditioning. Opting for those would also hike the price beyond 100,000 pounds sterling, which is a lot of money when you think about it.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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