This 2008 Lotus Exige S Club Racer Is a Mini McLaren 765LT Worth 2024 Porsche 718 Money

It’s the Series 2 we’ll be discussing today, specifically the Exige S, which made its debut back in 2006 when it was also made available to the North American market.

Trust me when I say that sports cars don’t get much nimbler than this. According to the British carmaker, the Series 2 Exige S weighed just 2,057 lbs (933 kg), and with the help of its Toyota-supplied supercharged 1.8L VVTL-i engine, it could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.1 seconds. That engine was rated at 220 horsepower and 165 lb-ft of torque, sending everything to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox.

What you’re looking at here is a 2008 Club Racer example with 18,000 miles on the clock. It was recently auctioned off for $81,000, and if its new owner is somebody who spends a lot of time on the race track, then this was probably worth every penny – it's pretty much what you’d otherwise spend on a 2024 Porsche 718 Cayman S.

It makes for an interesting conundrum. A brand-new Cayman S or a used 2008 Exige S? They’re somewhat similar in their purpose, but make no mistake, the Lotus is a much more focused vehicle when it comes to handling, even though the Cayman is no slouch. To me, the best way you can think of the Exige S is kind of like a tiny McLaren 765LT. Certainly not as fast or as powerful as the latter, yet somehow cut from the same cloth.

Anyway, here are bunch of visual highlights that one might really appreciate on this Exige S (one of just 25 Club Racer specs for the 2008MY, by the way): the gorgeous Le Mans Blue exterior with Phantom Black stripes, removable roof panel with functional air intake, a fixed rear wing, and staggered seven-spoke alloy wheels with Yokohama Advan tires and AP Racing four-piston calipers.

Inside, you’ll find black leather and microfiber single-piece ProBax seats, faux carbon trim, aftermarket six-point harness for the driver, an Alpine head unit, push-button ignition, air conditioning, power windows, Lotus-branded shift knob, and a MOMO steering wheel with perforated accents.

As for that 1.8-liter supercharged Toyota engine, the cover trim was painted to match the exterior of the vehicle. It also packs a few mods, such as the Pro Alloy charge cooler kit, an aftermarket oil catch can, and a cat-back exhaust system. This is what I call a sweet ride.