Feather light, spine-tailed swift or a bale of cotton. The Lotus Exige is like a bike on four wheels-fast, furious and frantic. Following founder Colin Chapmin’s philosophy of ‘what is powerful is quick on the straights and what is light is quick everywhere’, they’ve brought out the Exige Cup 260, probably one of the last iterations of the Exige. The 2009 model year car has managed to shave off 12 kg from the frame thanks to the extensive use of carbon fibre, a lighter battery, lighter flywheel and a lightweight composite bulkhead panel. The dieting programme has even extended to mud flaps, interior mirrors, interior carpets and other superficial stuff. But what matters is what it can do on the straights. The 1800cc supercharged Toyota engine (same Corolla block as outs!) produces 257 bhp and 24 kgm of peak torque and fry Ferrari F430s it will. Zero to 100 kph comes up in just 4.1 seconds and top speed is just enough to keep company with a BMW 530i at top whack. Lotus says the car is aimed at those who spend time on track days or are into club racing and that it’s perfectly legal to drive one on the road and have your internals rearranged.