Cherry Bomb Explosion: The Lotus Exige Experience
From the moment you lay eyes on the Lotus Exige S, you know you’re looking at something special.
This high-performance sports car was designed for speed, with a range of performance-focused features that provide an exhilarating driving experience on the track or winding roads. With its distinctive aerodynamic body design, minimalist dashboard, and racing-style bucket seats, the Lotus Exige offers unbeatable comfort and style. But what’s it like to own one of these rare and powerful machines? We had a chance to catch up with Keyser Oshea, the proud owner of a Lotus Exige S in Antigua for an exclusive interview. An island with just over 93,000 residents and few high-performance cars, Keyser broke down his octane signature for us.
“I love the fact that it is a rare car in the Caribbean” says Keyser. The Lotus Exige is made of materials that are not prone to corrosion, and living in a Caribbean climate such as Antigua that is definitely a plus. “Engine parts are easy to source and work on since they are on a Toyota 2zzge platform” explains Oshea.
“The car came as a standard Lotus Exige S” explains Keyser, with the 260hp performance package. The upgrades at time of article are as follows:
- Inokinetic racing TRANScables
- Titanium wheel studs and nuts
- 1zzge baffled oil pan
- 95A extreme full-solid innovative Mount kit
- KAVS aluminum upgraded supercharger pulley & larger alternator pulley
- Inokinetic catalytic converter delete pipe
- K&N billet oil filter & air filter, and a Radium billet coolant surge tank
- Inokinetic double core triple pass radiator
- New condenser
- Inokinetic silicone radiator hose kit and a Pro alloy aluminum top (a mount kit with high-quality SPAL Motorsports puller fans)
- YOKOHAMA ADVAN A048 Tires
- Quaife helical limited slip differential
- Clutch master 725 series twin disc full racing clutch with lightweight aluminum flywheel,
- Jack spaniard racing Billet Race Clutch & a Pedal Petal Stopper Plate.
- Replaced every metal bolt and nuts with stainless steel ones,
- All fluids are Valvoline racing fluids.
The Exige was then tuned from purchase to 270 HP, but unfortunately he hasn’t had the time to have it dynoed. Based on the combination of parts, he thinks the motor is capable of producing a modest 300 HP, especially with some additional fine tuning.
Being of European decent, we asked what is was like to own this car in Antigua. “I would say pretty amazing since I currently have the only one here. It gets a lot of unwanted attention most times, but the Exige is at home on our roads, and it loves leaning into the corners, and we have a lot of those!” says Oshea.
No car is without it’s challenges, an the Exige is no exception. So far, every challenge experienced was as expected. He researched the car in detail before purchasing, so he already knew the standard weak points and pitfalls.
“I’ve experienced challenges with the cooling system, the gear cables and the open differential, all of which I upgraded to the very best.” says Keyser
The Lotus is said to be reliable and fuel efficient by it’s owner, with great performance whenever you choose to drive it in a safe environment. After all, you can’t go wrong with a Toyota 2zzge engine, and yes I would recommend anyone with the capital to get one to simply drive or maintain for future thrills.
It’s a true driver’s car, and the value keeps appreciating, but the experience of owning and driving one is priceless!
The damp Saturday morning certainly didn’t stop this Exige from letting lose and having some fun in it’s new tropical habit. Yes it’s the only one on the island of Antigua, yes all the roads aren’t that great, yes parts may be hard to come by, yes it could be a pain to work on, but should that stop Keyser from hanging the tail out every time he gets? Well, you and I certainly don’t have a say in that now do we?
With every blip of the throttle and handling violent, this cherry bomb will be sure to explode. Hate it or love it, when the fuse is ignited, its’ thrills all around. What’s your Octane Signature?
