Exige S240 or S260
 

I am debating to trade in my 997tt for a S240 or limited S260 for track usage. Much less power but thought it would be a better toy for the track. Any feedbacks or experience?

For a track only car, I recommend the Lotus 2-11 otherwise the 260. However, the 240 is very easy to upgrade to 260hp

True the 240 can easily be a 260. The upside to the 260 is the CF access panels, side panels, dashboard, roof, hatchback plus standard AP brakes and accusump. The suede door panels/seats/cetner console are nice as well. The downside is they are 85K. Adding 260 components to a 240 would work if the price was right on a used 240. I have seat time with both cars and they are both great. My only complaint with the 260 is the rattles from dash and roof. (tight fit carbon) Both cars are great so it all depends on your budget.

Coming from a fellow Lotus owner (about to trade it in for a Porsche) go to www.lotustalk.com. Great group of posters there! Keep in mind the 2-11 has no roof so weather would be an issue. I would look for a used Exige 240 and mod it out for track use.

The S260 would be awesome on the track.

how funny, i am a Lotus owner too... In fact I have two... an Elise and an Exige. If you are looking for a track only car, i would imagine weather would be the least of my concerns

2-11
http://www.lotuscars.com/two_eleven.html

While I don't currently own two Lotus, I've owned 9 (3 Elise, N/A Exige, 07 Exige S currently, 2 S2 Europas, Europa Twin Cam, Turbo Esprit).

As several have said, the 260 is a bit lighter. While you can upgrade the power of a 240 to a 260, you won't have a 260. The 260 has a reinforced rear sub frame, nice touch if you're seriously tracking, and difficult if not impossible to retro fit on a 240. An upgrade in brakes, the accusump and a few other goodies.

240's are dropping in price, but there are fewer than 100 of them in the country (there are about 300 S220's, and about 300 N/A 06 Exige) so if 101 people want them, they will only depreciate so far.

Supposedly there are about 15 to 20 S260's in the country, and four or five of them are now in dealer's hands being sold as new but are the press cars. So while little mileage, they were hard miles. Still, their rarity and their being the ultimate street legal Lotus performance-wise means they still command a bit of a premium, and you can't be too picky about color.

I'd agree if you can afford and want a track-only car, and are serious about your tracking hobby, and have the coin, the 2-11 is the way to go. Just know that there is no way to talk your way into getting one registered in the US, should you ever be so inclined. Lotus requires an affadavit saying it will be for track use only.

No such problem with the S260, but be sure you get a street S260 and not one of the Cup Cars, as they cannot be street registered either.

I only pointed out that I had a Lotus was because the way the one guy wrote his post was like everyone elses opinion in here failed because he was a Lotus owner and we weren't...
I totally agree with the 240, it is cheaper and so easy to modify to be faster. It is always worthwhile to window shop at sector111 to get an idea of prices

If track only a 255 cup is hard to beat. The 2-11 is great but is an open car. If dual use a 260 cup would be the best choice or upgrade a exige s 220.

I dunno. The S240's are coming way down in price, not a whole lot more than the 220's.

The 240's come with the track pack, upgraded brakes, launch control, upgraded clutch, full roof scoop, bit more leather/alcantara in the interior as standard, and 20 hp out of the box.

I HAVE SEEN S220's with several track related upgrades in the mid 30's. If you could find a S240 in the low 40's I would agree.

Really? That's pretty amazing. I watch the market pretty closely, I've seen maybe one or two well worn S220's in the mid 30's, pretty lucky right now to find a good one at $37K, but can be done, most are still hovering very close to $40K, Yes , S240's have started to creep down into the mid, and in one case I've seen lower $40K range.

Next time you see a good S220 in mid $30K range, post up here!! It would be a great deal. Heck, while the N/A 06 Exiges can now be had for $30K and extreme cases for damaged/high mileage high $20's, many of them are still fetching mid/high $30K.

I would say that for now a mid $30K S220 is the very low range, and not the norm at all one would expect when going out shopping for one. A year from now, maybe. Perhaps over the winter.

I haven't been following the market since I bought my cup car in February. I was looking during the end of 2009 until the beginning of 2010 over the winter. The price point of $37K for a nice 2007 220S is probably more accurate than saying mid 30's though I did look at a nice one asking $34K which sold before I had a chance to make an offer. When I was looking the cheaper 240S's were going for $50-55K. I paid less than that for my mint 255 Cup Car with 1200 miles on the clock. If you could get a S240 in the mid to low $40's it would be a no brainer.

240 and chip it!

240 and drive it like you stole it

Just came across this deal on a 2007 exige s so I thought I would post it.

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f94/2007-exige-s-sale-88148/

Just saw this at the local dealer this weekend. Sounds like there aren't too many around. Not sure if it's a press car or not.

2009 Exige 260 S $77,705

It's at Lotus of Greenville, actually located on the Land Rover of Greenville lot.

A bit late to chime in but I went from a 08 997TT with a bunch of suspension work to 07 Exige S 220hp and I'm ecstatic about the switch.

The hp difference between 220 240 and 260 really is minor in the long run. More hp is nice, but the 260 will still be a relatively slow car especially compared to a turbo, and you will need to upgrade any of them to get any kind of real power down after 110mph.

Other than that the car is phenomenal. You can drive it at 9/10 or 10/10 and feel completely in control, and the less hp you have the more you have to push yourself for better lap times.

I was thinking of doing some major hp upgrades over the winter to get mine up to 300hp, but I'm going to try and hold off, keep my power low, which will force me to focus on braking.

I think the exige is a great platform to learn on. When you feel you've gotten all you could out of the car then its time to upgrade it, or trade it in for a dedicated race car, perhaps an Exige Cup or a 996 Cup.

I just purchased one of the few remaining 2009 260's (Ice White) on the market last month with approx 5K on the clock (press car). I've always wanted an Exige since my 05 Elise and just decided to go all the way. I'm aware that you can easily modify a 240 to similar hp figures and retrofit some of the carbon to the exterior, but really like the dry carbon interior/alcantara seats and door panels. It's rarity makes the car extra special as well :) Still no track days but the car its an abosolute blast on the street!

Pics! :)

Will post them ASAP! Going to take the car to Sector111 for some suspension upgrades first ;)

congrats on the new car.

ty :)

Here is a link to the pics with new suspension and exhaust

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f157/ice-white-exige-260-w-nitrons-larini-95337/

WOW that ice white is so nice. I Have been in a 240 in isotope green and it was an amazing machine. I would love to have an elise supercharged someday.

Not sure how this directly applies to your decision here, but I went from a 996TT to an 06' NA Exige.

In terms of on-track fun, it is hard to beat an Elise/Exige. I originally thought that my Exige needed more power, but honestly it was just fine with ~190 HP. My Turbo had ~500 whp, but I found the Exige to be a much more rewarding car on track. An S240 or 260 might be the perfect setup for you.

On the street it is a whole different story though, as I am sure you can imagine.

If you are going to use it mostly as a street car and occasional track car you made a great choice. Beautiful car!! Enjoy

I vote for a standard Elise, a perfect track tool.

there was a well built turbo Exige for sale in OR by a high end car dealer a few months back that looked insane. I believe they wanted $50K.

I think i have the info on it if you need it.

im interested in an elise for this summer and think the 2012's will be out and updated vs the 2011's. cant find any real info though. any ideas?

But it's only up 20 hp over the S240, the original question.

Also, for whatever reason, in the annual Lightening Lap feature car and driver does each year at VIR, the S260 lapped slower than both the S220 and S240. Sure, there are variables, but the fact with these cars is that the performance differences are negligable to the weekend warrior type of driver.