"Following the new Exige on Thursday I noticed that everytime it hits a bump, the whole rear wing wobbles and flexes.
“The wing flexes on the engine cover quite easily in fact, and then the engine cover itself flexes…
By the time it reaches the chassis it generates a lot less downforce than the old car.
The wing is probably the bit of the car I liked least.”
Well there you have it.
Big selling point for the S1, i.e. it’s actually got a stiff rear wing, which is kind of essential don’t you think?
If the wing is flexing then the angle of attack will reduce as the speed rising (or when you go over bumps) which is not too great as it would make the handling inconsistent.
I have been rather outspoken in my criticism of the concept of the S2.
I am sure it drives fantastically well and is a good all round Lotus car. I hope to have a test drive in the near future and I know I will be impressed with the handling etc, from what others who have driven it have said.
What I find a little disheartening is that the car appears to be an Exige in name only.
When Lotus launched the original Exige and 340R, these were uncompromising track cars far removed from the more standard Elise versions.
This new car, by fairly common consent, is an “S2 coupe” and, as such, represents something of a dumbing down in Lotus design standards.
I had long suspected that the design of the rear wing was
suspect, from the point of view of stiffness and it seems I may have been right.
Even if it doesn’t produce much downforce I doubt that removing the wing will reduce laptimes as it would probably upset the aero balance of the car which is more important than outright downforce or drag. I imagine that fitting proper wing mounts would improve things though.