Exige, the coupe version of the Elise, is now available in the US market. The tiny Exige features a composite body on an aluminum chassis and weighs in at about 2000 pounds. A Toyota 1.8-liter four cylinder tuned by Lotus is coupled to a 6-speed manual transmission. Lotus claims 0-60 times of 4.9 seconds. The Elise and Exige are very single-minded in purpose -- great for no-excuses driving performance, not necessarily as a daily drivers.

A new model the Exige S is offered in the US this year. The Exige S features a supercharged and intercooled version of the same 1.8L Toyota engine found in the base model. Power increases to 220hp and torque increases to 165 ft-lbs.