Green Cars Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel driven By Jesse Crosse First drive 28 April 2008 10:16 At 270bhp, this is the most powerful Exige Lotus has ever built yet it is also one of the most environmentally friendly. The Exige 270E Tri-Fuel, to give it its full title, has been produced by research engineers at Lotus Engineering to demonstrate how straightforward it can be to develop high performance carbon neutral vehicles using sustainable liquid fuel. The 270E can run on either petrol, ethanol or methanol or a blend of all three if necessary. It forms part of a research program looking into the technicalities associated with burning mixtures of petrol and alcohol fuels and since the Exige is already supercharged, also dovetails neatly with the trend towards downsizing by using smaller capacity boosted engines to improve efficiency. A green Lotus Exige? How can that be any fun? Oh, it’s fun. On Lotus’s southern test track the Exige quickly demonstrated just how potent it is. Cruising at low throttle openings the engine sounds quite innocuous, although because it’s close-by behind the seats a few unfamiliar noises like the clicking of injectors circulate freely around the cabin. But squeeze the throttle hard and the Toyota-Yamaha engine swiftly delivers a fierce punch in the back, the buzz of the supercharger increasing in volume along with a rush of intake air as the Exige pelts towards the horizon at a blistering rate. It’s proper race car stuff. Short-shift gear stick, six closely-spaced gear ratios, hugely powerful AP Racing brakes, a steering wheel kicking gently in the hands and lots of noise. The Exige’s huge grip and near perfect balance complete an intoxicating package. Click Thumbnails to Enlarge * * Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel: rear three-quarter photo * Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel: engine photo * Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel: interior photo * Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel: side photo * Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel: badge photo Need to know CAR's rating rating is 5 Handling rating is 5 Performance rating is 5 Usability rating is 3 Feelgood factor rating is 5 Readers' rating rating is 5 Statistics On sale in the UK: Five years, hopefully Engine: 1796cc 4-cyl 16V supercharged, 270bhp @ 8000rpm, 184lb ft @ 5,500rpm Transmission: Six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive Performance: 3.88sec 0-60mph, 158mph How heavy / made of? 930kg/steel How big (length/width/height in mm)? 3785/1850/1170

The new BMW M1 Hommage was a surprise debutant at the Concorso d’Eleganza 2008 di Villa d’Este this weekend. No prizes for guessing what it is: this is an official concept car to mark the 30th anniversary of the original M1 supercar. The Hommage is a clever reinterpretation of the 1978 coupe, bristling with echoes of the original. The low-slung coupe stance, the slatted deck where a rear window should be, those polished, sink-strainer alloy wheels - it's an unambiguously direct bloodline connected to BMW's first proper supercar. BMW M1 Hommage: not all retro Don't expect a Mini-style trip down memory lane. The M1 Hommage is brought bang up to date with the latest design trends: there's the (now compulsory on any sports car) rear diffuser, the usual lack of any visible door handles and typically tiny door mirrors. We like the BMW roundel sitting on the extremities of the rump though. No prizes for guessing that the M1 is not bound for production. Instead, it's a celebration pure and simple. Even the forthcoming 8-series coupe won't be quite this wedgy and wide. But we can't help wondering if there are some clues to a new evolution of the kidney grille in that broad, squat front end... A rare BMW surprise It's rare for a manufacturer, and especially BMW, to throw a complete surprise, but few outside Munich's HQ even knew this show car was coming. That's why we'll have to wait until later on Sunday for more details - the only information issued so far is in German. There's seemingly little technical detail in the German press release, but CAR Online is getting its multilingual friends to translate the words as you read this.