Congratulations! Any pics?

 

My buddy took one, will have to figure out how to get it on here. Evidently only 26 came into the US in 09. It is Ardent Red, 1 of only 4 made for the US in 09 and the last one made in that color per Lotus.

It came from the factory with Ohlins suspension, adjustable front roll bar, and a carbon roof, carbon trunk, some front panels in carbon, door sills, dash, etc. all in carbon fiber. Supposedly 09-10 were the lightest years made? The wing is carbon too, but I like the wing better on the 10-11 Final Editions.

 

Welcome to LT Rob! Congrats on your Exige S260 purchase! In the upper right are three dots. Click on them then head to FAQ and you'll get your questions answered on getting photos up.

 

You have a very special car indeed.
for '09 Lotus brought the 26 S260 cars into North America, which you have one of.
Then in '10 they changed the clams and wing. They brought 27 S260s with the carbon fiber bits into North America. Due to difficulty in getting the carbon parts they built the Final Edition, Roger Becker and Matte editions, but they came without the lightweight carbon fiber parts.
2011 cars were made from left over 2010 parts, but with 2011 VINs. Only 3 S260 cars were brought over (not counting the special edition cars mentioned above).
Lotus Sport was a different company that built the Lotus Cup cars. It was Arnie Johnson, who was instrumental in bringing Lotus to the US, who added the 'Sport' title to further distinguish our cars from the S240 variant.

 

You have a very special car indeed.
for '09 Lotus brought the 26 S260 cars into North America, which you have one of.
Then in '10 they changed the clams and wing. They brought 27 S260s with the carbon fiber bits into North America. Due to difficulty in getting the carbon parts they built the Final Edition, Roger Becker and Matte editions, but they came without the lightweight carbon fiber parts.
2011 cars were made from left over 2010 parts, but with 2011 VINs. Only 3 S260 cars were brought over (not counting the special edition cars mentioned above).
Lotus Sport was a different company that built the Lotus Cup cars. It was Arnie Johnson, who was instrumental in bringing Lotus to the US, who added the 'Sport' title to further distinguish our cars from the S240 variant.

Another reason the SPORT label was used is because Lotus previously registered the CUP name in North America for the track, non-street legal version (CUP 240, CUP 255).

 

I personally like the rear wing that you have and the only s260s I could find were later ones so I went with an S240.
Congrats and hope to see you around as I am in San Diego. We have a nice number of Exige/Elise here.
Joel

 

Nice. pics or didn't happen

 

Nice pick up. That is by far my favorite year/model of the Exige (including S1's and S3's!).

 

=D

 

The guy on the right was the previous owner, I'm in the back, and my best friend is the guy taking the selfie. My best friend and I bought it together. We have been friends since 89/90, when he hooked me up with sponsorship at Mission Yamaha to road race motorcycles.

We have raced karts together, ridden motorcycles for years, and our boys raced motorcycles together.

@JoelCool thank you for the additional information. I know some about these, but have more to learn. I was first introduced to Lotus when my dad autocrossed a 73 914 and one of his friends was smoking everyone with a Isotope Green Europa....guessing on color, it was that bright green and his nickname was frog.

Couple years later dad bought a blue 73 Lotus Europa twin cam special and he let me drive it as a kid. I really liked that car, and granted I was younger, but it was easier to slide into versus the Exige.

 

View attachment 1323599

The guy on the right was the previous owner, I'm in the back, and my best friend is the guy taking the selfie. My best friend and I bought it together. We have been friends since 89/90, when he hooked me up with sponsorship at Mission Yamaha to road race motorcycles.

We have raced karts together, ridden motorcycles for years, and our boys raced motorcycles together.

@JoelCool thank you for the additional information. I know some about these, but have more to learn. I was first introduced to Lotus when my dad autocrossed a 73 914 and one of his friends was smoking everyone with a Isotope Green Europa....guessing on color, it was that bright green and his nickname was frog.

Couple years later dad bought a blue 73 Lotus Europa twin cam special and he let me drive it as a kid. I really liked that car, and granted I was younger, but it was easier to slide into versus the Exige.

Beautiful looking car!

 

Also got this for my birthday this past weekend My first drive in the Exige and a Lotus shirt all in the same day. Woo Hoo!!!

 

Definitely a beautiful car. Hope to see you around. I used to road race as well at Willow Springs and a bit around the country.

 

Thank you, I'm really happy so far. Where do you live now? I'm in Mission Viejo. I see you have an Europa too. I haven't driven one since I was about 20 in 1984, I know it is slower than the Exige, but how does the handling compare?

Thank you to everyone for the positive comments.

Finally got the car I've wanted for a very long time. Long story, semi short.

• In 03-04 I put a deposit down at the LA Auto Show on the new Lotus Elise that was coming to America.
• Sold my 97 Viper in early 05 getting ready for the Lotus to come.
• I had been looking to buy a business since 2000, and after a few that didn't pan out, finally bought a forklift business in Aug 2005.
• Fall 05 get the word from Lotus to come pick out my options. I passed, since I had just closed on the business and used the Viper/Lotus money to help with the down payment.
• Racing/Dance/08 Recession/College/Wedding for my daughter took the money for the past 17 years
• Finally bought a 09 Lotus Exige S260 Sport with 22K miles.

 

Welcome to the 2009 S-260 Sport club! Have had mine since 2015 and my heirs will be selling it for me. Currently enjoying Log in W. VA. You will have to attend one of these to get a full Lotus (in general) and Exige (in particular) learning and sharing experience!

For me, every ride is an event, and a unique driving experience!

Enjoy!

 

Rob, great story. Your patience in taking care of your family first was rewarded with getting one of most bad ass versions of the 111 chassis.

Though you have an Exige, I find these cars are a lot less tin can noisy with the top off. I'm not familiar with the Ohlins on the S260s, but with other aftermarket shocks like Penske or Nitron, these cars can be made relatively comfortable in ride by setting the shocks to softer setting.

 

Yea, it seems that everyone has a hot street setup for the Penske, Nitron and JRI. I remember seeing the red S260 Sport like mine that a doctor owned, and Shinoo sold it for 69K with 99K miles, if I remember correctly. Anyway, I believe that one had Nitron suspension. It's funny, I came out of the motorcycle road racing world and Ohlins are usually considered the best. My son raced on Penske and Nitron before, but usually liked the Ohlins or K-Tech the best?

I don't really feel like spending all the money to try and re-valve and re-spring, multiple times, if someone else already has the specs that work on these factory Ohlins?

I may try to remove the top at some point, as that would easy getting in and out as well, although after watching the video of the fat guys guide to getting in and out of a Lotus Elise, it is much easier. LOL

 

Congrats, enjoy.

 

nice car enjoy it

 

LOG in WV was amazing...

 

@eldonz , thank you for the offer. I sent you a PM.

 

I figured I should update this, now that @6TVRs+ brought it back to my attention. After about 12-18 months, I removed the Ohlins and had them rebuilt. @eldonz was kind enough to share some setup info, but it was for racing. I know I won’t race this car, and probably won’t even track it. For me, a go kart or motorcycle are a much cheaper way to enjoy the track and possibly more exciting. I’ve always had the opinion, the race vehicle may come back completely destroyed, and can I live with that?

I would be very upset if I went off track and scraped up the aluminum floor, let alone damaged some paint, and financially don’t want to write off a 80-125k car.

The rebuilder, replaced the seals, one shock had leaked some of the oil out. He replaced the oil, Nitrogen, and set it in the mid range on the different clickers. What a huge difference in feel. It sounded better, had better bump compliance. Previously, several times while accelerating and catching a bump, the front end would dance back and forth. On a motorcycle, that is called a tank slapper. Not sure what cars guys call that? That completely went away. Plus it seems quieter, with proper working suspension.

Just earlier this year, I took the advice of @Crisandres and @Vantage and removed the top. Surprisingly that does make it quieter too. However, it is now so much better with the rebuilt coil overs, I prefer to leave the roof on, since I like that look much better.