SPORTS car legend Lotus was out for business in the 2000s and one of its most breathtaking offerings was the Exige.

Make no mistake this was no soft sports car but a street racer par excellence.

And the Exige to go for was the ‘S' model which took the whole concept to the max.

Whereas some sports car manufacturers were trumpeting the fact that their cars were docile and could be used for a shopping trip, there was just no room for a trolleyful of goodies in this one.

Even if you put your groceries on the passenger seat, the 0-62mph zoom factor of 4.3 seconds and the heat from the engine roaring just behind the seat would curdle the milk and make the Bordeaux shaken and very stirred.

The original Exige was launched in 2000 with a naturally aspirated 1.8-litre very high performance derivative of the old Rover K Series engine.

It could hop along to 136mph, but the big surprise came in 2006 when the Exige S burst from the Norfolk factory.

This one used a supercharged 1.8 four-cylinder Toyota engine producing 220bhp which was well-suited to its six-speed close ratio gearbox with single plate dry clutch.

I drove one of these cars when they were getting into the UK's Lotus showrooms and it proved itself to be a performance cars with few peers if you liked the almost racing car ambience.

The engine was mounted behind the driver and was just a few inches away and the noise level in the car had to be experienced to be believed.

It was like going back to the good old days of sports car driving with a big rough engine pounding away and levels of acceleration that were unheard of in bread and butter sports cars.

The Exige Swas capable of 0-100mph in under 10 seconds and left most things in a cloud of dust at the traffic lights.

With 148mph on tap it was no eco-warrior with a fuel consumption of around 20mpg, but it was enormous fun.

But as with all Lotus cars it demanded experience and skill to drive and could trap the unwary who got carried away by the level of power on offer.

The Exige is still with us today, albeit in a much more modern form with a 345bhp supercharged V6 engine, proving that you really can't keep a good car down.