THE BEST Lotus

AKA the Stealth for its matt black paint and carbon fiber bits, Lotus’ Exige Scura is limited to 35 cars; it uses the Exige Cup’s supercharged 257hp 1.8L engine, good for a 0-60 of 4.1s.

Based on the 134 hp Elise S, the Elise Club Racer is lightweight track car with grippy Yokohama AD07 LTS tires and aluminum wheels; it’ll come in four classic 1960s Lotus colors.

Lotus’ Elise Purist Edition isn’t all that stripped down–you’ll still get the 1.8L, 190hp 4-banger, AC, stereo and power locks–but with an MSRP near 2005 prices, it’s a tough value to beat.

The S260 is more powerful, but Sector111’s Lotus Exige comes close with 240+ hp, upgraded brakes and nearly all-carbon fiber bits that turn it into a track-ready, flat-bottomed supercar.

With 257hp on tap, Lotus’ Exige S260 Sport is the most powerful Exige ever; it also drops 50 lbs, allowing it to go 0-60mph in 4.0s with a supercharged 1.8L 4 cylinder engine.

Project Kahn’s tricked-out Lotus Elise gets all the usual aero-kit niceties, but the real goods are improved performance, with a billet exhaust, sports springs and 28-stage dampers.

The GT4 Supersport is an amped-up version of Lotus Sport’s 2-Eleven club racer, with a full roll cage, sequential gearbox and 270 hp/181 lb-ft of torque; only ten will be built initially in 2009.

Biofueled engines? Check. Ice penetrating radar? Check. Propellers? Lotus’ Concept Ice Vehicle is an Antarctic explorers’ dream; it scouts ahead for heavier support vehicles.