But delve further into Lotus's range and you'll find the Exige - a kind of Micro Machine-esque Le Mans car. Stuart Milne says this twin seat super sportscar is the most enchanting Lotus ever.

One of the best things about being a motoring journalist is getting the chance to drive some of the world's most desirable cars.

That was something which occurred to me on a recent visit to a Lotus dealer in Kent.

Or more specifically, when I was strapping myself into the tiny bucket seat in an ultra-rare Lotus Exige Cup 240.

The Exige isn't a car you see every day at the best of times. Its cramped interior coupled with a noisy engine pounding inches from your ears meant it was just too hardcore for most drivers.

But you're even less likely to see the Cup I was just about to blast off in, let alone drive one.

Lotus only made 50 '240' versions of its Cup model to make it eligible to enter various GT race series, so with that racecar heritage in mind, I fired it up and pulled out of Lipscomb Lotus's Aylesford garage in Kent.

With 243 supercharged horses chomping at the bit in an anorexic 875kg package, I knew the '240 would be a bit lairy, so I waited until I was in a straight line before unleashing the beast.

I floored the Lotus in first, and expected a bit of a delay before the rev and speedo needles swung round like clubber's arms at an illegal rave.

But I was completely unprepared for the acceleration. The Toyota-sourced 1.8-litre engine smacks you in the back of the head with a cricket bat. Less than four seconds later, I hit 60mph.

Apparently it won’t stop until it hits 147mph, but you'd run out of road/talent/bravery long before you get anywhere near it.

The supercharger means throttle response is instantaneous, and there's a surge of power whatever gear you're in. In sixth gear, it'll pull like most fast cars do in third.

So with this in mind, my co-driver, Lipscomb's sales consultant Paul Robinson proceeded to direct me along a well-used test route.

"Turn right here, and slow down. There's a fantastic banked bend ahead", Paul said. I was slightly concerned, given Paul's willingness for me to attack every undulation like I was on a flying lap of Silverstone.

As we approached the bend at an otherworldly pace, all I could hear above the ear-splitting whine of the supercharger was Paul saying: "Floor it, don't lift, floor it don't lift".

For the next five seconds, every fibre of my being was screaming for me to slow down, but the Exige is a car you can put your faith in like no other.

Clearing the bend at twice the speed I could in any other car, Paul simply said: "You'll run out of talent before this car will".

I couldn't have put it better myself.

You'll pay dearly for the Cup 240, so don't expect to get much change from £45,000. But if your budget won't stretch to that, you can sacrifice a bit of performance and plump for an early model for as little as £16,000.

A word of advice though. Get one with air-con - a spirited drive will mean a sweaty one.

Thanks to Peter Barnes, boss at Lipscomb Lotus

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