Without Compromise

While the Lotus Exige S 240 may be the least practical car that you would actually buy, one company has dared to best Lotus in producing the most extreme driving experience. The hand built Ariel Atom welcomes would be owners with the slogan "No doors, no roof, no compromises." An experiment in engineering, weight reduction, and power delivery the Ariel Atom is a vehicle so intense that those capable of meeting its $65,000 base price may find themselves lacking the courage to pilot it; at least those who are not Darth Vader.

English Born, Eastern Refined

While the Japanese have a prestigious reputation for their home built track machines, they amass an equally impressive and dense following for European vehicles. The extreme eagerness of the populous to spend time on the track perfecting their machines is without a doubt an essential ingredient to the craftsmanship and care given these cars. This gallery features my favorite Euro vehicles with the flare that can only be found in Japan.

The Essence Of Experience

While Lotus probably is not the first brand to enter your mind when you think of the Euro scene, they are certainly a prominent brand for those who embrace the driving experience. One of the greatest automotive achievements in some years is the birth of the Lotus Exige S 240, a car that combines inspiring styling, negligible weight, and plentiful power in a chassis costing below 65k. It is mandatory to stress here the importance of that price, for while it is certainly immense for something with no practicality, it will devour the exotics and still drive you home with ease. Lotus embraces the benefits of light weight vehicles, and in turn the car offers nothing that would possibly detract from going faster. Carpet, for instance, is much better replaced with the aluminum floor board which transmits the languages of the road directly into your bones. As gorgeous as it is to drive, it is equally pleasant on the eyes, a fact well illustrated by VisualEchos.