Our Race Challenge

MV Agusta Brutale 800 vs Lotus Exige S: our challenge

The eternal fight two against four wheels, continues today on Motoblog and Autoblog with the challenge on the track and on the road between the MV Agusta Brutale 800 and the Lotus Exige S.

We certainly can not deny that the fascination of a challenge between two-wheel and four-wheeled cars unleashed in each engine enthusiast an interest and a dose of adrenaline comparable and few other shows of this kind.

These exciting challenges, also fascinate those (like us) on these cars work and live almost every day. The eternal fight between two and four wheels, arbitrated by the Team of Autoblog and Motoblog , continues today with two means that have made their relationship weight / power their flagship.

We are talking about the MV Agusta Brutale 800 ( here our complete test ) and the Lotus Exige S : very powerful, lightweight, very effective in driving sports both on the road and on the track! The chosen ones we brought between the Roman countryside and between the curbs of the Anagni ISAM circuit.

Lorenzo Baroni (Lotus Exige S) and Emanuele Freddo (MV Agusta Brutale 800) are on track for us , two testers who have certainly not spared the dosing of the accelerator giving us spectacular images!

The Challengers

The MV Agusta Brutale 800 , as we know, is powered by a three-cylinder 798 cc engine that develops 125 horsepower (92 KW) with a torque of 81 Nm (or 8.25 Kgmn) at 8600 rpm. The declared weight in running order stops at 190 kg. Suspension Marzocchi / Sachs and braking system entirely Brembo complete the sports kit of the naked Italian.

As far as electronics are concerned, we find the same MVICS electronic package (Motor & Vehicle Integrated Control System) already seen on the F3, with a TC equipped with 8 settings (selectable even on the move thanks to special buttons on the left block) and a management engine strong of three maps (Normal, Sport and Rain), plus a fourth totally customizable by the final user who, if he wants, can literally sew up the character of the vehement TrePistoni.

The Exige S Roadster uses specially designed suspension springs and is equipped with the well-known 3.5 liter V6 supercharged by volumetric compressor and capable of delivering 350 hp and 400 Nm. Thanks to these figures, the car is able to cover the 0-100 km / h in 4 seconds and 0-160 km / h in 8.5 seconds.

The 6-speed manual transmission is offered as standard. Weight? 1,182 kg , which - if associated with the power and torque just mentioned - let you imagine the perennial push to which you are subjected once the accelerator pedal is crushed.

The challenge

Both on the road and on the track, reluctantly for lovers of two wheels, the driving dynamics , the agility and the power of the Lexus V6 derived from Lotus have allowed the Exige S to come out head-to-head from the comparison to which it is been submitted.

You can easily say that the behavior is very similar to that of a kart , with a steering as precise and direct as a few, a crazy traction and an overly low center of gravity that makes this car a real weapon between the curbs and the tight mix of mountain roads.

Every little variation of the attitude is transmitted accurately directly to the steering wheel. It will then be the pilot, through an old-style guide , to translate everything into speed and file the lap times after each passage on the finish line.

Then there is another very important aspect that affects the small English sports: we are usually used to associating with cars so small and sporty, engines with a very high delivery , or horses and torque that are released on the ground after 5,000 rev / min.

On the Exige S the story is different: the feeling is that of a turbo diesel engine but, of course, even more powerful! The Exige S pushes hard already from 1,800 rpm and then unleashed at about 3,000 rpm, with a considerable extension that allows it to maintain excellent performance even in the fastest sections.

They won four wheels this our challenge today, with a result that absolutely should not be overlooked by the two wheels.

The Brutale 800 did not disappoint our expectations, especially on the road. In a very technical and not too fast circuit like the Anagni ISAM , the pair and the agility of the car in comparison allowed Lotus to win the challenge.

Best Lap

Lotus Exige S Roadster: 1.12.9

MV Agusta Brutale 800: 1.13.2

In any case, the Brutal has been able to reveal its effectiveness thanks to a rigid attitude and leaned forward . The response of the mono on the road bumps is dry but not excessively fast, while the fork behaves exactly the opposite, with a first part decidedly less sustained but not excessively yielding.

In the street this translates into a forward inclination to follow the line and to absorb small bumps or to hold the rope, but it also means a more nervous rear and a dancer that certainly makes the guide dirty. To be really effective, we suggest a careful setup looking for the right way between the calibration of the rear compartment and the front one.

The braking department instead does not show the side to the criticism with a powerful and finely adjustable front system and the rear that turns out to be an honest not too powerful compaction, but if you enter the curve, becomes a pinch prone to blocking and let the Bosch ABS work.

The insertions curve, thanks to the counter-rotating crankshaft, border on perfection with a front end that seems literally magnetized from the point of rope where, once "caught", you just have to straighten the bike and let the verve of the Three Pistons explode responding to the rotation of the right wrist.

On the track then, the Brutale 800 reacted well, with anterior that was able to transmit the right feeling even when we wanted to exaggerate by forcing the fold. On the track you can exaggerate properly with the gas (with an experienced driver to drive) to put a strain on the RbW and electronic power management. Then we appreciate very much the electronic transmission, very precise and fast.

Once you take the hand it is very fun to play with the "svirgolate" out of the corner. If instead we look for the lap time, then the Brutale is committed and maintains precise and clean trajectories, especially when traveling , thanks to a correct weight distribution.