The Lotus Exige may have been discontinued in favor of the Evija EV hypercar, but it’s still one of the best platforms for lightweight track weapons. It seems Quentin Boylan from Praetoria, South Africa, has recognized that and built his own extreme version of the British featherweight sports car. A while back, we wrote about another crazy project of his – an AMG V-8 swapped Toyota Hilux.

With the Exige, Quentin took things even further. He took the 6.2-liter V-8 out of a Mercedes SLS AMG and crammed it into the Lotus. The result is pure savagery.

While Quentin’s AMG-powered Hilux was motivated by the M156 6.2-liter V-8, found in the Mercedes C63 AMG W204, the Lotus is powered by the M159 unit, which is the more powerful derivative of the M156, found in the SLS AMG.

According to Quentin, the M159 engine is perfect for track use while also being streetable. The engine has dry-sump lubrication, independent throttle bodies, and different camshafts than the M156 it’s based on.

The yellow exterior is as functional as it is striking to look at. Every single carbon-fiber body panel features air inlets and air extractors, the sole purpose of which is to generate downforce and channel air to the massive rear wing and rear diffuser. As with his AMG-powered Toyota Hilux, the exterior of the Lotus gives hints at the German connection, in the form of an AMG logo on the side of the rear wing and a subtly integrated Mercedes logo inside the Lotus emblem.

The interior is as minimalistic as you would expect for a Lotus race car. It has two racing seats, lots of exposed carbon fiber, and a motorsport digital gauge cluster. Quintin shares that the project took five years to complete and a lot of help from different manufacturers and fabricators. Certainly not an easy task, especially when running a business. “This doesn’t bring any money. It’s costing money. I’m not even asking how much it costs because I don’t know, and I don’t want to”, Quentin says.

The car sits on a three-way adjustable, racing suspension and has AP calipers, hiding behind the three-piece forged wheels, wrapped in Toyo R888. Being a Lotus (or at least resembling one), the car is very lightweight. Quentin says that with him in it (he’s a big man), the car weighs 1,150 kg (2,535 pounds).

It isn’t easy to find words when describing a car like this. Quentin has spent a lot of time perfecting the little yellow track monster with a big German V-8 heart. “The balance, the sound, the looks, the performance, it’s all combined in a major package,” Quentin exclaims. The best part is, he takes his wife for a spin around the racetracks, and she loves it. We should all be so lucky. Watch the video to learn more about the yellow beast from the owner and creator himself.