Lotus is releasing 81 limited edition Exige LF1s to celebrate its 81 F1 victories.
Lotus the car company and Lotus the F1 team are different companies. Lotus Cars used to own and run Team Lotus, and still runs a fleet of old Lotus F1 cars from a building next to the main factory in Hethel.
The Lotus Exige LF1 is a celebration of the 81 victories by cars bearing either Lotus name in Formula 1. Each car will be numbered after one of those victories.
The LF1 gets a colour scheme inspired both by the classic John Player Special black and gold livery and the modern F1 team's colours. The Exige is a pretty handsome car in the first place but it looks even more special in its LF1 colour scheme.
The LF1 is based on the Exige S so is a brilliant drivers car (read our road test here) and will cost £10k more than the S, at £62,900.
On top of the livery the interior is unique to the LF1 with the black and gold design as well as Lotus F1 logos on the headrests. The Exige Race Pack, Dynamic Management Performance System, Pirelli P-Zero Trofeo tyres, Matt Gold 5-spoke alloy wheels and two piece race discs are included as standard.
Owners also get a factory tour of both the F1 and Lotus Cars factory as well as membership of the Exige LF1 club.
By Matt Hubbard