Lotus has produced some of the greatest motorsport liveries there have ever been, and while it hasn’t been on the Formula 1 grid (in one way or another) for over a decade, it occasionally dusts off its racing paint tins for the odd special edition. It did just that a few years ago for the Elise Classic Heritage Edition, decking out a limited batch of Sport 220s in four iconic Lotus liveries. Now it’s the Emira’s turn, with a new ‘Limited’ series bringing five classic colour schemes from the outfit’s illustrious motorsport history.
Limited to just 12 examples per scheme (a nod to Ayrton Senna’s race number during his Lotus years), the Emira Limited has all the major eras well and truly covered. First up, there’s a Emira finished in British Racing Green with yellow centre stripe and Team Lotus side decals inspired by Jim Clark’s championship-winning Type 25 from 1963, as well as a black and gold JPS car, mimicking the look of the Type 78 that stormed to the 1977 title with Mario Andretti at the wheel. It’s also finished with the number five on the wings (Andretti’s old race number) and the Union Flag, just as they appeared in period.
Perhaps knowing how in demand the JPS livery will be, Lotus has whipped up another black and gold-liveried Emira, only this time commemorating the 97T that Senna clinched his first victory in at the (extremely soggy) 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix. That’s not the only Senna car here, either, with a 99T represented by a Camel yellow Emira with the Lotus name in dark blue brandished on the rear wing. Last but not least, there’s a blue car with red and silver side stripes marking the Essex-liveried Type 86’s from the 1980 season. The 86 wasn’t nearly as successful as the others represented here and Essex caused Lotus all sorts of trouble (a bit like a Rich Energy of the '80s), but there’s no denying it makes for a cracking colour scheme - as proven before by this stunning Esprit Turbo Essex.
As for the cars themselves, all will be based on the AMG-sourced, 2.0-litre turbocharged version of the Emira. Admittedly, the i4 Emira isn’t quite as good as the V6, and it’s a pain that it’s only available with an eight-speed dual clutch auto, especially when the six gets a manual, but the race liveries do sweeten the deal a fair bit.
That said, the Limited Series also acts as a preview to the firm’s new ‘Chapman Bespoke’ programme, which is due to launch in 2025. It’ll allow customers to personalise the look of their car both inside and out, which presumably means you could get a similar look to one of the colour schemes here on an Emira V6, or perhaps something more left field like the green Martini livery from the Type 79 or the navy blue worn by Stirling Moss’s old Lotus 18.
But if you have your heart set one of the new Limited series cars, you’ll need to act fast. The race-inspired Emiras will be available across 12 ‘selected European markets’, and with only 12 examples being produced for each colour, that could very well mean we’ll only get one of each livery here in the UK. There’s no word on pricing, either, but expect a decent premium over the i4’s £81,495 tag. Or, if you’d prefer your motorsport-inspired Lotus with a V6, there’s always this Evora 400 decked in the JPS colours for your consideration - and for a lot less, too.
1 / 12
