Selling sports cars in heritage racing liveries certainly has worked for Ford with its GT, and now Lotus is giving that marketing effort a go with the Elise Classic Heritage Editions.
To enhance the exclusivity, Lotus said only 100 cars will be produced in 4 color combinations:
- The black and gold of the Type 72D driven to 5 victories during the 1972 Formula 1 season by Emerson Fittipaldi.
- The red, white and gold of the Type 49B driven by Graham Hill in 1968.
- The blue, red and silver of the Type 81 driven in 1980 by Nigel Mansell, Elio de Angelis and Mario Andretti.
- The blue and white of the Type 18, the first Lotus to win pole position and driven to that position at Monaco in 1960 by Stirling Moss.
In addition to their color schemes, Lotus says the heritage cars will have enhanced exterior and interior specification when compared to the Elise Sport 220.
Among those features is a number plaque, 1-100, with customers determining which color scheme is the most popular, or the most exclusive.
Each car will be priced at £46,250 ($57,155), or £6,350 ($7,850) more than a standard Elise Sport 220. Lotus contends that the added content in the cars would otherwise be priced at an additional £11,735 ($14,500) were it done outside of this promotion.
“Motorsport success has been at the heart of the Lotus philosophy for more than seven decades, and the Elise is our iconic roadster known around the world for its exceptional ‘For The Drivers’ performance,” said Ema Forster, head of product marketing at Lotus.
“What better way to celebrate than by bringing these two pillars of our brand together, launching four new Classic Heritage cars which fans will instantly recognize?”