Lotus and Savile Row tailor Norton & Sons have combined their efforts to produce “a unique lightweight luxury driving jacket,” they say in their news release.
But there’s a catch: To get the jacket, you have to buy one of the 130 Lotus Evija hypercars, which have an MSRP of $2.108 million.
“It is arguably the world’s most exclusive driving jacket,” the news release notes. “It is only available to customers of the Lotus Evija, the world’s first British all-electric hypercar, who will spend in the region of £2 million to have the chance to buy the garment.”
The announcement points out each Evija owner “is offered a personal appointment at the (tailor) shop, where they will experience the unique luxury of the Norton & Sons bespoke service. With outstanding attention to detail, they will be measured and fitted and a unique pattern for their driving jacket will be drafted by hand by Norton & Sons’ master cutter.”
16 is the tailor’s address on Savile Row
Inspired by the Team Lotus pitlane jackets of the early 1970s, the jacket’s design was done by Norton & Sons designer Patrick Grant and Lotus design director Russell Carr. The jacket is made from a water-resistant textile of merino wool and nylon technical material manufactured in Italy by Loro Piana, and features hardware by Cobrax and Riri.
Patrick Grant, best known as a judge on hit BBC TV Show The Great British Sewing Bee, commented:
“When I was a kid, Lotus was the sports car everybody wanted,” Grant is quoted. “It was what James Bond drove and was the dominant team in Formula 1. To get the chance to explore the extraordinary Lotus racing archive, and to design a piece of clothing that takes its inspiration from such iconic 1960s and 1970s designs, was both a challenge and a thrill.”
Norton & Sons is a 200-year-old tailor and has been located at No. 16 Savile Row since the 1860s.
James Bond never drove a Lotus.
Bond (Roger Moore) drove a Lotus Esprit in The Spy Who Loved Me. It was the one that turned into a submarine.
Serge Small, you beat me to that. Right you are.