Tuesday 29th December 2009

Lotus Exige S Type 72

Special edition Exige marks brand's return to F1

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Lotus is to offer a 'Type 72' limited edition version of the Exige S. The Elise got a Type 72 edition back in 2002, and now its hard-top sibling gets a similar makeover designed to remind us of the iconic John Player Special formula one car.

The Type 72 gets black paintwork with matching gloss black alloys complete with gold rims, and black and gold 'Type 72' livery in various places inside and out.

The Sport Pack is thrown in as standard, bringing black micro fibre ProBax sports seats with gold stitching, Bilstein dampers, a roll hoop, traction control, twin oil coolers and an adjustable front anti-roll bar. Each car also gets a special plate marking its build number.

There is an optional Performance Pack available which boosts power from 218bhp to nearly 240bhp, and adds launch control, variable traction control, AP Racing brakes and a bigger roof scoop. Quite significant upgrades, with a three grand price tag to match.

Just 20 Exige S Type 72s will be sold in the UK, to mark the 20 Grand Prix victories that the F1 car achieved. Each car will set buyers back £36,945 on-the-road, with no delivery date confirmed as yet.

The release of the special edition has been timed to celebrate the return of the Lotus brand to Formula One (even if it's not the Hethel boys themselves), by evoking one of the original Lotus F1's finest hours. Perhaps it hopes that some of the 72 magic will rub off on the new Malaysian team...

[PiB]

Okay. Lotusphiles are there any significant differences here in kit compared to other Exige 2s or 240s?

[PiB]

If they just did some subtle tweaks to the chassis setup or some part differences it would make it more significant.

Are the oil coolers new? Does the new body kit offer some aerodynamic improvements? Perhaps so but wasn't mentioned.

A little more differentiation other than a new wrapper would really be meaningful as a "limited edition" series. I'm sure they could find a few things without popping up the price.