Friday 2nd May

Oof: Lotus Emira Jim Clark Edition launched

60 years since Clark's epic season, a special edition V6 Emira pays homage

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We’ve been waiting on a Lotus Emira special edition for a little while. Back in the days of the Elise, Exige and Emira, it felt like barely a month went by without a little more horsepower and a new paint scheme. Now the latest gen gets its limited edition, the Emira Jim Clark Edition. 

It marks 60 years since the legendary Scot won both the Formula 1 World Championship and the Indy 500. As well as touring car races in the UK and Formula 2 events in Australia. There must have been some parties going on after all that in 1965.

The Emira JCE - which will only be offered with the 3.5 V6 and manual gearbox - will come in Clark Racing green with the yellow stripe, evoking the Indy-winning Type 38. Additional styling flourishes include a machined aluminium filler cap and blue anodised exhaust pipes. It’s a broadly familiar look for mid-engined Lotus specials, and suits the Emira just great. 

The interior of the Jim Clark is suitably snazzy, with red leather for the driver’s seat (the passenger’s chair is black), a wooden gearknob, Jim Clark’s tartan (and signature) plus a carbon ‘1 of 60’ plaque. Every one of the 60 folk lucky enough to get one of these Emiras will also get a ‘Clark Edition’ leather bag, perfect for Scottish road trips.

Indeed this promises to be the best Emira going for such adventures, with standard kit also including the Lotus Driver’s pack that brings a Track mode, more exhaust sound and revised suspension. It’s going to be a treat, surely. 

Lotus will publically reveal the Jim Clark Edition to the world at the Miami Grand Prix this weekend. As befits the anniversary, just 60 examples will be sold ‘in selected markets’; fortunately we’re one of them, so best move fast. And best raid the pension pot, too - the asking price is £115,000. Makes those early cars in the classifieds at half that look even more tempting - if you can go without the green, of course.

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• Lotus Emira V6 vs. Porsche 911 Carrera T
• Final ever Lotus Exige Cup 430 for sale

[trails]

Blue exhaust?

Paint looks OK on the doors at least

[andrewpandrew]

trails said:

Blue exhaust?

Paint looks OK on the doors at least

Looks yellow to me? Not that that’s ok

[The Pistonsdead]

Hmmm the yellow exhaust tips are OK, great nod to that iconic race car that the late great Jim raced in that very successful season.

[trails]

andrewpandrew said:

trails said:

Blue exhaust?

Paint looks OK on the doors at least

Looks yellow to me? Not that that’s ok

Says anodised blue exhaust in the article...

[MadCaptainJack]

Hmmm.... Not sure I'm a fan of the flared stripe.

[Frimley111R]

MadCaptainJack said:

Hmmm.... Not sure I'm a fan of the flared stripe.

Me neither, a simple stripe would have been nicer IMO. TBH I'm not sure yellow, green and red was ever a great colour combo

[BertBert]

What nonsense from Lotus. Do they not have an original thought in their (marketing) heads? A chunky price for a standard car with a rather unpleasant sticker job. And then what audience are they trying to appeal to? Jim Clark? Really? It's just embarrassing.

[CharverDeeksWorth]

Occasionally I drive past the Lotus dealership in Bradford which has iirc a Maserati logo on the wall, shares a car park with BMW and has other random marques dotted about on the forecourt.

It’s much like the direction of Lotus, confusing.

[cvega]

oh look, another "special" paint, interior bits and insane price tag. Sounds familiar

[MadCaptainJack]

[Slowlygettingit]

Desperate.

Surely the market they should be courting don’t give 2 hoots about some bloke from years ago.
A KSI special edition would be far more relevant.

[Bispoto]

You know what they say “ red and green should never be seen”. Like the green and yellow, but not with red.

Be much cheaper to buy a secondhand one and wrap it in green.

[twinturban]

Looks great. But I find it astonishing that despite new ownership, new investment, new management they have somehow ended up at exactly the same conclusion, when sales are stalling wheel out the heritage paint jobs.

Emira development is painfully slow, the wait goes on for those still hoping for a faster, lighter one. Sticker price of this one suggests best route to go is to mod a used one instead.

[fantheman80]

i cant understand why they have gone for the flared nose either...that actually looks like a human nose now with two eyes in the bonnet, when the race car just had the stripe.

its no Schumacher Stilo, but I am not hating it

[Jermy Claxon]

And so it begins... I do wish that, just once, spinning the wheel of random heritage colour combos could actually produce a "special edition" that looks better than a basic launch edition car...

[BigChiefmuffinAgain]

Wins the prize for this weeks least special over priced special edition.....

[dukebox9reg]

Surely screaming for yellow brake calipers as well

[MadCaptainJack]

fantheman80 said:

... the race car just had the stripe.

To be fair, the race cars had a flared nose job from the Lotus 43 onwards.



But I think the Emira would look better with a straight stripe.

[snotrag]

Red, Gold and White special edition incoming in 5, 4, 3....

Shortly to be followed by Navy Blue with a White stripe...

[AndySheff]

Frimley111R said:

Me neither, a simple stripe would have been nicer IMO. TBH I'm not sure yellow, green and red was ever a great colour combo

My thoughts exactly. That red interior really clashes with the exterior.