Lotus Exige LF1 Limited Edition – one for every Lotus F1 victory

The Lotus Exige LF1 Limited Edition is a run of 81 Lotus Exige specials to celebrate the 81 victories Lotus has had in F1 since its first at Monaco in 1960.

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It’s a nice idea to build a limited edition car – the Lotus Exige LF1 – to celebrate very one of the 81 victories Lotus has enjoyed in F1, but it does make you wonder if Lotus has done it because they’re never likely to win again (and if they do, do they produce another LF1?).

Still, Lotus has pulled out the icon JPS livery for the Lotus Exige S (from the days cigarettes could be advertised) to give the LF1 a pretty paint job of black and gold (with added red bits) including a black and gold Lotus badge up front and a contrast stitched interior with F1 logos on the seats.

Also interesting is that each car will receive a plaque commemorating each individual victory, from the 1960 win at Monaco with Stirling Moss behind the wheel to the last in Australia in 2013 with Kimi Raikkonen. Which will be in demand and which won’t, we wonder?

There are no performance upgrades from the Exige S for the LF1 – so performance stays at a respectable 0-62mph in 4.0 seconds and 170mph –  but it does get the Race Pack as standard – which offers launch control, exhaust bypass override, and tweaked suspension for the Pirelli P-Zero Trofeo tyres – as well as the high performance brake upgrade.

Lotus are also throwing in a goodie bag including a half size Grosjean helmet, a Lotus F1 key fob, a Lotus F1 USB stick (how did you live without it?), a discount card for Lotus merchandise and a factory tour. Wow.

Now on sale, the Lotus Exige LF1 costs £62,900, is available everywhere apart from the USA (where it doesn’t conform to regs) and can be seen at Motorexpo in Canary Wharf at the moment