Lotus celebrates 81 F1 wins with 81 Exiges

… creates interesting numbers game, though.

In a move which will raise the eyebrow of many a well-heeled Lotus F1 fan, the famous Hethel outfit has decided to issue a limited edition of 81 Exiges, dubbed the LF1, and one will be on display at the Festival of Speed later this month.

The F1 fan’s interest stems from the fact that the ’81’ part refers to the number of Grand Prix wins Lotus has achieved; number 1 being the first at the hands of Sir Stirling Moss in 1960, and 81 being Kimi Raikonnen’s win in Australia last year.

We reckon that in its black-and-gold livery (echoing the famous John Player Special colours) the car is a handsome beastie, and backing up the looks is the supercharged Toyota V6 from the Exige S. In fact, the LF1 is fundamentally an Exige S with the special paint scheme, matt gold wheels, a carbon fibre plaque showing which number has been assigned to the car, and which of the wins it represents. For example: Victory number 5 of 81, Watkins Glen, 1961 United States. This raises a pertinent question though…

We’ve been unable to find out from Lotus any pricing details as yet, but it occurs to us that some drivers and their victories may be worth more than others, like Moss, Clark, and Senna for example. Exactly how this works we have yet to find out, so we might tentatively ask Lotus themselves at FoS.

Personally I’d go for Jim Clark’s remarkable win at Spa in 1965 when he finished 45 seconds in front of Jackie Stewart… that is if one of you hasn’t bagged it already!