Lotus is headed down some dire straights as of late, with the company struggling so much that it had to buy back a majority share from its owner, Geely, merging the tech development side back into the car side of the British automaker under one umbrella dubbed Lotus Group. The company’s plan to go mostly electric with the Emeya, Eletre, and Evija EVs, while offering one gas model it struggled to certify in the US initially, has not panned out well, with limited sales and slipping demand. But now the company goes back to its roots with that gas sports car, launching a special edition to celebrate one of the best racing drivers in British history.
Who Is Clark? Arguably The Greatest Racing Driver Ever
Sometimes, Lotus can still get some things right, and the Lotus Emira Clark Edition is in that vein, thankfully. The car celebrates driver Jim Clark, who in 1965 piloted Lotus cars to victory in various international races, most notably securing the Formula 1 World Championship and winning the Indianapolis 500 in the same year, an accomplishment that has never been repeated by any other driver. Clark also won Formula 2 races that year, competed and won in the Tasman Series in Australia and New Zealand, and also endurance raced a Lotus Cortina. All in 1965.
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Now, 60 years later, Lotus celebrates the man with a unique Emira, limited to just 60 units, likely only for European markets (the U.K. and Germany are the only markets mentioned by Lotus). The Clark Edition doesn’t touch the powertrain on the higher-output Emira coupe, so you still get a supercharged 3.5-liter V6 unit good for 400 horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque, and the Clark Edition will come exclusively with a six-speed manual transmission.
Lotus Clark Edition Echoes The Type 38 Racer
The Clark Edition is finished in so-called Clark Racing Green paint, a riff on British Racing Green which has adorned many Lotus and other UK-branded race cars, with a contrasting black roof panel, silver-painted mirrors, and yellow racing striping. The scheme is based on the Lotus Type 38 car that won the 1965 Indy 500. The car is also treated to a machined aluminum fuel cap with blue anodized finish in the center, and yellow-tipped exhaust pipes to match the racing stripe. The car is finished with various personalized Clark logos that the racing driver used in the past.
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The interior is mostly trimmed in red, like the old Lotus racing cars, with an asymmetrical finish on the two seats; the driver’s seat is red leather and Alcántara, and the passenger gets a black seat in the same materials. There’s also a wood grain shift knob and interior badges finished with the Clark family tartan pattern from Lochcarron, Scotland. Finally, there’s a carbon fiber tread plate to let you know which number your car is from the 60 that will be built.
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