Lotus Exige S Type 72 -F1 Inspiration for the Road

SYDNEY – April 8, 2010: Limited edition Exige S Type 72 celebrates Lotus’ most successful F1 car of all time, the Lotus Type 72 Formula One car, which achieved 20 Grand Prix victories between 1970 & 1975.

As the Lotus name re-enters the world of Formula One, Lotus Cars Australia has announced that it has secured three Exige S limited edition vehicles for the Australian market, the Lotus Exige S Type 72.

The limited edition Exige S celebrates the most successful F1 car of all time, the Lotus Type 72 Formula One car, which achieved 20 Grand Prix victories between 1970 and 1975.

The Lotus Type 72 was driven by such Lotus greats as Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi, Ronnie Peterson and Jacky Ickx and won three Formula One Constructors’ Championships (1970, 1972 and 1973) and two Drivers’ World Championships (the first being won by Jochen Rindt in 1970 and the second by Emerson Fittipaldi in 1972).

The Type 72 features a number of enhancements that draw on the history of Lotus racing.

The colour scheme of the Exige S Type 72 commemorates the famous and highly recognisable black and gold Lotus Type 72 livery and is finished by the same sign writer who painted racing cars for Team Lotus. The exterior of the Exige S Type 72 features unique black and gold lightweight wheels and is finished with hand-painted gold Type 72 and Exige S logos.

The Australian Lotus Exige S Type 72 vehicles come with a Sport Pack and a Performance Pack as standard, along with a Limited Slip Differential. Each car comes with a special build plate commemorating one of the F1 car’s 20 Grand Prix victories.

The Sport Pack includes a bespoke high quality interior, with black microfibre ProBax sports seats with gold stitching and Type 72 logo. Other Sport Pack additions are twin oil coolers, a T45 steel main roll hoop and an adjustable front anti-roll bar.

The Performance Pack offers a further 20 hp over the standard Exige S whilst it includes the Lotus Variable Slip Traction Control System, front AP Racing four piston brake calipers with 308mm discs, a full length roof scoop and an uprated clutch plate and clutch cover.

Performance through light weight has long been a Lotus philosophy and the Lotus Exige S Type 72 is no exception. The 935kg Exige S Type 72 is a supercharged mid-engined sportscar that is at home on the racetrack as it is on the open road. The intercooled engine with VVTL-i technology ensures impressive performance all the way to the rev limiter at 8500 rpm allowing the car to sprint to 60 mph in just 4.3 seconds and to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds, before reaching a top speed of 235 km/h. This is whilst the car also offers class leading fuel economy of 6.5 litres/100 km (43.5 mpg) on the Extra Urban Cycle and CO2 emissions of a mere 199 g/km.

All Lotus cars offer outstanding handling and performance, and the Exige is no exception offering excellent dynamics and great driver involvement. Lotus ride and handling gives an inspiring driving experience and the mid-engined layout of the Lotus Exige S Type 72 offers fantastic balance and agility.

Luke Bennett, Operations Director for Lotus Cars Limited stated: “The Lotus Exige S Type 72 is an evocative sport scar, combining cutting edge handling and performance with the iconic Type 72 colour scheme, one of the most famous racing liveries of all time. The Exige provides an intense driving experience either on road or track and this limited edition is a worthy car to celebrate such a legendary racing car.”

Clive Chapman, Director of Classic Team Lotus said: “The Type 72 was a very significant car for Team Lotus and indeed for the world of F1. It was a revolutionary design that pioneered the use of side-mounted radiators to achieve its distinctive ’wedge’ profile, which delivered a significant aerodynamic advantage. Furthermore, by minimising unsprung weight and using a torsion bar, rising rate suspension, tyre performance was excellent. The Lotus Type 72 design was so advanced that it was competitive for an extraordinary six years.”

To commemorate the impressive number of Grand Prix wins the Type 72 achieved, Lotus Cars Australia has secured 3 examples of the Lotus Exige S Type 72 for Australia. The car is priced at $109,990 plus dealer delivery and statutory government charges offering an exceptional value proposition considering the cars specification, the exclusivity and comparative performance sports cars