In his day, Jim Clark was regarded as Formula 1’s greatest driver. Seemingly everyone who raced with him said the Scotsman was the best, and had he lived beyond the age of 32, he’d certainly have added to his two F1 titles and Indy 500 win. Clark only drove for Team Lotus, and now, Lotus Cars is paying tribute with the Emira Clark Edition. It has yellow exhaust tips.
Specifically, this is commemorating Clark’s 1965 season, where he dominated both Formula 1 and Formula 2 championships, the Tasman Series, and the Indy 500, becoming the first Scot to do so, and the first in a rear-engine car. He also won two British Saloon Car Championship races that year in a Ford-Lotus Cortina. It’s one of the greatest racing years by any driver ever, so 60 years later, Lotus rightly saw fit to honor Clark’s remarkable achievements.
Photo by: Lotus
The Clark Racing Green and yellow livery references the traditional Team Lotus colors up until 1968, and more specifically, the Lotus 38 with which Clark won the Indy 500. There’s yellow exhaust tips, a hand-painted stripe down the side of the car, chrome mirrors, a silver and blue fuel cap that references the 38, and a Clark Edition badge at the leading edge of the doors.
Inside, half the interior is trimmed in red, which was used for the cockpits of Team Lotus cars back in the 1960s. There’s also a wood gearknob, just like the Lotus race cars of the era, a Clark signature on the dash, and a badge on the driver’s seat listing Clark’s 1965 titles. There’s also a Clark Edition badge inside, and a carbon-fiber doorsill that marks out the fact that the car is 1 of 60.
Photo by: Lotus
Lotus uses the Emira V-6 as a base for the Clark Edition, which means a Toyota-sourced, supercharged V-6 making 400 horsepower and a six-speed manual transmission. The automaker has done Jim Clark tributes before, with the Esprit in 1992 and the Elise in 2009, both with similar green-and-yellow paint schemes. You could argue that Lotus is out of ideas, but as both a massive Clark and Lotus fan, I won’t hear any of it.
Unfortunately, Lotus has paused U.S. imports indefinitely because of Trump’s tariffs, but a spokesperson for the company tells us we will get some of the 60 here eventually. In the UK, it costs £115,000, which is over $150,000 at today’s exchange rates. So this one’s for the true believers.
