Radford just kicked off the Lotus reboot you didn’t know you needed

OK, you’ve heard the Radford story before. It’s a name that’s been around for decades, and it was recently revived by Formula One World Champion Jenson Button, TV personality Ant Anstead, and car designer Mark Stubbs. The company has a history of bodywork in collaboration with famous British brands. A few months ago, the company announced that it would bring a modern version of the Lotus 62 racing car to life with modern elements. It’s here.

Over the weekend, Radford made an official unveiling in Southern California to show off the new car. It looks properly Lotus from scratch, with a combination of old and new. There is certainly a lot of Elise / Exige in this design, but Radford hasn’t actually said where the foundation comes from. It’s possible that this will be built on the same platform as the upcoming Lotus Emira.

Unlike many other ‘reimagined’ cars, Radford this time is working directly with Lotus to develop the car, with direct input from the British automaker’s technology partners and engineers. In this case, that means the 62-2 will be powered by the same Toyota supercharged 3.5-liter V6 as the Emira (and Evora and Exige). This will be supported by either a 6-speed manual gearbox or a 7-speed dual clutch. Radford says this machine is “designed for pure mechanical feel, exceptional engagement and uncompromising balance” regardless of gearbox choice.

There are three variants of Type 62-2 available to well-heeled customers. You can order the “Classic” which is content with just 430 horsepower, a manual, no spoiler and a 17- and 18-inch wheel combo. The Gold Leaf model will take things up a notch with 500 horsepower, fast DCT, motorsport-inspired traction control, duck tail spoilers (as pictured) and 18/19 inch center-locking wheels. The King of the Hill JPS model is for track junkies only, as it features 600 horsepower, upgraded DCT, full aerodynamics kit, carbon fiber wheels, and carbon ceramic brakes.

The show car here is obviously the middle-of-the-road gold leaf, although the company showed the Classic as a render. The JPS hasn’t been released yet, but your brain can probably get a feel for what it looks like, more or less. Each of these cars, regardless of the build sheet, will come on a glued and riveted aluminum chassis with carbon fiber exterior panels. The lighter versions would drop below 2200 pounds.

It’s really hard to build a car back on a modern chassis and not make it look like an ass, so kudos to the team at Radford for keeping it running pretty well. “Creating a car that is both luxurious and comfortable, and fun to drive is a tough challenge, but the first Radford of the modern era lives up to it,” says Jenson Button, who helped develop the chassis and suspension. . “The chassis has all the characteristics of a race car beautifully configured for the road – giving the driver the supreme confidence to get the most out of every ride.”

No word yet on the price of the first Radford, but it will be capped at just 62 units, and each will be custom built to its owner’s demands, so you can bet it’ll be pricey. Hopefully, however, they hear about six digits, not seven digits.