A few years ago the racing driver did Jenson Button adopted from the F1 circus. The former world champion is now letting his skills build a new one Sports car flow in.
In the 1960s, the British coachbuilder Radford built the Lotus Type 62 racing car, which is due to celebrate its comeback in a modern form as a street sports car in early 2022. The Radford brand was revived by the British Mark Stubbs, Ant Anstead and the former Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button. Like its historical model, the new Type 62-2 relies on Lotus technology. Under its carbon skin in a retro look, there is a Lotus Evora at the core.
The Radford Lotus Type 62-2 is only available with a 7-speed DSG
Like the Evora, the Type 62-2 is also made by a 3,5 liter V6 from Toyota which Radford will offer in three performance levels. While the Classic version mobilizes 321 kW / 436 PS like the Evora, the "Gold Leaf" and "JPS" versions have 373 kW / 507 PS and 447 kW / 608 PS respectively. All three drive variants are combined with a seven-speed dual clutch transmission. Alternatively, a manual transmission with six gears is available for the basic version. No mileage is mentioned.
Body made easy
The aluminum monocoque chassis of the 62-2 was taken over from the Lotus Evora, but Radford has developed a stiffer rear subframe, which is supposed to provide more agility with less weight. The 62-2 has slimmed down compared to the Evora thanks to the use of carbon components. Among other things, the entire body was made from the lightweight material. Radford promises a dry weight of less than a ton. The JPS version in particular offers lightweight carbon-ceramic stoppers, while the other two models come with four-piston brakes from AP as standard.
Radford mentions virtual exterior mirrors as special features of the interior. The inside mirror is also camera-based. There is also a digital instrument cluster with a 6-inch TFT screen. Production of the 62-2 is scheduled to start this year. A total of only 62 copies are to be built, the first of which will be delivered to customers in early 2022. No prices are given. But these are likely to be very significantly higher than those of the Evora, which recently cost around 100.000 euros.