What's all this about?

It's all about the chance to personalise your Lotus via a new service the Norfolk-based company is offering called Exclusive.

Is this the sort of thing we've seen elsewhere - a wider choice of colours, decals and interior finishes?

What a percipient person you are. Correct. Lotus Exclusive, thought up by the Lotus Design team, offers just such choices to customers. It's not just for new cars, though, but for pre-owned vehicles too.

Can you talk about the specifics?

There's a wide palette of heritage and race-themed exterior colours, including such evocative shades as Essex Blue and Motorsport Black. The former of these was used on the Essex Commemorative Esprit Turbo of 1980, and the Lotus F1 cars of 1980 and 1981, while the latter graced the company's first supercharged road car, the limited edition Sport Exige 240R of 2005. On top of the main body colours, four finishes (matte, gloss, metallic or pearlescent) are offered, as is the option to paint the door mirrors, sills, wings and/or spoilers in white, yellow, red or black. You can even slap a massive Union Jack on the roof panel and mirror caps (other national flags available) if you wish, or choose from three designs of racing stripes in the same four colours as mentioned above. Inside, five fresh leather colour options with four shades of contrast stitching are available.

Which models are these Exclusive additions available on?

All of them. Every Lotus, right up to and including the 3-Eleven, can be optioned up through Lotus Exclusive. And you can download the brochure for this here.

Will this be offered globally?

Not yet. At first, it's only for customers in Europe, but later in 2016, Lotus is hoping to expand Exclusive into other regions.

Matt Robinson - 8 Jan 2016