The Sport 190 comes equipped with an MSA-approved roll bar, race seat and four-point harnesses, and a plumbed-in fire extinguisher. Lotus has also upgraded the cooling system and brakes in anticipation of hard track miles. This model will not be sold in road-legal trim but most customers are likely to seek SVA approval once they have bought the car. There will also be a less powerful 120bhp version for a Lotus Scholarship series. Novices who sign up for this will be given tuition at Hethel and then compete in a series of sprints, hill climbs and circuit races. The Scholarship costs £29,950 and you get to keep the car at the end of the season.

A world away from high-revving trackday fun is Lotus Engineering's low-carbon sportscar concept, called Eco2s. It features a 1.2-litre diesel engine with four valves per cylinder, camless valve operation and very high pressure common-rail fuel injection. At present the car exists only as renderings and a series of projected figures (0-62mph in 6.2 seconds, 124mph top speed). The project is designed to showcase Lotus Engineering's capabilities, and Lotus hopes to sell certain elements of the design to larger manufacturers who will have to adhere to strict CO2 emissions constraints by 2010. Most amusing feature is Active Noise Control which synthesises a rorty engine note. Maybe soon you'll be able to specify a Smart car with a V8 soundtrack.