Feast your eyes on the rakish new Elite from Lotus, scheduled for an official unveiling at the Paris Auto Show on September 30. This 2+2 front-mid-engine rear-wheel-drive sports car is about as far as you can go from Colin Chapman’s original. Slated to arrive in 2014, the Elite is expected to carry a price tag of around $180,000. Designed by the new Lotus styling team led by Donato Coco, the 181-in.-long coupe weighs in at 3700 lb. and features a retractable hardtop.

Power comes from a heavily revised Lexus 5.0-liter V-8 with an epicyclic hybrid gearbox with integrated electric motors and a front-mounted Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS). Power is rated at 542 bhp, or 611 bhp in the R-tuned version. Lotus predicts the Elite will hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in about 3.6 seconds. The 4-cam V-8 features both direct and port fuel injection with scavenged cylinder heads and a charge-cooled supercharger.

The Elite marks the first stage in a highly ambitious 10-year, $1.2 billion program that Lotus CEO Dany Bahar says will see Lotus challenge the likes of Aston Martin and Maserati by the middle of this decade, producing 7000–8000 cars per year. “Lotus can’t survive as a niche brand,” said Bahar. “It needs to be more appealing and has to exceed its rivals with better quality, class-leading emissions and performance at a better price.”

Lotus took the wraps off an incredible new F1-inspired track-day special at Pebble Beach last weekend. Its latest £650,000 “halo model" is to sit at the top of a new range of road and race cars to help Lotus recapture its past glories.

The Lotus T125 is aimed at wealthy private buyers who want to the live the F1 dream; power comes from a 640bhp Cosworth V8 racing engine offering near-GP2 levels of performance, thanks to a dry weight of just 560kg. Only 25 examples will ever be built, with each buyer gaining access to a club – the Exos – that will allow them to sample the F1 lifestyle.

See pics of the Lotus T125 - now including shots from Pebble Beach

The T125 is part of Lotus’s future under new CEO Dany Bahar who will reveal ambitious plans to move Lotus road cars upmarket at the Paris motor show. He believes Lotus was at its strongest when it was firmly involved in multiple forms of motorsport and there were strong connections between road and track. The Lotus T125 is how the Norfolk firm plans to restore that connection; it also references the Lotus 25, F1's first-ever monocoque racer.

The T125 is a radical departure for the company best known for making the Elise and its derivatives in recent years. It will sit at the top of the company's new range, representing the best of Lotus's technologies in the same mould as the Ferrari 599XX.

It is powered by a detuned 640bhp, 332lb ft 3.5-litre Cosworth V8 racing engine. The redline is 10,300rpm but a ‘push to pass’ button ups this by 500rpm. The rear wheels are driven through an F1-style six-speed semi-automatic sequential gearbox with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. The T125 is 4910mm long, 1890mm wide and 1011mm high. Its dry weight is just 650kg thanks to a carbonfibre monocoque, carbonfibre suspension and carbon ceramic brakes.

Lotus USA marketing and PR executive Kevin Smith said the T125 was “not only a halo car for Lotus motorsport, but for Lotus overall”.

“It’s an outrageous track car and a complete, comprehensive package for someone who’s ever dreamed of being an F1 driver,” said Smith. “This is as close as you can get to the F1 experience."

The Exos club gives T125 buyers access to experiences equivalent to being an F1 driver. Special events will be held at circuits across Europe where buyers will receive training from top drivers, including Jarno Trulli, as well as advice from mechanics, engineers, nutritionists and fitness experts.

The car has been designed in-house at Lotus’s Hethel HQ without involvement from the Lotus Racing F1 team. Buyers will be able to paint it in any colour or livery they want, including Lotus's iconic JPS, Camel and green and gold liveries.

Lotus claims the car will not require an army of mechanics and engineers to run and maintain and is able to be operated by just one person. This is also seen in the service intervals; it can run for 4500km before it needs a trip back to Hethel.

Lotus Motorsport’s Stephen Wright said, “It’s very easy to run and maintain. It has a starter motor so you can run it yourself. It’s a fantastic opportunity for a very lucky band of individuals who purchase the car.”

The first 10 deliveries are expected by April 2011. It will be built at Hethel.