Lotus Type 125 makes its track debut

via Autoblog

Lotus has taken the time to put its new civilian Formula One racer through its paces. The company enlisted the help of both Jean Alesi & James Rossiter to check the Exos Type 125 in its first official track outing. Rossiter serves as the company's official check driver, so he's been in the chair of some  wild machines. Even so, the racer says that the Type 125 is "unique, intense &  raw." On top of that, Rossiter claims the open-wheel beast is as close as a mortal human can get to man-handling the tiller of a actual F1 automobile.

There's no surprise there. The Type 125 packs a 3.5-liter Cosworth V8 at its core with 650 horsepower. The miracle mill is strapped to a six-speed semiautomatic gearbox, & Lotus says that all it takes to wake the beast is a push of the beginning button. That means that owners won't need their own personal squad of mechanics  to get out of the paddock. in case you like the sound of this machine as much as they do, you better know anybody at Lotus. The company is only planning on handing out 15 examples of the Type 125. Hit the jump for the press release.