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Nobody does it better than Lotus

Built as an homage to the original Lotus Esprit S1 made famous thanks to the James Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me," the Evora Sport 410 boasts a host of hand-finished period details both inside and out. Just don't drive it off a peer in Sardinia and expect it to convert into a submarine.

The one-off car, officially unveiled on Friday, is the work of the company's recently established in-house customization and personalization department, Lotus Exclusive.

Unique external touches include a specially created rear bumper to alter the car's lines and partially keying the one-piece carbon fiber tailgate in a white finish so that it more closely resembles the traditional hatchback system found on the original Esprit. The "Evora" badge on the B-Pillars has even been recreated in the typeface used by the company in the 1970s.

"So many of us recall the impact of the Lotus Esprit when it hit the big screen in 'The Spy Who Loved Me,' and we wanted to honour that with a special Evora Sport 410. It's the perfect tribute to such an influential Lotus," said Jean-Marc Gales, CEO, Group Lotus plc.

And while external touches are very subtle, it's on the inside where the craftsmanship and similarities are clearest. The carbon-fiber racing seats are trimmed in black Alcantara with Heritage black-and-red tartan, as are the door panels. The dashboard and console are also finished with red and white contrast stitching and the gearknob has the same wooden finish as in Esprits of old.

"Our customers have really embraced the Lotus Exclusive service, with 25% of new cars undergoing some form of personalisation," said Gales.

Under the hood, the only thing the new car has in common with that iconic Lotus that marks its 40th anniversary this year is an alloy block. The original car boasted a four-cylinder 160hp engine while the Evora 410 Sport has a 3.5-liter V6 with a supercharger, good for a 190mph top speed, 410hp and a 0-100km/h time of 4.2 seconds.

However, regardless of how you choose to personalize this particular Lotus, its exclusivity will be guaranteed. Production of the Sport 410 is capped at 150 examples globally and a model that conforms to current US regulations is on its way later this year.