ARGUABLY the world's most exclusive hypercar has been revealed by Lotus to celebrate the golden anniversary of Emerson Fittipaldi's historic Formula 1 world championship victory in the iconic Lotus Type 72.

The Lotus Evija Fittipaldi is a very special version of what the company claims is the world's most powerful production car, but this street car of immense desire is reserved for the very exclusive few. Only eight examples are being built and they've already been sold at an undisclosed price.

Emerson Fittipaldi cemented his place in F1 history in 1972 when he won five of that season's 11 races, securing the drivers' championship for himself and the constructors' championship for Team Lotus.

Exactly 50 years on, the Lotus Evija Fittipaldi is the latest project from Lotus Advanced Performance, the bespoke design and experiential division of the business launched earlier this year.

It showcases the world-famous black and gold Lotus colour scheme- also 50 years old in 2022 - both inside and out with numerous other unique design features including a hand-tinted plan view of the Type 72 etched into the exposed carbon fibre roof, 1972 world championship race victory laurels on the rear spoiler - and Fittipaldi's signature, hand-stitched into the dashboard.

And perhaps the most emotive detail of all is the rotary dial on the floating central instrument panel which has been hand-crafted from recycled original Type 72 aluminium, ensuring a genuine piece of the iconic F1 racer is part of each car.

Fittipaldi himself was guest of honour at the hypercar's unveiling and said: "I've really enjoyed being a part of this project and it's been a wonderful experience revealing the car to some of the new owners."