Radford has announced that its first model, Project 62, will be launching on August 7 at the Lyon Air Museum in California. The event will be streamed online. Radford – which is co-owned by ex-F1 champ Jenson Button, car designer Mark Stubbs and TV star and car builder Ant Anstead – took deposits for the 62-unit limited edition Lotus-based sports car in May.
Radford, which calls itself a global luxury coachbuilding brand with a British heart and soul, also announced the acquisition of its second US trademark for one of the world’s most iconic race liveries, Gold Leaf. The Gold Leaf livery is now owned by Radford in the US, and will feature on future Radford models.
The Gold Leaf livery is well-known as the first sponsored Formula 1 livery. The red, white and gold colour scheme was applied after Lotus founder Colin Chapman signed a huge deal with cigarette brand Gold Leaf, and is most well-known on the Type 49B Graham Hill raced in the 1968 season.
The livery also featured on the famous Lotus 72 F1 car raced by Emerson Fittipaldi and Jochen Rindt in the 1970 season, and is intrinsically linked with the Lotus Type 62, the car to which the modern Radford Project 62 pays homage.
“The Project 62 is our brand telling the world exactly what a Radford is, which is an exquisite blend of state-of-the-art technology with opulence and traditional craftsmanship, a superlative driving experience and the ultimate in personalisation. We can’t wait to reveal to the world what we’ve been working on for these past months and years. Project 62 is a very special car,” said Radford CEO Dan Burge.
“It’s going to be an amazing event, and trust me, the car is going to be worth the wait – it’s a car unlike anything you will have seen before,” Button added.
Previous statements by the company describe the Project 62 as mid-engined two-seat coupe that is a modern-day interpretation of the Lotus Type 62/2 you see above. The car will be “endowed with luxurious appointments befitting a high end bespoke coachmaker” and that “it will be sleek, elegant and cosseting but not at the expense of driver enjoyment”. The drive? “Mechanical, engaging and poised – a true driver’s car,” they say. We’ll see on August 7.
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