On the eve of the 2010 Paris Motor Show, Lotus CEO, Dany Bahar, whisked a dozen of the brand’s faithful to the automaker’s factory for an indoctrination into Lotus’ illustrious racing past.

Then, they were taken by private jet to the Louvre Museum, where Lotus unwrapped its latest project: the T125.

Bahar envisioned something that harkened back to Colin Chapman’s earliest efforts at encouraging Lotus owners to take to the track.

Also unveiled was a private racing league for the T125 called “the Exos Club”.

Three months later, F1 legend Jean Alesi helped Lotus unveil the T125 and Exos Club program to the public at Autosport International in Birmingham, England.

Testing of the first completed car was undertaken at the Vallelunga Circuit in Italy, where the FIA allows Formula 1 teams to test their cars.

The T125 makes use of Cosworth’s GP V-8, a 3.8-litre, 640-horsepower race engine capable of screaming to 11,000 rpm through a six-speed sequential transmission with a hand-operated c...