However, the JBXE-Lotus link-up represents the entry of perhaps the biggest car manufacturer so far into Extreme E. General Motors’ Hummer name and the Volkswagen brand Cupra both have sponsorship deals with the Ganassi and Abt teams respectively.
The announcement correlates with Lotus’s plan for its road division to be all-electric by 2028. The Lotus Evija, the first-ever all-electric British Hypercar, is due to hit the road this year.
Speaking at a press conference, Button described just what it meant for his fledgling race team to be involved with Lotus.
“The Lotus Elise was the first car I really wanted as a kid,” he said. “When I was 17 and I lived in Froome, I had a Vauxhall Cavalier at the time, but I used to drive to Lotus in Bristol, just to sit in the Elise. It felt like a big go-kart.
“I was just moving up to car racing, and for me it was all about the lightness, about the driver feel, about the connection between the driver and the vehicle.
“Lotus really works on that connection. And you know, ‘hashtag add lightness’ has always been the way with Lotus – and that’s what I love.”
The all-electric Lotus Evija is slated to hit the streets later this year
Lotus
The former McLaren and Brawn driver also spoke his passion for Lotus’ racing heritage.
“I used to watch in F1 in the ’80s,” he said. “So watching Ayrton [Senna] in the Lotus, that beautiful [black and gold John Player] colour scheme, seeing him win his first race in Estoril.
“When I thought about F1, that’s where I wanted to be, I wanted to be racing a Lotus. It’s a childhood dream to work with them.
