Racing has always defined Lotus and on many occasions in motorsports history Lotus’ numerous innovations have re-defined racing.

A deal that will once again see Lotus cars re-united with Cosworth developed engines has been announced, signalling the beginning of a new strategic partnership between the two U.K. based engineering firms.

The first car that will be fettled by Cosworth is the recently unveiled Evora Cup Racing Car, which was driven by Jarno Trulli at Snetterton during an R&D session. Although there are no specific details outlining how radically different the new Cosworth developed engines are, Lotus has stated that Cosworth’s involvement will not be limited to motor sport use, hinting at further use of Cosworth engined road cars throughout the Lotus Range.

Lotus and Cosworth will also be teaming up with IndyCar competitors KV Racing to compete in the 2010 IndyCar season. Lotus last won the Indianapolis 500 race in 1965 with Jim Clark at the wheel of the Type 38, a revolutionary car at the time. Due to the rules, Lotus Engineering's new IndyCar will not be running a Cosworth engine, as a Honda V8 is mandated, but the two engineering firms will be working together to produce and develop a competitive race car.

Driving this year’s Lotus-Cosworth car will be former F1 driver Takuma Sato: ‘This is fantastic news for everyone. It is exiting for me to be a Lotus driver and I’m really looking forward to great success with this new project.’

The names Lotus and Cosworth go back a long way and if it weren’t for these two great engineering firms working together with Ford to create the DFV-powered Lotus 49, Formula 1 might look very different today. The Lotus 49 was a truly groundbreaking car in its day, pioneering many aspects of modern F1 cars, such as using the engine as a structural part of the car’s chassis, as well as fitting aerofoil rear wings increasing downforce. The car was extremely successful between 1967 and 1970, taking the Championship for Graham Hill in ’68.

The Northamptonshire based Cosworth Group has been one of the biggest players in international motor sport for more than 50 years, producing an impressive portfolio of championship winning race engines including, but not limited to, Formula 1, IndyCar, NASCAR, World Rallying, World Touring Cars and MotoGP.

Although not connected with Lotus Cars, the new Formula 1 team ‘Lotus Racing’, will also be using Cosworth engines for the 2010 F1 season, and with a return to IndyCar racing during the same year, the Lotus name will be competing in the two most popular open-wheeled series in the world. The new Lotus IndyCar will be painted a dark Metallic Green, the same as Lotus Racing’s F1 car, paying homage to the classic Type 38 IndyCar.

Dany Bahar CEO of Group Lotus commented: ‘The ties between Lotus and Cosworth are, of course, already historical ones but our new strategic relationship is based purely on Cosworth’s competencies, brand and race engine development capabilities’. Following the announcement that Lotus were re-entering IndyCar, he went on to say: ‘Racing has always defined Lotus and on many occasions in motor sport history Lotus’ numerous innovations have re-defined racing. It’s only fitting that as the Lotus Racing name re-enters Formula 1, we will also race and innovate again in IndyCar. The Lotus name will once again compete in the top two open-wheel racing series for the passion and enthusiasm of car fans around the globe’.