British racing marque Lotus, which produces the iconic Lotus Elise sports car, has announced the opening of its first China showroom.

The company launched the new showroom earlier this month, featuring six models that have previously only been available in China through other dealers.

The Elise R, Elise SC, Evora, Evora IPS, Exige S 240 and the Exige S 260 wlll be on display at the store, which is in Beijing’s fashionable Chaoyang district.

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification, Lotus has created two Evora S police cars for the Carabinieri (Military Police).

Powered by a supercharged 3.5-litre Toyota V6 producing 257kW of power and 400Nm of torque, the Evora S is able to accelerate from 0-100km/h in 4.8 seconds.

The special models have a light bar, an enhanced automation system and a refrigerated compartment that will be used for transporting vital organs.

Lotus Cars Ltd announced its official foray into China on Wednesday, seeing the huge potential from China’s surging super sports-car market.

The British sports-car maker has authorized Symphony Lotus Ltd as its importer and distributor around the nation with the launch of a new logo to avoid confusion with the local Youngman brand which already uses the “lotus” name (Lianhua in Chinese).

It will start first with an outlet in Beijing — expected to open in October — before moving into the cities of Shanghai, Chongqing and Guangzhou by the end of the year.

Lotus is going to launch a new luxury lifestyle brand, Lotus Originals, which will offer a range of performance outerwear, luxury knitwear and leather goods that reflect the craftsmanship, heritage and spirit of Lotus.

Lotus said it has carefully hand picked the very best suppliers and materials to work with to ensure that quality reflects the future of Lotus.

“Our goal with the Lotus Originals concept was to create a range of apparel and accessories that really capture the true spirit of our iconic British brand.”

Lotus F1 boss Tony Fernandes said he will auction off seats on an AirAsia flight where Virgin boss Richard Branson will dress up as a ‘stewardess’.

The two airline bosses placed a bet at the beginning of the 2010 Formula One championship, agreeing that the one whose Formula One team lost would serve as a “stewardess” on the winner’s airline.

Although both teams completed the season with zero points on Sunday, Lotus were placed ahead of Branson’s Virgin Racing in the rankings by virtue of their better race finishing positions.

Lotus and Maserati have released the first images of their latest supercars due to be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show.

The British Group Lotus brand said yesterday that that the new Elite will redefine “modern classic” when it is released in spring 2014, priced around £115,000.

Its 5.0 liter V8 gas engine can deliver a top speed of 315 km/h and a 0-100 km/h time of between 3.5 and 3.7 seconds.