Lotus has been awarded £10.44m from the Government's Regional Growth Fund which will fund development of new models and create 313 new jobs.

The grant is the second influx of funding for Lotus this year, after owners DRB-HICOM announced it would provide £100million to grow Lotus' "engineering, productivity, efficiency and quality". DRB's funding came as part of a new three-year plan to revitalise the struggling firm.

Part of the Lotus strategy is understood to focus on new variants of existing products. Current models including the Exige, Evora and Elise will be used to launch special editions. The most recent of these is the Lotus Exige V6 Cup.

Lotus boss Aslam Farikullah said: "This grant is part of a wider strategy for Lotus created to ensure we thrive and grow. We are responding to increased global demand for our cars and engineering consultancy services and this grant will help to position Lotus at the forefront of global automotive innovation.

“We have very exciting plans for our sports cars and it’s a very positive move for Lotus that we’re in a position to create new jobs and to significantly contribute to Britain’s automotive industry.

“The team here at Lotus have worked very hard to secure this grant and every employee is playing their part in the stability, growth and future success of our company.”