Ahead of the first official car launch of the year, Lotus has become the second team to issue images of its 2015 contender.

In a brief press release issued today, along with a number of renders of the car, Lotus CEO, Matthew Carter, introduced the car.

"The E23 Hybrid represents a new era for Lotus, not only in the change to a Mercedes Benz Power Unit, but also it is the fruition of a busy winter behind the scenes," he said. "Improvements within our Design, Aero and Simulation departments have all contributed to the development of a car which is a huge step forward.

"As a team we are confident that the new car coupled with additions to the Race team will enable a huge leap forward and we are full of optimism going into the new season. It is time to put the disappointment of last season behind us and benefit from 12 months of hard work; we are ready to return to our rightful place at the pinnacle of the sport."

"The E23 Hybrid represents a massive step forward for us," added Nick Chester, the team's Technical Director. "It's no secret that we struggled with last year's car so we've targeted every area that caused us an issue. We've made strong progress in the wind tunnel as well as in areas such as packaging and cooling. We expect the E23 to perform far, far better than its predecessor.

"In terms of what's new, obviously a massive change for us is a new Power Unit supplier. We made this change as it looked and looks to be the one area of the car which could bring us the greatest performance gain. It's not just performance, but reliability and driveability as well as packaging and cooling too. The E22 did deliver good figures in the wind tunnel, even if it was difficult to unlock its potential, so we've paid more attention to making the characteristics of the car more adaptable. In terms of the suspension, we were delivered something of a blow last year when the front-rear interconnected suspension was outlawed mid-season. The E23's suspension design is specific to the updated regulations so we're not trying to update a system originally intended to work a different way.

"We learnt a lot in many areas of the car over the course of 2014 so there are many lessons which have been applied. We know we've made a big step. We won't know how our car will fare in relative terms until we're out in action at a Grand Prix, but we certainly expect to be much more competitive than last year."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by imejl99, 27/01/2015 14:49

"Rear section, in front of rear wheels towards the middle of the car looks higher than 2014 car - change in regulations or new PU acommodation tougher than expected? Time will tell..."

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2. Posted by Hondawho?, 26/01/2015 20:52

"6. Posted by nonickname, 6 hours ago
"Hi Hondawho,
you got it wrong...it is a Mercedes OMG..."

"OMG" indeed, that is exactly what Colin Chapman is saying!"

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3. Posted by gturner38, 26/01/2015 20:33

"Speak for yourself. Vinicius. The 2008 F1 machines were the ugliest batch of race cars ever built thanks to teams trying to cover every square inch with winglets."

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4. Posted by Vinicius, 26/01/2015 17:19

"All the cars are ugly with that strange front wings and noses, and without any device on the bodywork. We want pre-2009 cars back!"

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5. Posted by Hondawho?, 26/01/2015 17:14

"I wish the guys and girls at Enstone all the best, they have a great team and great history in the sport; I just wish it was not called a Lotus, they are after all only sponsoring the car not making it!

All a bit of spin really, a bit like the latest sales figures from group Lotus."

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6. Posted by Hobgoblin, 26/01/2015 15:57

"At least they have a decent looking nose."

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7. Posted by Joop deBruin, 26/01/2015 15:02

"With Microsoft as prime sponsor, I help but think that all of those Blue Screens of Death are holding Lotus back."

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8. Posted by nonickname, 26/01/2015 14:49

"Hi Hondawho,
you got it wrong...it is a Mercedes OMG..."

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9. Posted by Hondawho?, 26/01/2015 14:33

"Besides a real Lotus should not have an "E" before its designation number! "

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10. Posted by Hondawho?, 26/01/2015 14:31

"Fraud lotus, Anything better than the fork lift truck they had last year is appreciated, however a Lotus Mercedes"? Not sure that its go quite the right sound to it but, lets hope it works for them this year."

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11. Posted by White Lightning, 26/01/2015 14:30

"Looks slow. Sorry Lotus."

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Lotus presents its 2015 challenger; the E23 Hybrid.

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