For the first time in twenty seven years a Lotus Cosworth engine has been successfully fired up just days ahead of the new team’s initial shakedown.

The V8 powerplant roared to life at the team’s Norfolk factory and despite a few technical delays, technical director Mike Gascoyne was very pleased.

"We'll be shaking the car down on Tuesday, just getting this fire-up is one thing, there's still a lot of parts to go on there," he told the BBC. “We're on the home run now, and that's the first Lotus Cosworth that's fired up for 27 years, so that's a big milestone.”

Lotus will take to the track for the first time on Tuesday ahead of their official launch at the end of the week.