Lotus gives Europa the De Beers treatment

Lotus is taking the idea of its diamond, or 60th, anniversary a little too seriously, releasing a diamond-encrusted version of its Europa sports car.

There's diamonds in that thar car!
(Credit: Lotus Cars)

Now, if you're imagining the Europa with a body comprised of the hardest substance known to man, the car doesn't go quite that far. It merely has diamonds set in the shifter (ouch!), the switchgear, the instruments, and the bonnet badge.

The car also gets a special paint job which, according to Lotus, gives "the appearance the car has been showered with diamonds". In reality though Lotus actually mixed glass flakes into the paint to achieve this look.

This special-edition Europa is going for £150,000 (roughly AU$332,000). That's jaw dropping expensive considering the most expensive normal-run Europa goes for about £33,000. According to Lotus, the 164 diamonds used in this special edition Europa car accounts for most of the extra cost, with the diamonds being valued at £111,000 or AU$245,000.

The diamond Europa sounds like the perfect addition to one's diamond iPod. Given that the car goes from 0 to 100km/h in less than six seconds, we would be more than happy with a cubic zirconium edition Europa.