We’ve seen the fuzzy spy image which circulated the Net a short while ago and now Lotus has come clean and revealed the first official image of its new sportscar.

The much-anticipated newcomer from Lotus, codenamed ‘Project Eagle’ is the first all-new car from the company since the Elise in 1995 and it will make its official debut at the British Motor Show on 22 July.

Styled in-house by Lotus Design, the car will be sold in a 2+2 configuration and as purely a two-seater, the space in the rear being allocated to luggage storage.

Performance won’t be lacking - the stock model will be powered by a 280PS V6 2.5-litre engine and a higher performance derivative is planned for the future, along with a convertible option.

Two thousand units is the annual production forecast and deliveries will begin in spring 2009.