As hard as it is to believe now, Lotus Cars struggled for the first decade and a half of its existence. The British manufacturer of sports and racing cars is now famous for its Esprit, Elan, Europa, and Elise models, not to mention its highly successful Formula One racing team, but from 1952 to 1966 the company frequently moved locations before settling at a modern factory and road test facility at Hethel, a converted Royal Air Force base. Fifty years later, the company is still there, and they’re honoring that legacy by introducing a limited-edition version of the Elise, its most affordable model.

Called simply the Special Edition, the 50th anniversary Elise sports an array of carbon fiber add-ons, including a front splitter and a rear wing, as well as optional modern accoutrements like A/C, cruise control, full carpet, extra sound-deadening material, and an in-car entertainment system with Bluetooth connectivity and an iPod jack. The sport seats are made of carbon fiber, as well— embodying company founder Colin Chapman’s “light is right” philosophy. The forged wheels come painted silver, but buyers can select between metallic blue, white, red, and yellow color options for the body.

With any Lotus, though, it’s the engine that makes the car, and this one’s no different. The Special Edition is based on the Elise Cup 250, and powered by the same engine: a Toyota-derived 1.8-liter four-cylinder that uses a supercharger to generate 243 horsepower at 7,200 rpm and 184 pound-feet of torque from 3,500 to 5,500 rpm. That’s power enough to send the 2,000-pound Elise from zero to 60 in 3.9 seconds, with a top speed of 154 mph. The mid-mounted four spins the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission and an electronic differential lock.

There are only 50 models of Lotus Elise 250 Special Edition, and they’re on sale now in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Japan. Pricing starts at £47,900, or just a shade under $63,000 using today’s conversation rate.