The Lotus team will switch from the current green and yellow livery to the historic black and gold for the 2011 season.
The team will launch a competition for fans to design the livery, reflecting the famours John Player Special sponsorship seen in 1972 to 1979.
The team’s chief executive, Riad Asmat, believes the move will be univerasally supported by F1 fans.
“When we first unveiled our 2010 car there was unanimous praise for our decision to bring the historic green and yellow livery back to the modern F1 grid.
“I know the return to the track of the legendary black and gold will be met with even more universal support as it strikes such an emotional chord with fans around the world.
“Giving those fans the chance to help us bring it back to the contemporary grid is true to our core belief of putting our supporters right at the heart of Lotus Racing – we can’t wait to show the world what we come up with.”