Lotus will today become the first F1 team to unveil the car it hopes will take it to 2013 world championship glory, when the wraps come off the new E21 at its Enstone base.

Unusually, the team - which finished third in the 2012 drivers' standings with returnee Kimi Raikkonen - have opted for a late launch in as far as fans will have to wait until 1915hrs GMT to catch a glimpse of the black-and-gold machine.

The unveiling will stream live via Lotus F1's official YouTube channel, and also be broadcast live in the UK by Sky Sports News. Both Raikkonen and second-year team-mate Romain Grosjean will be present at the launch, along with team principal Eric Boullier.

With the first test of the season due to kick off next Tuesday (5 February), Lotus will steal a three-day march on its rivals, with McLaren the next to launch on Thursday (31 January). Ferrari will unveil its car a day later again, with world champions Red Bull scheduled to pull back the covers on the successor to its RB8 on Sunday (3 February).