British racing marque Lotus, which produces the iconic Lotus Elise sports car, has announced the opening of its first China showroom.

The company launched the new showroom earlier this month, featuring six models that have previously only been available in China through other dealers.

The Elise R, Elise SC, Evora, Evora IPS, Exige S 240 and the Exige S 260 wlll be on display at the store, which is in Beijing’s fashionable Chaoyang district.

The 600-meter-square space is the first in the world to feature Lotus’s refreshed store design, with the brand seemingly taking a leaf out of the books of companies such as Apple and Tesla to offer a modern, clean browsing experience.

A further ten stores are slated to open across China in 2012, a move that is likely to significantly boost sales from the 300 sold since the company started operating in China earlier this year.

Luxury-loving Chinese buyers have taken a keen interest in Lotus, with spy shots recently appearing of a Lotus SUV rumored to be heading for the Chinese market

The influential ChinaCarTimes blog predicted earlier this month that the model, based on the Lotus APX concept unveiled over five years ago in Europe, could make an appearance at next week’s Guangzhou Auto Show.