lotus cars - wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

8/12/2019 Lotus Cars - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

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Type Private Limited Company

Industry Automotive

Founded 1952Founder(s) Colin Chapman

Headquarters Hethel, Norfolk, England,

United Kingdom

Area served Worldwide

Key people Jean-Marc Gales (CEO)

Aslam Farikullah (COO)

Syed Zainal Abidin

(managing director) Proton

Products Automobiles, Automotive parts

Owner(s) Proton (1996present)

R. Artioli/Bugatti (19931996)

General Motors (19861993)

Parent Group Lotus plc

Website Lotuscars.com

(http://www.lotuscars.com/)

Lotus Cars Limited

Lotus final assembly

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lotus Carsis a British manufacturer of sports and racingcars, famous for its Esprit, Elan, Europa and Elise sports carsand for the highly successful Team Lotus in Formula 1. LotusCars is based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War

II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds raceand production automobiles of light weight and fine handling

characteristics.[1]It also owns the engineering consultancyLotus Engineering, which has facilities in the UnitedKingdom, United States, Malaysia and China.

Lotus is owned by DRB-HICOM through its subsidiaryProton, which acquired it following the bankruptcy of formerowner Romano Artioli in 1996.

1 History

1.1 Financial troubles, death of Chapman

1.2 International ownership

2 Operations

3 Formula One & motorsport

4 Lotus car models4.1 Previous

4.2 Announcements of future cars

5 Lotus engines

6 Lotus Engineering

6.1 Engineering demonstrators

6.2 APX and VVA

6.3 Projects undertaken by Lotus Engineering

7 Electric vehicles8 Queen's Award for Enterprise

9 See also

10 References

11 Further reading

12 External links

Cars - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lo

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The company was formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd.by engineers Colin Chapman and Colin Dare, bothgraduates of University College, London, in 1952. The four letters in the middle of the logo stand for the initialsof company founder, Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman.

The first factory was in old stables behind the Railway Hotel in Hornsey, North London. Team Lotus, which

was split off from Lotus Engineering in 1954, was active and competitive in Formula One racing from 1958 to1994. The Lotus Group of Companies was formed in 1959. This was made up of Lotus Cars LimitedandLotus Components Limited, which focused on road cars and customer competition car production,respectively. Lotus Components Limited became Lotus Racing Limited in 1971 but the newly renamed entity

ceased operation in the same year.[2]

The company moved to a purpose built factory at Cheshunt in 1959[3]and since 1966 the company hasoccupied a modern factory and road test facility at Hethel, near Wymondham. This site is the former RAFHethel base and the test track uses sections of the old runway.

Financial troubles, death of Chapman

By 1980, Group Lotus was in serious financial trouble. Production had dropped from 1,200 units per year to amere 383. The combined reasons were that the world was in the middle of an economic recession, sales in thekey United States market had virtually collapsed and, as none of the original model range had been redesigned

or replaced, the cars were seen as boring and technically behind the times by potential customers.[4]

In early 1982, Chapman came to an agreement with Toyota over an exchange on intellectual property andapplied expertise. This initially resulted in Lotus Engineering helping to develop the Mk2 Toyota Supra, alsoknown as the Toyota Celica XX. Secondly it allowed Lotus to launch the new Lotus Excel to replace the ageingLotus Eclat, which using chassis components from the Toyota parts bin enabled the Excel to be sold for 1,109

less than the outgoing Eclat.[4]

Looking to re-enter the North American market, Chapman was approached by young law professor andinvestment banking consultant, Joe Bianco, who proposed a new and separate United States sales company forLotus. By creating an unprecedented tax-incentived mechanism (wherein each investor received a specially

personalised Lotus Turbo Esprit),[5]the new American company, Lotus Performance Cars Inc. (LPCI), was ableto provide fresh capital to the Group Lotus in the United Kingdom. Former Ferrari North America generalmanager John Spiech was brought in to run LPCI, which imported the remarkable Giugiaro-designed Turbo

Esprit for the first time. US sales began to quickly jump into triple digits annually.[6]

Chapman died of a heart attack in 1982 at the age of 54, having begun life an innkeeper's son and ended a multi-millionaire industrialist in post-war Britain. At the time of his death, the car maker had built tens of thousandsof successful racing and road cars, and won the Formula One World Championship seven times.

At the time of his death, both Chapman and Lotus were linked with the DeLorean Motor Company scandal overthe use of UK Government subsidies for the production of the DeLorean DMC-12, for which Lotus haddesigned the chassis. Chasing large sums of money which had disappeared from the DeLorean company, Lotuswas besieged by Inland Revenue inspectors, who imposed an 84 million legal "protective assessment" around

the company and all of its assets.[7]


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With Group Lotus near bankruptcy in 1983, through an introduction from his friend Mark Thatcher,[7]Englishaccountant and entrepreneur David Wickins, the founder of the worlds largest vehicle remarketing business

British Car Auctions, agreed to become the new company chairman.[7]Taking a combined 29% BCA/personal

stake in Group Lotus,[8]Wickins negotiated with the Inland Revenue, and then brought in new investors:

merchant bank Schroeder-Wagg (14%);[8]Michael Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft's Bermudian operating company

Benor (14%);[9]Sir Anthony Bamford of JCB (12%).[8]Wickins oversaw a complete turnaround in the

companies' fortunes, which resulted in him being called "The saviour of Lotus".[7][10]

International ownership

However, although having employed designer Peter Stevens to revamp the range and design two new conceptcars, by 1985 the British investors recognised that they lacked the required capital to invest in the required new

model development to production, and sought to find a major motor manufacturing buyer.[8]In January 1986,Wickins oversaw the majority sale of the Group Lotus companies and 100% of North Americanbased LPCI to

General Motors, with engineer Bob Eaton a big Lotus car fan.[8]After four months of controlling but co-owningGroup Lotus with Toyota, the Japanese company sold out to GM. By October 1986, GM had acquired a 91%

stake in Group Lotus for 22.7 million, which allowed them to legally force the company buyout.[8]

On 27 August 1993, GM sold the company, for 30 million, to A.C.B.N. Holdings S.A. of Luxembourg, acompany controlled by Italian businessman Romano Artioli, who also owned Bugatti Automobili SpA. In 1996,a majority share in Lotus was sold to Proton, a Malaysian car company listed on the Kuala Lumpur StockExchange.

Presently organised as Group Lotus plc, it is divided into Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering.

As well as sports car manufacture, the company also acts as an engineering consultancy, providing engineeringdevelopmentparticularly of suspensionfor other car manufacturers. Lotus' powertrain department isresponsible for the design and development of the 4-cylinder Ecotec engine found in many of GM's Vauxhall,Opel, Saab, Chevrolet and Saturn cars. The US Lotus Elise and Exige models used the 1.8L VVTL-i I4 fromToyota's late Celica GT-S and the Matrix XRS which is no longer available new. The new Exige has the sameV6 as the Evora and is not available in US as a road legal vehicle.

Michael Kimberley took over as Acting chief executive officer of the Company and its Group from May 2006.He chaired the Executive Committee of Lotus Group International Limited ("LGIL") established in February2006, with Syed Zainal Abidin (managing director of Proton Holdings Berhad) and Badrul Feisal

(non-executive director of Proton Holdings Berhad). LGIL is the holding company of Lotus Group Plc.

Kimberley retired as CEO on 17 July 2009,[11]replaced on 1 October 2009 by the former Senior Vice-Presidentfor Commercial & Brand at Ferrari, Dany Bahar. Bahar intended to drive the brand up-market into theexpanding global luxury goods sector, effectively away from the companies traditional light weight and puredriving experience simplicity.

Bahar was suspended as CEO on 25 May 2012 on a temporary basis, while an investigation into his conduct

was undertaken.[12]Lotus announced on 7 June 2012 the termination of Bahar's employment, and the

appointment of Aslam Farikullah as the new chief operating officer.[13]


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Lotus 77

Lotus 99T

Lotus 72

Lotus E20

The company encouraged its customers to race its cars, and enteredFormula One through its sister company Team Lotus in 1958. A LotusFormula One car driven by Stirling Moss won the marque's first GrandPrix in 1960 at Monaco in a Lotus 18 entered by privateer Rob Walker.Major success came in 1963 with the Lotus 25, which with Jim Clark

driving won Lotus its first F1 World Constructors Championship.Clark's untimely death he crashed a Formula Two Lotus 48 in April1968 after his rear tyre failed in a turn in Hockenheim was a severeblow to the team and to Formula One. He was the dominant driver in thedominant car and remains an inseparable part of Lotus' early years. Thatyear's championship was won by Clark's teammate, Graham Hill.

Lotus is credited with making the mid-engined layout popular forIndyCars, developing the first monocoque Formula One chassis, and theintegration of the engine and transaxle as chassis components. Lotus wasalso among the pioneers in Formula One in adding wings and shaping

the undersurface of the car to create downforce, as well as the first tomove radiators to the sides in the car to aid in aerodynamic performance,and inventing active suspension.

Even after Chapman's death, until the late 1980s, Lotus continued to be amajor player in Formula One. Ayrton Senna drove for the team from1985 to 1987, winning twice in each year and achieving 17 polepositions. However, by the company's last Formula One race in 1994,the cars were no longer competitive. Lotus won a total of 79 Grand Prixraces. During his lifetime Chapman saw Lotus beat Ferrari as the firstteam to achieve 50 Grand Prix victories, despite Ferrari having won theirfirst nine years sooner.

Formula One Constructors' Championships (Drivers' Championshipwinner for Lotus)

1963 (Jim Clark)

1965 (Jim Clark)

1968 (Graham Hill)

1970 (Jochen Rindt)

1972 (Emerson Fittipaldi)1973[14]

1978 (Mario Andretti)

Team Lotus established Classic Team Lotus in 1992, as the Workshistoric motorsport activity. Classic Team Lotus continues to maintainLotus F1 cars and run them in the FIA Historic Formula OneChampionship and it preserves the Team Lotus archive and WorksCollection of cars, under the management of Colin Chapman's son, Clive.


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The Lotus Elise

Team Lotus' participation in Formula One ended at the end of the 1994 season.

The Lotus name returned to Formula One for the 2010 season, when a new Malaysian team called Lotus Racingwas awarded an entry. The new team used the Lotus name on licence from Group Lotus, and was unrelated tothe original Team Lotus. In September 2010 Group Lotus, with agreement from its parent company Proton,terminated the licence for future seasons as a result of what it called "flagrant and persistent breaches of thelicence by the team". Lotus Racing then announced that it had acquired Team Lotus Ventures Ltd, the companyled by former racing driver David Hunt (brother of F1 world champion James Hunt) since 1994 when the

original Team Lotus had stopped competing in Formula One, and with it full ownership of the rights of the"Team Lotus" brand and heritage. The team confirmed that it would be known as Team Lotus from 2011onwards.

In December 2010 Group Lotus announced the creation of Lotus Renault GP, the successor to the Renault F1team, that contested the 2011 season having purchased a title sponsorship deal with the team with the option tobuy shares in the future. The team's car for that season, the R31, was badged as a Renault, while Team Lotus'scar, the T128, was badged as a Lotus. In May 2011, the British High Court of Justice ruled that Team Lotuscould continue to use the "Team Lotus" name, but Group Lotus had sole right to use the "Lotus" name on itsown. As a consequence, for 2012 Lotus Renault GP was rebranded as Lotus F1 Team and its cars were badgedas Lotuses, while Team Lotus was renamed Caterham F1 Team (after the sports car manufacturer owned byteam principal Tony Fernandes) and its cars were badged as Caterhams.

Group Lotus is currently also involved in several other categories of motorsport. It sponsors the KV team in theIndyCar Series, and used to sponsor the ART team in the GP2 and GP3 Series in 2011 & 2012. In 2011, Lotusalso returned to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a semi-works effort run by Jetalliance Racing, which fielded twoLotus Evoras. In 2012 they will partner with Engine Developments LTD/John Judd to build a 2.2 Liter TwinTurbocharged V-6 Engine to be used in the Izod Indycar Series. After fielding underpowered and uncompetitiveengines in the 2012 Indianapolis 500, in which drivers Jean Alesi and Simona de Silvestro were black-flaggedafter ten laps for failing to maintain a competitive pace, Lotus was released from its contract and did notparticipate in future seasons.

Current Lotus models include:

Lotus Elise: The Elise started in 1996 and weighed 725 kg

(1,598 lb). The current model starts at 901 kg (1,986 lb) and

incorporates some engineering innovations, such as an aluminium

extrusion frame and a composite body shell. The Elise has also

spawned several racing variants, including a limited series calledthe 340R, which has an open-body design echoing the old Seven.

The Elise was introduced into the US, with a Toyota engine, to

pass strict US emissions laws. The 1ZZ & 2ZZ Toyota engines used to have a Lotus ECU with their own

fuel mapping. The supercharged Lotus Elise S (which replaced the SC model) and limited edition Jim

Clark Type 25 Elise editions add a new performance dimension to the Elise range. 060 mph acceleration

is in 4.3 seconds and 0100 km/h in 4.6 seconds.


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Lotus Evora

Lotus Mk I, 1948

Lotus Exige S: Currently the only Exige on sale is the Exige S

with a supercharged engine providing 345 bhp (the same as in the

Evora S) from supercharged 3.5-litre V6 .

Lotus Evora: Launched 22 July 2008. Code named Project Eagle

during development. A 2+2 sports car with a mid-mounted,

transverse 3.5-litre V6 engine. Lotus will provide the Evora SModel (2011) as Rapid Response Vehicles to the Rome and Milan

Carabinieri to replace the previous Lamborghini Gallardos. See Lotus webpage

(http://www.lotuscars.com/en/carabinieri-lotus-evora-s)

Lotus 2-Eleven: Weighing just 670 kg (1,480 lb) and with 252 bhp (188 kW) the Lotus 2-Eleven can

sprint from 060 in 3.8 seconds and has a top speed of 155 mph (249 km/h). Intended as a track day car it

costs 39,995 but for an additional 1,100 Lotus will make the car fully road legal.

Lotus T125 Exos: Track-only Formula 1 inspired car. 3.5l Cosworth V8, 640 bhp; 25 will be built at $1million each. To run in the 'Exos Experience by Lotus', a club, initiated and operated by Lotus

Motorsport, in which a limited number of owner drivers can refine their driving skills and challenge

themselves with expert one-to-one advice from former Grand Prix drivers and trainers. Also, previous

holder of the fastest Top Gear lap time although it was disqualified for not being able to meet the

requirements of getting over a speed bump.

Previous

Lotus Mark I (1948): Austin 7based sports carLotus Mark II (19491950): Ford-powered trials car

Lotus Mark III (1951): 750 cc formula car

Lotus Mark IV (1952): Trials car

Lotus Mark V (1952): 750 cc formula car, never built

Lotus Mark VI (19531955): The first "production" racer, about

100 built

Lotus Seven (19571970): A minimalist open sports car designed

to manoeuvre a racing circuit.[15]

Lotus Mark VIII (1954): sports racer, MG 1.5 L

Lotus Mark IX (1955): sports racer, shorter and improved Eight

Lotus Mark X (1955): sports racer for larger displacement, Bristol/BMW 2 L

Lotus Eleven (19561957): small displacement sports racer (750 1500 cc)

Lotus 12 (19561957): Formula Two and Formula One racecar

Lotus 13: Designation not used


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Lotus 7 S1, 1957

Lotus Mk IX, 1955

Lotus Eleven

Lotus Elite

Lotus 14 (19571963): Lotus Elite, the first production street car

Lotus 15 (19581960): Sports racer, update of the Mk.X, Climax

1.5 2.5 L

Lotus 16 (19581959): F1/F2 car, "Miniature Vanwall"

Lotus 17 (1959): Lighter sports racer update of the 11 in response

to Lola Mk.I

Lotus 18 (19601961): First mid-engined Lotus single seater

Formula Junior/F2/F1

Lotus 19 (19601962): Mid-engined larger displacement sports

racer, "Monte Carlo"

Lotus 20 (1961): Formula Junior

Lotus 21 (1961): Formula One

Lotus 22 (19621965): Formula Junior/F3

Lotus 23 (19621966): Small displacement mid-engined sports

racer

Lotus 24 (1962): Formula One

Lotus 25 (19621964): Formula One World Champion

Lotus 26 (19621971): Lotus Elan, production street sports car

Lotus 26R (19621966): Racing version of Elan

Lotus 27 (1963): Formula Junior

Lotus 28 (19631966): Lotus version of the Ford Cortina

street/racer

Lotus 29 (1963): Indy car, Ford all-aluminium OHV small block

V8

Lotus 30 (1964): Large displacement sports racer (Ford small

block V8)

Lotus 31 (19641966): Formula Three space frame racer

Lotus 32 (19641965): Monocoque F2 and Tasman Cup racer

Lotus 33 (19641965): Formula One World Champion

Lotus 34 (1964): Indy car, DOHC Ford V8

Lotus 35 (1965): F2/F3/FB

Lotus 36 (19651968): Elan Fixed Head Coupe (Type 26 could be

fitted with a removable hard top)

Lotus 38 (1965): Indy winning mid-engined car

Lotus 39 (19651966): Tasman Cup formula car

Lotus 40 (1965): Improved(?) version of the 30

Lotus 41 (19651968): Formula Three, Formula Two, Formula B


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Lotus Elise S1

Lotus Elise GT1 Road Car, 1997

Lotus 340R

Lotus 74 (19711975): Europa Twin Cam production car

Lotus 75 (19741982): Elite II, Luxury 4-seat GT

Lotus 76 (1974): F1, redundant designation

Lotus 76 (19751982): clat S1, fastback version of Elite II,

redundant designation

Lotus 77 (1976): F1

Lotus 78 (19771978): F1 ground effects car

Lotus 79 (19751980) Lotus Esprit, street GT,[16]redundant

designation

Lotus 79 (19781979): Formula One World Champion, redundant

designation

Lotus 80 (1979): F1

Lotus 81 (19791980): Sunbeam Talbot Lotus, redundant

designation

Lotus 81 (19801981): F1, redundant designation

Lotus 82 (19821987): Turbo Esprit, street GT car

Lotus 83 (1980): Elite series 2

Lotus 84 (19801982): clat series 2

Lotus 85 (19801987): Esprit series 3

Lotus 86 (19801983): F1 dual chassis, never raced

Lotus 87 (19801982): F1

Lotus 88 (1981): F1 dual chassis car, banned

Lotus 89 (19821992): Lotus Excel GT, re-engineered clat

Lotus 90: Unreleased Elan/Toyota

Lotus 91 (1982): F1

Lotus 92 (1983): F1

Lotus 93T (1983): F1 Turbo



Lotus 96T (1984): Indy car project, abandoned



Lotus 99T (1987): F1 Turbo, last Lotus F1 winner


Lotus Elan (Type M100) (19891995): Front-drive convertible Elan.

Lotus 101 (1989): F1

Lotus 102 (19901991): F1


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New Lotus Esprit.

Lotus 103 (1990): F1, not produced

Lotus 104 (19901992): Lotus Carlton, tuned version of the Vauxhall saloon.

Lotus 105 (1990): Racing X180R, IMSA Supercars Drivers Champ (Doc Bundy)

Lotus 106 (1991): X180R, roadgoing homologation special

Lotus 107 (19921994): F1

Lotus 108 (1992): a bicycle ridden by Chris Boardman to win a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona

Olympics, also known as the "LotusSport Pursuit Bicycle".

Lotus 109 (1994): F1, Last Lotus F1 car.

Lotus 110: Production version of type 108 bicycle

Lotus 111: Lotus Elise

Lotus 112: Partial F1 design, reached as far as the monocoque buck

Lotus 113: Number not allocated

Lotus 114 (1996): Lotus Esprit GT1 race car

Lotus 115 (19971998): Lotus Elise GT1 race car

Lotus 116: Vauxhall VX220 / Opel Speedster, a collaboration with GM

Lotus 117: Lotus Elise Mk2

Lotus 118: Lotus M250, two-seat mid-range sports car concept unveiled in Autumn of 1999, project

cancelled in 2001

Lotus 119: Soapbox Derby car made of carbon and aluminium, disc brakes, no engine, for Goodwood

Festival of Speed

Lotus 120 (1998): Elise V6, code named M120, never produced

Lotus 121 (2006): Europa S[17]

Lotus 122: Lotus Evora

Lotus 123: Lotus 2-Eleven

Lotus 124: Lotus Evora, race car

Lotus 125: Lotus Exos[18]

Announcements of future cars

At the 2010 Paris Motorshow, Lotus announced five new models to be

introduced over the next five years:[19]

Their intention was to replace theElise with an entirely different model, as well as to introduce twoentirely new sports coupes, which would have been known as the Eliteand the Elan, a new sports saloon, the Eterne, to rival the Aston MartinRapide and Maserati Quattroporte, and a modern interpretation of the

Esprit supercar.[20]

However, it became apparent in July 2012 that the firm's financialdifficulties had made this plan impossible to implement, and now only

the Esprit is slated for production.[21][22]This will be powered by a


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Lotus Evora engine

4.8-litre Lotus Performance V8 engine delivering up to 620 PS (456 kW; 612 hp), capable of 0100 km/h in

approximately 3.4 seconds, and may include the option of a KERS-based hybrid system.[23]

Lotus also showed an unnamed city car concept using its 1.2L range-extender engine.[24]In 2011 Lotusrevealed this as the Lotus Ethos, a plug-in hybrid car based on the EMAS concept from its parent company

Proton, and likely to be primarily built by Proton in Malaysia.[20]

Lotus-Ford Twin Cam

Lotus 900 series

Lotus 907

Lotus 910

Lotus 911

Lotus 912

Lotus 918 V8Range Extender Engine. This all-aluminium, monoblock, 1200 cc,

three-cylinder, 47 horsepower, four-stroke engine is specifically

designed to directly drive an alternator for electricity generation

for series-hybrid cars. The engine is small and light at 56 kg

(123 lb), having three cylinders and no detachable cylinder head.

The cylinder head and engine block are all one casting to reduce

size, weight and production costs. As the engine does not turn belt driven ancillaries such as alternator,

power-steering pump or an air conditioning compressor, the block requires no strong points toaccommodate such ancillaries, resulting in a simple and light block. The engine has a reduced parts count

for lightness and cheaper production.[25][26]

On 18 August 2011 Lotus fired up an all new in-house designed V8 destined for the new era range of

cars. At 170 kg (375 lb) and just 612 mm (24.1 in) long, the unit will be dry sump lubricated to save

depth and will feature a 180 flat plane crank. The engine is being utilised as a stressed component, a

technique pioneered by Colin Chapman in F1, specifically with the 1967 Type 49. It is expected to be

used in the Le Mans LMP2 car in 2012. Expected performance is likely to be in excess of 590 PS

(434 kW; 582 hp) and with a 9,200 rpm redline.[27]

Lotus Engineering Limited, is an offshoot of Lotus Cars, which provides engineering consultancy third partycompanies primarily in the automotive industry. As well as Hethel in the United Kingdom Lotus hasengineering centres in Ann Arbor, USA, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Shanghai, China. In 2000, Lotus

Engineering, Inc. was established with an office in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[28]


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DeLorean DMC 12 with Lotusdesigned Chassis

Engineering demonstrators

Lotus Eco Elise is an engineering demonstrator of its classic sports car that incorporates solar panels into

a roof made from hemp, while also employing natural materials in the body and interior of the car.

Lotus Exige 265E Bio-fuel

Lotus Exige 270E Tri-fuel

Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid. Shown at the 2010 Geneva Motor showLotus Concept City Car. Shown at the 2010 Paris motor show.

APX and VVA

The APX (also known as the "Aluminium Performance Crossover") is an aluminium concept vehicle revealedat the 2006 Geneva Motor Show built on Lotus Engineering's Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA).

Whereas the VVA technology will be used in the creation of a new mid-engined sportscar for Lotus cars, theAPX is in fact a high-performance 7-seat MPV with four-wheel drive and a front-mounted V6 engine from

Lotus Engineering's Powertrain division. The engine was designed and developed to be available as a 2.2-litreN/A and 3.0-litre supercharged. A number of prototypes of both engines exist in full working order in a numberof mule cars.

Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA) is an effort by the Lotus car manufacturing company to reduce theinvestment needed for producing unique, niche-market cars by sharing a number of common components.

Cars produced using VVA:

Lotus APX

Projects undertaken by Lotus Engineering

Examples of work undertaken by Lotus Engineering include:

Lotus Talbot SunbeamTalbot's hot-hatch rally car of the early

'80s.

DeLorean DMC-12. Changes to the original concept led to

considerable schedule pressures. The car was deemed to require

almost complete re-engineering, which was turned over to

engineer Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus. Lotus replaced most

of the unproven material and manufacturing techniques with those

then employed by Lotus in the Lotus Esprit.

Vauxhall Lotus Carlton (also Opel Lotus Omega, internal name Lotus Type 104) At the time (early

1990s) this was the fastest saloon car available, with a top speed of over 175 mph (280 km/h).

The 1991 Dodge Spirit R/T with a version of the 2.2 L K-car engine with a 16-valve DOHC head

designed by Lotus with over 220 hp (160 kW).


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Sinclair C5

Dodge EV

Vauxhall VX220 (badged Opel Speedster outside of the UK)

Lotus produced and based upon the same aluminium chassis

design as the Lotus Elise. Production of these models ended in

2005.

Lotus styled and assisted with the engineering of the Tesla

Roadster, an electric sports car based on the Elise, as well as

licensing some technologies to Tesla Motors and constructing the

Roadster at their plant in Hethel.[29]

The Aston Martin DB9 chassis was developed with the help of

Lotus Engineering.

Lotus was responsible for most of the design, development, and

testing, of the LT5 DOHC V8 powerplant for the Chevrolet

Corvette C4 ZR-1.

Lotus designed, developed and tested the GM Ecotec engine and

its variants.

Lotus was responsible for various aspects of the Sinclair C5 electric tricycle.

Lotus was responsible for the suspension calibration of the Toyota MR2 Mk. I, the Toyota Supra Mk. II

and Mk. III, the Isuzu Piazza, the Isuzu Impulse as well as newer Proton models.

Lotus Engineered PROTON Satria GTi model.

Lotus was responsible for the development of the Campro engine together with Proton,[30]as well as its

variable valve timing system, the Cam Profile Switching (CPS). Currently available in the 1.6-litre and

1.3-litre variants, the Campro engine now powers most of Proton's newer models.

Lotus has worked on the suspension of the Mahindra Scorpio to make it more stable at high speeds.

Lotus produced the revised Chassis of the Isuzu Piazza

Lotus has worked on the suspension and handling of the Volvo 480

The Dodge EV concept electric vehicle from Chrysler is based on a Lotus Europa S.

Lotus has worked on the suspension and handling of the Nissan GT-R [31]

The Hennessey Venom GT and the GT2 are based on the Lotus Elise chassis.

2010: Limo-Green project with Jaguar Cars. Lotus provided the Range Extender engine for a prototype

XJ series-hybrid car. The car returned 58 mpg (imperial) running off the range extender alone.[32]

Lotus Engineering has established a group dedicated to hybrid and electric vehicles.[33]

Lotus plans to enter the electric vehicle race, CEO Michael Kimberley told the Financial Times "Don't besurprised to see an electric Lotus shortly, he said, adding that a concept version could debut as early as March

2009, at Geneva Motor Show.[34][35]Lotus is now front and center in the electric-car arena.[36]


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15/18

Ândy McSmith and Ben Laurance (16 January

2000). "Ashcroft's Lotus position"

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2000/jan

/16/thatcher.uk1). The Observer. Retrieved 14 July

2012.

9.

^"Auctions magnate began by selling just one old

car" (http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/news/s/2007738_auctions_magnate_began_by_selling_just_

one_old_car). GetHampshire.co.uk. 13 February

2007. Retrieved 14 July 2012.

10.

^"Lotus CEO Mike Kimberley to step down"

(http://motortorque.askaprice.com/news/auto-

0907/lotus-ceo-mike-kimberley-to-step-down.asp).

Motortorque.askaprice.com. Retrieved 30 September

2010.

11.

^"Lotus owners suspend chief Bahar over complaint"(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-

18215542). BBC News. 25 May 2012. Retrieved 25

May 2012.

12.

^"Lotus Appoints Chief Operating Officer

Confirms dismissal of Dany Bahar"

(http://www.lotuscars.com/us/news/corporate/media-

statement) (Press release). Group Lotus plc. 7 June

2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.

13.

^Constructors' championship only; drivers' title wentto Jackie Stewart of Tyrrell

14.

^The rights to the Seven were sold in 1973 to

Caterham Cars. Updated versions of this 1957 design

are also produced by other speciality firms, including

Westfield Sportscars and Donkervoort. Originally the

number seven was applied to a Riley-powered

Formula 2 car, but the vehicle was never completed in

its original form, finally emerging instead as the

Clairmonte Special (http://forix.autosport.com/8w/clairmonte.html), a two-seat sports car powered

by a Lea-Francis engine.

15.

Â mid-engined sports car, launched in the early

1970s. It was styled by Italian designer Giorgetto

Giugiaro. The Esprit started with a light, 4-cylinder

design, which went through several iterations of

turbo-charging and electronic upgrades, before finally

being replaced by a highly advanced V8. The last

Lotus Esprit rolled off the production line on 20February 2004, after 28 years in production. A total

of 10,675 Esprits were built since production began in

1976.

16.

^GT inspired two-seater claimed to offer a more

upmarket sportscar experience, although it is based on

the same chassis as the Elise and Exige, limiting

accommodation and practicality. Power comes from a

Lotus-tuned variant of the turbocharged four-cylinder

engine which powers the VX220. The Europa hasbeen criticised in the motoring press for being

expensive and for lacking equipment and practicality

compared to rivals like the Porsche Cayman.

17.

^"Lotus 125 'Ultimate Track Car' to Debut at Pebble

Beach Alongside Elise SC RGB Edition |

AutoGuide.com News" (http://www.autoguide.com

/auto-news/2010/08/lotus-125-ultimate-track-car-to-

debut-at-pebble-beach-alongside-elise-sc-rg-

edition.html). Autoguide.com. 5 August 2010.Retrieved 30 September 2010.

18.

^Chris Knapman (1 October 2010). "Paris Motor

Show 2010: five new models from Lotus"

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motor-

shows/paris-motor-show/8037488/Paris-Motor-

Show-2010-five-new-models-from-Lotus.html). The

Telegraph. Retrieved 11 August 2011.

19.

âbDan Strong (21 June 2011). "Lotus confirms new

V8 and city car too" (http://www.autoexpress.co.uk

/news/autoexpressnews/269173

/lotus_confirms_new_v8_and_city_car_too.html).

Auto Express. Retrieved 11 August 2011.

20.

^Nick Gibbs (30 July 2012). "Lotus Five Car Future

Is Canned" (http://www.pistonheads.com/lotus

/default.asp?storyId=26087). PistonHeads.

21.


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^Travis Okulski (25 July 2012). "Lotus Cancels

Nearly All of Dany Bahar's Future Lotus Cars"

(http://jalopnik.com/5928952/lotus-cancels-nearly-

all-of-dany-bahars-five-future-vehicles). Jalopnik.

22.

^Viknesh Vijayenthiran (20 November 2012). "New

Lotus Esprit Supercar close to completion"

(http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1080582_new-lotus-esprit-supercar-close-to-completion-report).

Motor Authority (http://www.motorauthority.com/).

23.

^Tim Pollard (16 December 2010). "Lotus supermini

'here in October 2013' Bahar"

(http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/News/Search-Results

/Industry-News/Lotus-supermini-here-in-October-

2013---Bahar/). Car magazine. Retrieved 30

September 2011.

24.

Âbuelsamid, Sam (22 June 2010). "Lotus and FagorEderlan Group to produce range-extender engine

Autoblog Green" (http://green.autoblog.com/2010/06

/22/lotus-and-fagor-ederlan-group-to-produce-range-

extender-engine/). Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 30

September 2010.

25.

^" Home Lotus Engineering"

(http://www.lotuscars.com/gb/engineering/range-

extender-engines). lotuscars.com. Retrieved 30

September 2010.

26.

^"[VIDEO] Lotus fire up all new in-house V8"

(http://www.thelotusforums.com/6374/latest-

news/lotus-cars-news/lotus-fire-up-all-new-

in-house-v8/). The Lotus Forums. 16 September

2011. Retrieved 18 December 2011.

27.

^Lotus Engineering Centres

(http://www.lotuscars.com/engineering/en/centres),

retrieved 18 Jube 2010.

28.

^"Done deal! Lotus will build the Tesla Roadster inHethel" (http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/29/done-

deal-lotus-will-build-the-tesla-roadster-in-hethel/).

autoblog. 29 July 2006. Retrieved 11 August 2011.

29.

Âbout Proton Engineering (http://www.power-

and-control.com/about/engineering.php) Proton

Cars UK

30.

^http://press.nissan-global.com/PRESSKIT

/NISSANGTR/0710/ENGLISH/MECHANISM

/index1.html

31.

^"Jaguar UK Jaguar International"

(http://www.jaguar.com/gl/en/#/experience

/jaguar_magazine/issue1_2010/limo_green).

Jaguar.com. Retrieved 30 September 2010.

32.

^Lotus Engineering establishes group dedicated to

(http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/02/22/lotus-

engineering-establishes-group-dedicated-to-hybrid-

and-elec/) hybrid electric and all-electric vehicles

AutoblogGreen

33.

âbcGarthwaite, Josie (5 January 2009). "Lotus to

Build Electric Vehicles" (http://earth2tech.com

/2009/01/05/lotus-to-build-electric-vehicles/).

Earth2tech.com. Retrieved 22 June 2009.

34.

âb"Lotus Electric Sports Vehicle Coming! | Lotus

Sphere" (http://lotusphere2007.com/2009/01/lotus-

electric-sports-vehicle-coming/).

Lotusphere2007.com. 10 January 2009. Retrieved 22

June 2009.

35.

âb"Future Jaguar XJ May Cut CO2Via Lotus

'LimoGreen' Project"

(http://www.greencarreports.com

/blog/1018769_future-jaguar-xj-may-cut-co2-

via-lotus-limogreen-project). GreenCarReports.com.

20 February 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2009.

36.

^"UK Technology Strategy Board (TSB) to Award

$45M to 16 Low-Carbon Vehicle Projects"

(http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/05

/uk-technology-s.html). Green Car Congress. 8 May

2008. Retrieved 8 May 2008.

37.


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Wikimedia Commons hasmedia related toLotus Cars.

^"The Queen's Awards for Enterprise 2002:

international trade Focus: Queen's Awards"

(http://docs.newsbank.com

/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid

/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:LTIB&

rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&

38. rft_dat=0F92034CC007C0A6&

svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&

req_dat=0EAD847D4966C8AF) (NewsBank). The

Times(London: Times Newspapers Limited). 22

April 2002. Retrieved 14 February 2011.

Grard ('Jabby') Crombac, Colin Chapman: The Man and His Cars(Patrick Stephens, Wellingborough,

1986)

Mike Lawrence, Colin Chapman: The Wayward Genius(Breedon Books, Derby, 2002)

Ian H. Smith, The Story of Lotus: 19471960 Birth of a Legend(republished Motor Racing Publications,

Chiswick, 1972)

Doug Nye, The Story of Lotus: 19611971 Growth of a Legend(Motor Racing Publications, Chiswick,

1972)

Robin Read, Colin Chapman's Lotus: The early years, the Elite and the origins of the Elan (Haynes,

Sparkford, 1989)

Anthony Pritchard,Lotus: All The Cars(Aston Publications, Bourne End, 1990)

Doug Nye, Theme Lotus: 19561986(Motor Racing Publications, Croydon, 1986)

William Taylor The Lotus Book(Coterie Press, Luton, 1998, 1999, 2005)

William Taylor The Lotus Book Collectibles(Coterie Press, Luton, 2000)

Peter Ross,Lotus The Early Years 195154(Coterie Press, Luton, 2004)

Rmy Solnon,Lotus Esprit le grand tourisme l'anglaise(http://lotusespritaddiction.unblog.fr/lotus-

esprit-le-grand-tourisme-a-langlaise/) (Editions Les Presses Littraires, 2007)

Andrew Ferguson, Team Lotus: The Indianapolis Years(Haynes Publishing 1996) no longer available

Lotus Cars Official Site (http://www.lotuscars.com/)

Lotus F1 Team Official Site (http://www.lotusf1team.com/)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lotus_Cars&oldid=617428078"

Categories: Lotus Cars Motor vehicle manufacturers of the United Kingdom British brands

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