The very first ever Lotus was built in a tiny shed by a brilliant engineer, Colin Chapman. Interest in his light, purist sports cars quickly took off. Lotus grew from a hobby that got out of hand to a world-renowned brand that in 2010 does more than just build sports cars.
First Lotus is created
In 1948 the Englishman Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman built a car based on the 1930 Austin Seven. Chapman, engineer and driver by trade, called him the Mark I. That same year Colin Chapman graduated as an engineer and started working at the English Royal Air Force (RAF). In his spare time he stays in the shed of his parents-in-law to do odd jobs on his project. In 1950 this resulted in a roadworthy model suitable for public roads. Chapman continues to develop his car and presents the Mark 3 in 1951. The feather-light Mark 3 sprints from 0-100 km / h in well under 10 seconds and reaches a top speed of around 150 km / h. In 1952 the project takes shape professionally with the foundation of The Lotus Engineering Company. The first production models Lotus Mark 4 and Mark 6 soon see the light of day. They are still further developments of the original concept.
On the track
Lotus explores the circuits with the aerodynamic Mark 8 in 1954 and achieves immediate success with the car. The Mark 6 has gained considerable popularity on public roads and the capacity of Lotus is growing considerably. The Mark 6 gets successors in the compact Mark 9 and the larger, stronger Mark 10. The growth of Lotus ensures that the brand is officially recognized in 1955 by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. As a result, Lotus is admitted to car shows. Chapman and his people are so busy that they decide to change their strategy: instead of a diversity of similar models, Lotus will offer one basic model in different configurations: the Lotus Eleven is born. From there Lotus will focus on the introduction of new models. For example, there are the stylish Elite and the Seven, which would later become a legend. Lotus is also doing good business in the field of sports: in 1958 the racing team made it to the highest class of international motorsport: Formula 1. Chapman also proved himself a skilled engineer in Formula 1. His drive for further development leads to an increasingly faster Lotus Formula 1 car. The first model, the Type 12, is being further developed and this is reflected in the Type 18, a fast car with a mid-engine and excellent weight distribution. In the hands of the fast Stirling Moss, Lotus seizes the world championship with the Type 18. Lotus is growing so fast in all areas that the brand needs a new home and finds this in Cheshunt. Lotus continues its success in formula 1.
Success on the road and the circuit
Where the focus was on racing cars from the late 1950s to the early 1960s, Lotus returns in 1962 with an all-new road car, the Elan. The Elan is a lightweight convertible that quickly becomes a popular must-have. Of course, the brand’s racing activities continue at a rapid pace with the introduction of an Indycar racing car and the support of Ford in the British Touring Car Championship with the Lotus Cortina. In 1963 Lotus again takes the Formula 1 World Championship with Jim Clark at the wheel with a record number of points for both drivers and constructors. Two years later, the Lotus-Clark combination repeats this feat once again, while in the same year the Indy 500 is also dominated from start to finish.
Tragic goodbye to a racing legend
In 1966 Lotus moves again, this time to Hethel, Norfolk, from where the brand currently (2010) still operates. The move is celebrated shortly afterwards with the arrival of the Europa sports car. 1968 is one of the darkest pages in the brand’s history. Lotus icon Jim Clark dies in a tragic accident in a Formula 2 race. Lotus, and with them the entire racing world, are immersed in raw. Nevertheless, things will of course continue with the arrival of the Europa S2, which also finds its way to America, with which Lotus officially debuts across the ocean. In 1970 Lotus introduced a successful racing car based on the Elan: the Elan sprint. The Austrian Jochen Rindt dominates on the circuits, but once again Lotus fate is cruel: Rindt dies in a crash before the end of the season. After another period of raw Lotus is again strong with an update of the Europa that gets a much stronger engine under the hood. The 1.6 liter Renault engine is replaced by one developed by Lotus and Ford.
The introduction of an icon
Many will recognize Lotus by the iconic JPS sponsored Formula 1 car from 1972. Many call this Lotus Type 72 the most beautiful Formula 1 car ever built. The following season Lotus takes its 6th Formula 1 title. In 1974 the brand releases the Elite. As the name suggests, this is a top model at the time. It is also Lotus ?? first four-seater car ever. Although a lot more luxurious than usual with Lotus, it is still a thoroughbred sports car. A year later, the next Lotus icon was born: the Esprit. The Esprit, designed by Giugiaro, acquires a classic status over the years and functions, among other things, as a car for James Bond in “The spy who loved me”. The Esprit was to be produced for many more years: production stopped until 2003. Of course this was a further developed model, but the basis was largely preserved. Also in Formula 1, things continue to go well with Lotus, where grand prix victories are achieved by big names such as Mario Andretti, Ronnie Peterson and Carlos Reutemann. The eighties are successfully initiated with the introduction of the brutal Esprit Turbo that recorded a 0-100 sprint time of 5.5 seconds.
Colin Chapman pursues
All these years Colin Chapman has been at the head of Lotus. In 1982, Chapman died of a heart attack at the age of just 54. Unfortunately, Chapman can no longer experience the fact that Lotus has two legendary drivers behind the wheel in 1983 and 1985: in 1983 Nigel Mansell and in 1985 the young mega talent Ayrton Senna. The eighties are turbulent years for Lotus: in 1983 the Japanese Toyota acquires a 16.5% share in Lotus, something that Lotus would benefit from at a later stage in the form of the use of engines. Lotus still has success in Formula 1 in 1988 with Nelson Piquet, after which the team withdraws from the highest class of motorsport. In 1989 it was the turn of an even more powerful version of the Esprit turbo, the Turbo SE with an output of 264 hp and a sprint from 0-100 km / h in 4.7 seconds.
The modern Lotus is expanding
In the 90s, the activities of Lotus expanded further. The manufacturer not only builds road and racing cars, but will also focus on the development of other products and engineering for other companies. A good example is the Type 108 Lotus racing bike, which broke the world record 5 kilometers in pursuit during the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992. 1995 is a festive year for the English brand because the 50,000th car is produced in that year. Shortly afterwards, the Elise debuted, a lightweight coupé that is still available in a newer form today (2010). The Elise is equipped with Toyota engines and its low weight in combination with the relatively high power give it excellent performance and handling. Less than two years later, the 1000th Elise has already been sold, which prompts Lotus to significantly increase production. In the meantime, the Esprit keeps getting stronger: a new version debuts in 1996 and is powered by a newly developed 3.5 liter V8 with 350 hp.
As early as the 1980s, Lotus was incorporated by the American General Motors and in 2000 this was reflected in the Opel Speedster: a lightweight Opel sports car, then also belonging to the GM stable, which was inspired by the Lotus Elise. Lotus provided the technology while the car was equipped with an Opel engine. In the new millennium, Lotus will mainly focus on expanding into new markets. Many new versions of the Elise and its closed variant, the Exige, have also been released. In 2010, Lotus has two compact purist racers with the Exige and Elise, while with the Europe and top model Evora it has more gran turismo focused on luxury. The team also returned to Formula 1 in 2010 with the Italian Jarno Trulli and the Finn Heikki Kovalainen at the wheel. In recent years, Lotus Engineering has been explicitly involved in various developments in the automotive industry such as the fuel cell and a “sound box”: a system that simulates the sound of a moving car. This can be applied to silent electric cars to improve the safety of blind pedestrians in traffic in the future.