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Lotus Cars is a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 manufacturer of sports
Sports car

A sports car is a term used to describe a class of automobile. The exact definition varies, but generally it is used to refer to a low to ground, light weight vehicle with a powerful engine....
 and racing car
Automobile

An automobile or motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle for transportation passengers, which also carries its own car engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally f...
s based at Hethel
Hethel

Hethel is a small village in Norfolk, England. It is located near the historic market town of Wymondham, and is approximately 10 miles south of the city of Norwich....
, Norfolk
Norfolk

Norfolk is a low-lying Counties of England in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and with Suffolk to the south....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and high handling
Car handling

Car handling and vehicle handling is a description of the way wheeled vehicles perform transverse to their direction of motion, particularly during cornering and swerving....
 characteristics.

company was formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd. by engineer Colin Chapman
Colin Chapman

Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman Order of the British Empire was an influential United Kingdom designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry....
, a graduate of University College, London, in 1952. The first factory was in old stables behind the Railway Hotel in Hornsey
Hornsey

Hornsey is a district in London Borough of Haringey in north London in England. Whilst Hornsey was formerly the name of a parish and later a municipal borough of Middlesex, today, the name refers only to the London district....
. Team Lotus
Team Lotus

Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, American Championship Car Racing and sports car racing....
, which was split off from Lotus Engineering in 1954, was active and competitive in Formula One
Formula One

Formula One, abbreviated to F1, and currently officially referred as the FIA Formula One World Championship is the highest class of auto racing sanctioned by the F?d?ration Internationale de l'Automobile ....
 racing from 1958 to 1994.






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Lotus Cars is a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 manufacturer of sports
Sports car

A sports car is a term used to describe a class of automobile. The exact definition varies, but generally it is used to refer to a low to ground, light weight vehicle with a powerful engine....
 and racing car
Automobile

An automobile or motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle for transportation passengers, which also carries its own car engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally f...
s based at Hethel
Hethel

Hethel is a small village in Norfolk, England. It is located near the historic market town of Wymondham, and is approximately 10 miles south of the city of Norwich....
, Norfolk
Norfolk

Norfolk is a low-lying Counties of England in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and with Suffolk to the south....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and high handling
Car handling

Car handling and vehicle handling is a description of the way wheeled vehicles perform transverse to their direction of motion, particularly during cornering and swerving....
 characteristics.

History

The company was formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd. by engineer Colin Chapman
Colin Chapman

Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman Order of the British Empire was an influential United Kingdom designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry....
, a graduate of University College, London, in 1952. The first factory was in old stables behind the Railway Hotel in Hornsey
Hornsey

Hornsey is a district in London Borough of Haringey in north London in England. Whilst Hornsey was formerly the name of a parish and later a municipal borough of Middlesex, today, the name refers only to the London district....
. Team Lotus
Team Lotus

Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, American Championship Car Racing and sports car racing....
, which was split off from Lotus Engineering in 1954, was active and competitive in Formula One
Formula One

Formula One, abbreviated to F1, and currently officially referred as the FIA Formula One World Championship is the highest class of auto racing sanctioned by the F?d?ration Internationale de l'Automobile ....
 racing from 1958 to 1994. The Lotus Group of Companies was formed in 1959. This was made up of Lotus Cars Limited and Lotus Components Limited which focussed on road car 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.

The company moved to a purpose built factory at Cheshunt in 1959 and since 1966 the company has occupied a modern factory and road test facility at Hethel, near Wymondham
Wymondham

Wymondham is an historic market town and civil parish in the England county of Norfolk. It lies 9 miles to the south west of the city of Norwich, England, on the A11 road to Thetford, Norfolk and London....
. This site is the former RAF Hethel
RAF Hethel

RAF Hethel is a former World War II airfield used by the US during the Second World War in Norfolk, England situated located 7 miles south west of Norwich....
 base and the test track uses sections of the old runway.

Chapman died of a heart attack in 1982, at the age of 54, having begun life an inn-keeper's son and ended a multi-millionaire industrialist in post-war Britain
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
. The carmaker built tens of thousands of successful racing and road cars and won the Formula One
Formula One

Formula One, abbreviated to F1, and currently officially referred as the FIA Formula One World Championship is the highest class of auto racing sanctioned by the F?d?ration Internationale de l'Automobile ....
 World Championship
World championship

A world championship is the top achievement for any sport or contest. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc....
 seven times. At the time of his death he was linked with the DeLorean
De Lorean Motor Company

The DeLorean Motor Company was a short-lived automobile manufacturer formed by automobile industry executive John DeLorean in 1975. It is remembered for the one model it produced ? the distinctive stainless steel DeLorean DMC-12 sports car featuring gull-wing doors ? and for its brief and turbulent history, ending in receivership and bankrup...
 scandal over the use of government subsidies for the production of the De Lorean DMC-12
De Lorean DMC-12

The DeLorean DMC-12 is a sports car that was manufactured by the DeLorean Motor Company for the American market in 1981 and 1982 in Northern Ireland....
 for which Lotus had designed the chassis.

In 1986 the company was bought by General Motors. On August 27, 1993, GM sold the company, for £30 million, to A.C.B.N. Holdings S.A. of Luxembourg
Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a small landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany....
, a company controlled by Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 businessman Romano Artioli
Romano Artioli

Romano Artioli is an Italy entrepreneur and one-time owner of Bugatti and Lotus . Prior to this, Artioli made his fortunes as an importer of Suzukis....
, who also owned Bugatti Automobili SpA. In 1996 a majority share in Lotus was sold to Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd (Proton
Proton (company)

Proton is the Malaysian national automobile manufacturer , which was established in 1983 under the direction of the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr....
), a Malaysia
Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
n car company listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.

The company also acts as an engineering
Engineering

Engineering is the discipline and profession of applying Technology and science knowledge and utilizing natural laws and physical resources in order to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and process that safely realize a desired objective and meet specified criteria....
 consultancy, providing engineering development—particularly of suspension
Suspension (vehicle)

Suspension is the term given to the system of spring , shock absorbers and Linkage that connects a vehicle to its wheels. Suspension systems serve a dual purpose ? contributing to the car's car handling and brake for good active safety and driving pleasure, and keeping vehicle occupants comfortable and reasonably well isolated from road no...
—for other car manufacturers. The lesser known Powertrain department is responsible for the design and development of the 4 cylinder engine found in many of GM's Vauxhall
Vauxhall Motors

Vauxhall Motors is a UK automobile company. It is a subsidiary of General Motors , and is part of GM Europe. Most current Vauxhall models are right-hand drive derivatives of GM's Opel brand....
, Opel
Opel

Adam Opel Gesellschaft mit beschr?nkter Haftung is a Germany automaker, part of General Motors.The company was founded on 21 January, 1863, and began making automobiles in 1899....
, Saab
Saab Automobile

Saab Automobile AB, better known as Saab, is a Swedish automaker and currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors. It is the exclusive automobile royal warrant holder as appointed by Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden....
, and possibly some Saturn cars. It should however be noted that the current Lotus Elise
Lotus Elise

The Lotus Elise is a roadster conceived in early 1994 and released in September 1996 by the England manufacturer Lotus Cars. The car has a hand-finished fibreglass body shell atop its aluminium extrusion and bonded frame that provides a rigid platform for the suspension, while keeping weight and production costs to a minimum....
 and Exige
Lotus Exige

The Lotus Exige is a two-door, two-seat sports car made by Lotus Cars. It is essentially a coupe version of the Lotus Elise, which is a roadster....
 models use the 1.8L VVTL-i I4 from Toyota's late Celica GT-S and the Matrix XRS.

The company is organized as Group Lotus, which is divided into Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering. Contrary to some rumours, there are no plans to create a Formula One Team. This is more likely to be due to the massive financial input required over and above any of the company's wishes.

Michael Kimberley took over as Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Company and its Group from May 2006. He currently chairs the Executive Committee of Lotus Group International Limited ("LGIL") established in February 2006, 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.

Formula One


The company encouraged its customers to race its cars, and itself entered Formula One
Formula One

Formula One, abbreviated to F1, and currently officially referred as the FIA Formula One World Championship is the highest class of auto racing sanctioned by the F?d?ration Internationale de l'Automobile ....
 as a team in 1958. A Lotus Formula One car driven by Stirling Moss
Stirling Moss

Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss Order of the British Empire is a retired racing driver from England. His success in a variety of categories placed him among the world's elite – he is often called "the greatest driver never to win the World Championship"....
 won the marque's first Grand Prix in 1960 at Monaco
1960 Monaco Grand Prix

Results from the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix held at Circuit de Monaco on May 29, 1960...
 in a Lotus 18
Lotus 18

The Lotus 18 is a race car designed by Colin Chapman for use by Team Lotus in Formula Junior, Formula Two, and Formula One. It was the first mid-engined car built by Lotus, and a marked improvement over Chapman's early and only moderately successful front-engined formula cars, the Lotus 12 and Lotus 16....
 entered by privateer Rob Walker. Major success came in 1963 with the Lotus 25
Lotus 25

The Lotus 25 was a racing car designed by Colin Chapman for the 1962 Formula 1 season. It was a revolutionary design, the first fully stressed monocoque chassis to appear in F1....
, which—with Jim Clark driving—won Lotus its first F1 World Constructors Championship. Clark's untimely death — he crashed a Formula Two
Formula Two

Formula Two, abbreviated to F2, is a type of formula racing and was previously the main feeder series to Formula One. It was replaced by Formula 3000 in 1985, but the FIA announced in 2008 that Formula Two would return for 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship season in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship....
 Lotus 48
Lotus 48

The Lotus 48 was a Formula 2 car designed by Colin Chapman, based on a 1600 cc Ford Motor Company FVA Internal combustion engine that was run around 1967 to 1970 on Formula Two....
 in April 1968 after his rear tyre failed in a turn in Hockenheim — was a severe blow to the team and to Formula One. He was the dominant driver in the dominant car and remains an inseparable part of Lotus' early years. That year's championship was won by Clark's teammate, Graham Hill
Graham Hill

Norman Graham Hill was a United Kingdom racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion. He was born in Hampstead, London.Graham Hill is the only driver to win the so-called Triple Crown of Motorsport....
.

Lotus is credited with making the mid-engined layout popular for Indycar
Champ Car

Champ Car, was the name for a class and specification of automobiles used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race....
s, developing the first monocoque
Monocoque

Monocoque, from Greek language for single and French for shell , is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin....
 Formula 1 chassis, and the integration of the engine and transaxle as chassis components. Lotus was also among the pioneers in Formula 1 in adding wings and shaping the undersurface of the car to create downforce
Downforce

The term 'downforce' describes the downward pressure created by the aerodynamics characteristics of a car that allows it to travel faster through a corner by increasing the pressure between the contact area of the tire and the road surface, thus creating more grip ....
, as well as the first to move 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 a major player in Formula 1. Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna da Silva, was a Brazilian race car driver and three-time Formula One List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions. He was killed while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix and is the most recent Grand Prix driver to die at the wheel of a Formula One car....
 drove for the team from 1985 to 1987, winning twice in each year and achieving 17 pole positions. However, by the company's last Formula 1 race in 1994, the cars were no longer competitive. Lotus won a total of 79 Grand Prix races. During his lifetime Chapman saw Lotus beat Ferrari as the first team to achieve 50 Grand Prix victories, despite Ferrari having won their first nine years sooner.

Formula One Constructors' Championship
List of Formula One World Constructors' Champions

The Formula One World Constructors' Championship is awarded by the F?d?ration Internationale de l'Automobile to the most successful List of Formula One constructors over a season, as determined by a List of Formula One World Championship pointscoring systems based on Grand Prix results....
s (Drivers' Championship
List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions

The Formula One World Drivers' Championship is awarded by the F?d?ration Internationale de l'Automobile to the most successful Formula One Auto racing over a season, as determined by a List of Formula One World Championship pointscoring systems based on Grand Prix results....
 winner for Lotus)
  • 1963 (Jim Clark
    Jim Clark

    Jim Clark Officer of the Order of the British Empire was a Scotland Formula One Auto racing.He was the dominant driver of his era, winning two List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions, in 1963 and 1965....
    )
  • 1965 (Jim Clark
    Jim Clark

    Jim Clark Officer of the Order of the British Empire was a Scotland Formula One Auto racing.He was the dominant driver of his era, winning two List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions, in 1963 and 1965....
    )
  • 1968 (Graham Hill)
  • 1970 (Jochen Rindt
    Jochen Rindt

    Karl Jochen Rindt was a Germany-Austrian racing driver. He is the only driver to posthumously win the Formula One List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions , after being killed in practice for the Italian Grand Prix....
    )
  • 1972 (Emerson Fittipaldi
    Emerson Fittipaldi

    Emerson Fittipaldi is a highly successful Brazilian automobile racing driver, winning championships in both Formula One and Champcars, and the Indianapolis 500 twice....
    )
  • 1973
  • 1978 (Mario Andretti
    Mario Andretti

    Mario Gabriele Andretti is an Italian American former automobile auto racing driver, and one of the most successful United States in the history of the sport....
    )


Lotus car models


Previous

Lotus Europa
* Lotus Mk1
Lotus Mk1

The Lotus Mark 1 was the first car designed and built by Colin Chapman in 1948, while Chapman was still a student at the University of London....
 - 1948-1948 Austin 7 based car
  • Lotus Mk2
    Lotus Mk2

    The car that came to be known as the Lotus Mk. 2 was created in 1949, while Colin Chapman was serving with the RAF. For his second car Chapman built on the knowledge gained from building and competing in the Lotus Mk.1, so he again used the widely available and inexpensive Austin 7 chassis as a starting point....
     - 1949-1950 Ford powered trials car
  • Lotus Mk3
    Lotus Mk3

    Lotus Mk3 was a single seated sports car built by Colin Chapman as a 750 Motor Club.In 1951, Chapman began to focus on a car for road racing, rather than Classic Trials, to compete in the 750 Motor Club formula, which used the Austin 7 as a basis....
     - 1951-1951 750 cc formula car
  • Lotus Mk4
    Lotus Mk4

    Lotus Mk4 was a trials car by Colin Chapman built on a Austin 7 chassis. Chapman?s success at building trials cars brought another previous customer, Mike Lawson, to order a second trials car in 1952 to replace his Lotus Mk2, in which he won the Wrotham Cup....
     - 1952-1952 Trials car
  • Lotus Mk5
    Lotus Mk5

    Lotus Mk5 was a prototype single seater sports car by Colin Chapman that was never built.External links * Accessed February 17, 2006....
     - 1952-1952 750 cc formula car - never built
  • Lotus 6
    Lotus 6

    After building multiple Classic Trials and road racing cars, Colin Chapman introduced his first 'production' car, the Lotus 6, in 1952. The heart of the Mark 6, as it was called, was a fully stressed space frame....
     - 1953-1955 The first 'production' racer - about 100 built
  • Lotus Seven
    Lotus Seven

    The Lotus Seven was a small, simple, lightweight two-seater open-top sports car produced by Lotus Cars between 1957 and 1972.It was designed by Lotus founder Colin Chapman and has been considered the embodiment of the Lotus philosophy of performance through low weight and simplicity....
     - 1957-1970 Classic open sports car, a minimalist machine designed to manoeuvre a racing circuit and nothing else. The rights to the Seven were sold in 1973 to Caterham Cars
    Caterham Cars

    Caterham Cars is a manufacturer of specialist lightweight sports cars based in Caterham, Surrey, England and part of the British motor industry....
    , who continue to produce it today. Updated versions of this 1957 design are also produced by other specialty firms, including Westfield Sportscars and Donkervoort
    Donkervoort

    Donkervoort Automobielen BV is a producer of sports cars based in Lelystad in The Netherlands. This car brand was founded in 1978 by Joop 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 , a two-seat sports car powered by a Lea-Francis engine.
  • Lotus Mk8
    Lotus Mk8

    The Lotus Mark 8 car was Colin Chapman?s first fully enclosed aerodynamic design. Chapman's basic requirements for the design were for a car of 1100 lbs powered by an 85 hp engine and a maximum speed of 125 mph....
     - 1954-1954 sports racer
  • Lotus Nine
    Lotus Nine

    The Lotus 9 or more properly Lotus Mark IX, was an aluminium-bodied sports race car manufactured by Lotus Engineering Ltd. and was closely related to the type 8 of which only about seven cars were made....
     - 1955-1955 sports racer, based on Eight
  • Lotus Ten
    Lotus Ten

    The Lotus Mk 10 or Mark X, of which only 6 or 7 were made, was essentially identical to the Mk 8 but made use of the larger 2 liter Bristol engine. The Lotus Mk 8, Mk 9 and Mk 10 were transitional forms although they represent the first full bodied aerodynamic Lotus sports cars, they made use of the deDion tube as a rear suspension locator, and als...
     - 1955-1955 sports racer, a more powerful Eight
  • Lotus Eleven
    Lotus Eleven

    The Lotus Eleven was a racing car built in various versions by Lotus Cars from 1956 until 1958. The later versions built in 1958 are sometimes referred to as Lotus 13, although this was not an official designation....
     - 1956-1957 sports racer
  • Lotus Twelve - Formula 2 and Formula 1 racecar (1956-1957)
  • Lotus 13 - Designation not used
  • Lotus 14
    Lotus Elite

    The Lotus Elite name was used for two vehicles from Lotus Cars....
     - 1957-1963 First production street car – the Elite
  • Lotus 15 - 1958-1958 Sports racer – successor to the Eleven
  • Lotus 16
    Lotus 16

    The Lotus 16 was the second Formula racing racing car designed by Colin Chapman, and was built by his Lotus Cars manufacturing company for the Team Lotus racing squad....
     - 1958-1959 F1/F2 car based on the Twelve
  • Lotus 17
    Lotus 17

    The Lotus 17 was a sports car racing model built by Lotus Cars in 1959. Designed by Leonard Terry, it was built in response to the Lola Racing Cars Mk1 which was dominant against the previous Lotus model, the Lotus 11....
     - 1959-1959 Sports racer update of the 15 – not successful
  • Lotus 18
    Lotus 18

    The Lotus 18 is a race car designed by Colin Chapman for use by Team Lotus in Formula Junior, Formula Two, and Formula One. It was the first mid-engined car built by Lotus, and a marked improvement over Chapman's early and only moderately successful front-engined formula cars, the Lotus 12 and Lotus 16....
     - 1960-1961 First mid-engined Lotus single seater – Formula Junior/F2/F1
  • Lotus 19
    Lotus 19

    The Lotus 19 or Monte Carlo was a mid-engine sports-racing car designed by Colin Chapman of Lotus Cars and built from 1960 until 1963. The 19 was a widened version of the successful Formula 1 Lotus 18....
     - 1960-1962 Mid-engined sports racer – "Monte Carlo"
  • Lotus 20
    Lotus 20

    Lotus 20 was a Formula Junior car built by Team Lotus for the 1962 season as a successor to the Lotus 18.The chassis was a spaceframe, clothed in fibreglass bodywork....
     - 1961-1961 Formula Junior
  • Lotus 21
    Lotus 21

    The Lotus 21 was a Formula One racing car designed by Colin Chapman. It was a mid-engined design using a tubular spaceframe structure skinned with fibreglass panels, of a more advanced build than seen in the Lotus 18....
     - 1961-1961 Formula 1
  • Lotus 22
    Lotus 22

    The Lotus 22 was a racing car built by Lotus cars in 1962 and a total of 77 cars were built. It was developed from the 1962 Lotus 20, with the major differences that it had disk brakes all round, had a top link to the rear suspension, and had a dry sump engine that was canted over to lower the centre of gravity....
     - 1962-1965 Formula Junior/F3
  • Lotus 23
    Lotus 23

    The Lotus 23 was designed by Colin Chapman as a small-displacement sports racing car. Nominally a two-seater , it was a purpose-built for racing with a driver alone....
     - 1962-1966 Small displacement mid-engined sports racer
  • Lotus 24
    Lotus 24

    The Lotus 24 was a Formula One racing car designed by Team Lotus for the 1962 Formula One season. Having devised the monocoque Lotus 25 for use by the works team, Colin Chapman decided to build a 'conventional' back-up spaceframe design which he would also sell to Privateer ....
     - 1962-1962 Formula 1
  • Lotus 25
    Lotus 25

    The Lotus 25 was a racing car designed by Colin Chapman for the 1962 Formula 1 season. It was a revolutionary design, the first fully stressed monocoque chassis to appear in F1....
     - 1962-1964 Formula 1 World Champion
  • Lotus 26
    Lotus 26

    The Lotus 26 was a uk sports car.Designed by Colin Chapman, the 26 was a roadster , intended to replace the more expensive Lotus Elite. It used a 1.5 liter dual overhead camshaft hemispherical-cylinder head engine, designed by Harry Mundy and Richard Ansdale , based on the Ford Ford 116E engine from the Ford Cortina....
     - 1962-1971 Production street sports car – the original Elan.
  • Lotus 27
    Lotus 27

    Lotus 27 was a Formula Junior version of the Lotus 25 Formula 1 car for the 1963 formula junior season. All aluminum monocoque with steel bulkheads....
     - 1963-1963 Formula Junior
  • Lotus 28 - 1963-1966 Lotus version of the Ford Cortina street/racer
  • Lotus 29 - 1963-1963 Indy car - Ford stock block
  • Lotus 30
    Lotus 30

    The Lotus 30 was a Auto racing, Colin Chapman's first and only attempt at a Group Seven / Can Am racing machine, and was first built in 1964, designed by Len Terry....
     - 1964-1964 Large displacement sports racer (Ford V8)
  • Lotus 31
    Lotus 31

    The Lotus 31 was a racing car produced by Team Lotus for the new 1-litre Formula 3 introduced in 1964, replacing the expensive Formula Junior. The chassis was a multi-tubular spaceframe, of similar design to the 1962 Lotus 22 Formula Junior....
     - 1964-1966 Formula 3 space frame racer
  • Lotus 32
    Lotus 32

    The Lotus 32 was a Formula 2 racing car built by Team Lotus in 1964. It was developed from the Lotus 27 Formula Junior model. 12 cars were produced, but only 4 competed in the Ron Harris Team Lotus entrants ....
     - 1964-1965 Monocoque F2 and Tasman Cup racer
  • Lotus 33
    Lotus 33

    The Lotus 33 designed by Colin Chapman, was a Formula One car built by Team Lotus. Its development was based on the earlier Lotus 25 model, taking the monocoque chassis design to new development heights....
     - 1964-1965 Formula 1 World Champion
  • Lotus 34
    Lotus 34

    The Lotus 34 was a uk racing car built by Team Lotus for the 1964 Indianapolis 500.The Type 34 was Lotus' second American Championship Car Racing....
     - 1964-1964 Indy car - DOHC Ford
  • Lotus 35 - 1965-1965 F2/F3/FB
  • Lotus 36 - 1965-1968 Street sports car – "Elan"
  • Lotus 37 - 1965-1965 a one-off Seven with IRS – "Three Seven"
  • Lotus 38
    Lotus 38

    The Lotus 38 was the first mid-engined car to win the Indianapolis 500, in 1965, driven by the great Jim Clark. It was run by Team Lotus at Indianapolis from 1965 to 1967; a total of 8 were built, most for use by Lotus, but several were sold for use by other drivers, including A....
     - 1965-1965 Indy winning mid-engined car
  • Lotus 39
    Lotus 39

    The Lotus 39 was a single seat racing car produced by Team Lotus. It was originally intended for use in Formula One, to be powered by the Coventry Climax 1.5 litre flat-16 engine....
     - 1965-1966 Tasman Cup formula car
  • Lotus 40 - 1965-1965 Improved(?) version of the 30
  • Lotus 41
    Lotus 41

    The Lotus 41 was a Team Lotus Formula 3 and Formula 2 racing car which ran between 1966 - 1968. John Joyce, Bowin Cars founder, was the Lotus chief designer and was assisted by Dave Baldwin....
     - 1965-1968 Formula 3, Formula 2, Formula B
  • Lotus 42 - 1967-1967 Indy car – raced with Ford V8
  • Lotus 43
    Lotus 43

    The Lotus 43 was a Formula One racing car designed by Colin Chapman for the 1966 Formula One season. It was partially based on the Lotus 38 Indycar, due to Chapman's experience at Indy with larger engine capacity and tyre/suspension setup....
     - 1966-1966 Formula 1
  • Lotus 44 - 1967-1967 Formula 2
  • Lotus 45 - 1966-1974 Convertible (Drop Head Coupe) version of the "Elan"
  • Lotus 46 - 1966-1968 Original Renault-engined Europa
    Lotus Europa

    The Lotus Europa or Lotus Europe was a two door mid-engined GT coup? built by Lotus from 1966 to 1975. In 2006 Lotus began production of a totally new, Lotus Elise-derived design, a mid-engined GT coup? named Lotus Europa S....
  • Lotus 47
    Lotus Europa

    The Lotus Europa or Lotus Europe was a two door mid-engined GT coup? built by Lotus from 1966 to 1975. In 2006 Lotus began production of a totally new, Lotus Elise-derived design, a mid-engined GT coup? named Lotus Europa S....
     - 1966-1970 Racing version of Europa
  • Lotus 48
    Lotus 48

    The Lotus 48 was a Formula 2 car designed by Colin Chapman, based on a 1600 cc Ford Motor Company FVA Internal combustion engine that was run around 1967 to 1970 on Formula Two....
     - 1967-1967 Formula 2
  • Lotus 49
    Lotus 49

    The Lotus 49 was a Formula One racing car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe for the 1967 F1 season. It was designed around the Cosworth DFV engine that would power most of the Formula One grid through the 1970s and was the first successful Formula One car to feature the engine as a structural member....
     - 1967-1969 Formula 1 World Champion
  • Lotus 50 - 1967-1974 Four-seat "Elan +2" production car
  • Lotus 51 - 1967-1969 Formula Ford
  • Lotus 52 - 1968-1968 Prototype "Europa" twincam
  • Lotus 53 - 1968-1968 Small displacement sports racer never built
  • Lotus 54
    Lotus Europa

    The Lotus Europa or Lotus Europe was a two door mid-engined GT coup? built by Lotus from 1966 to 1975. In 2006 Lotus began production of a totally new, Lotus Elise-derived design, a mid-engined GT coup? named Lotus Europa S....
     - 1968-1970 Series 2 "Europa" production car.
  • Lotus 55 - 1968-1968 F3
  • Lotus 56
    Lotus 56

    The Lotus 56 was designed by Maurice Philippe as Team Lotus 1968 entry in the Indianapolis 500, replacing the successful Lotus 38.Based on Parnelli Jones' STP Granatelli turbine car that almost won in 1967, Colin Chapman's team again produced an even more innovative design....
     - 1968-1971 Indy turbine wedge/F1 turbine (56B)
  • Lotus 57 - 1968-1968 F2 design study
  • Lotus 58 - 1968-1968 F1 design study
  • Lotus 59 - 1969-1970 F2/F3/Formula Ford
  • Lotus 60 - 1970-1973 Greatly modified version of the Seven – AKA Seven S4
  • Lotus 61 - 1969-1969 Formula ford wedge
  • Lotus 62
    Lotus 62

    The Lotus Type 62 race car was a development of the successful Lotus Europa and intended to race in the Appendix J Group 6 Prototype Class. The car was designed by Martin Waide at Lotus Components and had a space frame chassis, and featured the new Lotus 2.0 litre LV240 DOHC engine ....
     - 1969-1969 (prototype Europa racer)
  • Lotus 63
    Lotus 63

    The Lotus 63 was an experimental Formula One car, designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe for the 1969 season. Chapman's reasoning behind the car was that the 3 litre engines introduced in 1966 would be better served by building a car that could take full advantage of its power while retaining the Lotus 49's simplicity....
     - 1969-1969 4-wheel drive F1
  • Lotus 64 - 1969-1969 4-wheel drive Indy cars – did not compete
  • Lotus 65 - 1969-1971 ("Federalized" Europa S2)
  • Lotus 66 - designation not used
  • Lotus 67 - 1970-1970 Proposed Tasman Cup car – never built
  • Lotus 68 - 1969-1969 F5000 prototype
  • Lotus 69 - 1970-1970 F2/F3/Formula Ford
  • Lotus 70 - 1970-1970 F5000/Formula A
  • Lotus 71 - Undisclosed design study
  • Lotus 72
    Lotus 72

    The Lotus 72 was a Formula One car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe of Team Lotus for the 1970 Formula One season....
     - 1970-1972 Formula 1 World Champion
  • Lotus 73 - 1972-1973 F3
  • Lotus 74
    Lotus Europa

    The Lotus Europa or Lotus Europe was a two door mid-engined GT coup? built by Lotus from 1966 to 1975. In 2006 Lotus began production of a totally new, Lotus Elise-derived design, a mid-engined GT coup? named Lotus Europa S....
     - 1971-1975 Europa Twin Cam production cars
  • Lotus 75 - 1974-1982 Luxury 4 seat GT – "Elite II"
  • Lotus 76
    Lotus 76

    The Lotus 76 was a Formula 1 car designed by Colin Chapman, Tony Rudd and Ralph Bellamy for the 1974 Formula One season. The car was intended to be a more advanced version of the Lotus 72, powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV and featuring modified aerodynamics, a lighter chassis, longer wheelbase and a narrower, lower monocoque, The car also...
     - 1975-1982 Fastback version of Elite II – "Éclat S1" – also 1974 F1
  • Lotus 77
    Lotus 77

    The Lotus 77 was a Formula One racing car designed by Colin Chapman, Geoff Aldridge and Martin Ogilvie for the 1976 Formula One season. The car was a stop-gap means to an end for Lotus, who were fighting back after the failure of the Lotus 76 and the obsolescence of the Lotus 72 in 1975....
     - 1976-1976 F1
  • Lotus 78
    Lotus 78

    The Lotus 78 'wing car' was a formula one racing car used on the 1977 Formula One season and 1978 Formula One season seasons. It was designed by Peter Wright , Colin Chapman, Martin Ogilvie and Tony Rudd, and was the car that started the ground effect in cars revolution in Formula 1....
     - 1977-1978 F1 ground effects car
  • Lotus 79
    Lotus 79

    The Lotus 79 was a Formula One car designed in late 1977 by Colin Chapman, Martin Ogilvie, Tony Rudd and Peter Wright F1 of Team Lotus. It is considered by many the most significant and respected racing car design of all time....
     - 1978-1979 Formula 1 World Champion – also street GT "Esprit" (1975-1980)
  • Lotus 80
    Lotus 80

    The Lotus 80 was a Formula One car used by Team Lotus in . The car, designed by Colin Chapman, Martin Ogilvie, Peter Wright and Tony Rudd was an attempt to take ground effect in cars as far as possible....
     - 1979-1979 F1
  • Lotus 81
    Lotus 81

    The Lotus 81 was a Formula 1 racing car built by Colin Chapman's Team Lotus team for the 1980 Formula One season. Unlike many of its illustrious Lotus forbears the 81 was not a terribly innovative or competitive car, coming as it did at a time when Chapman's interest in his racing activities was waning....
     - 1980-1981 F1 – designation also used for Sunbeam Talbot rally car
  • Lotus 82 - 1982-current Turbo Esprit street GT car
  • Lotus 83 - 1980-1980 Elite series 2
  • Lotus 84 - 1980-1982 Éclat series 2
  • Lotus 85 - 1980-1987 Esprit series 3
  • Lotus 86 - 1980-1983 F1 dual chassis – never raced
  • Lotus 87 - 1980-1982 F1
  • Lotus 88
    Lotus 88

    The Lotus 88 was an innovative ground effect in cars F1 car designed by Colin Chapman, Peter Wright F1, Tony Rudd and Martin Ogilvie of Team Lotus as a response to technical regulations introduced in 1981 by the FIA to curb the ground effects cars technical excellence....
     - 1981-1981 F1 dual chassis car – banned
  • Lotus 89 - 1982-1992 Lotus Excel
    Lotus Excel

    The Type 89 Lotus Excel, built from 1982 to 1992, is a FR layout car based on the design of the earlier Lotus Eclat, which itself was based on the earlier Lotus Elite II....
     GT – re-engineered Éclat
  • Lotus 90 - Unreleased Elan/Toyota
  • Lotus 91
    Lotus 91

    The Lotus 91 was designed by Colin Chapman, Martin Ogilvie and Tony Rudd for the 1982 Formula One season. After several uncompetitive seasons with experimental or mediocre cars, Colin Chapman went back to basics and designed the graceful Lotus 91, based in part on the Williams FW07 and Lotus' own Lotus 88 design....
     - 1982-1982 F1
  • Lotus 92 - 1983-1983 F1
  • Lotus 93T - 1983-1983 F1 Turbo
  • Lotus 94T - 1983-1983 F1 Turbo
  • Lotus 95T
    Lotus 95T

    The Lotus 95T was an F1 car designed by G?rard Ducarouge for Team Lotus' use in the 1984 Formula One season. It was Lotus' first newly designed chassis since the Lotus 88....
     - 1984-1984 F1 Turbo
  • Lotus 96T
    Lotus 96T

    The Lotus type 96T was Team Lotus's last Indycar.The project was the brainchild of former Formula 2 team owner Roy Winkelmann. During the 1960?s Winklemann had proved successful running Brabhams and scoring successes with Jochen Rindt....
     - 1984-1984 Indy car project – abandoned
  • Lotus 97T
    Lotus 97T

    The Team Lotus 97T was a Formula One racing car designed and built by Team Lotus. A development of the Lotus 95T of 1984, it was designed for the 1985 Formula One season by French engineer G?rard Ducarouge and powered by a 1500cc Renault F1 turbocharged engine....
     - 1985-1986 F1 Turbo
  • Lotus 98T
    Lotus 98T

    The Lotus 98T was a development of the Lotus 97T of 1985. Of the four chassis built three were assigned to Ayrton Senna, now in his second year with Team Lotus, and one to team mate Johnny Dumfries....
     - 1986-1987 F1 Turbo
  • Lotus 99T
    Lotus 99T

    The Lotus 99T was a Formula 1 car designed by G?rard Ducarouge for Team Lotus for use in the 1987 Formula One season. After Renault F1 pulled out of F1 at the end of 1986, Lotus signed a deal with Honda Racing F1 for use of their hugely powerful turbocharged 1500cc engine....
     - 1987-1987 F1 Turbo – last Lotus F1 winner
  • Lotus 100T
    Lotus 100T

    The Lotus 100T was a Formula 1 car designed by G?rard Ducarouge and Martin Ogilvie for Team Lotus, used during the 1988 Formula One season. The 100T was an update of the previous Lotus 99T model; the car technically was virtually unchanged, except for a redesigned nose section and rear bodywork....
     - 1988-1988 F1 Turbo
  • Lotus M100 - 1989-1995 Front-drive convertible "Elan"
  • Lotus 101
    Lotus 101

    The Lotus 101 was Team Lotus?s entry for the 1989 Formula One season. G?rard Ducarouge?s departure during 1988 had necessitated the former WilliamsF1 aerodynamicist Frank Dernie to be appointed as Technical Director in November 1988....
     - 1989-1989 F1
  • Lotus 102
    Lotus 102

    The Lotus 102 was a Formula One racing car designed by Team Lotus for use in the 1990 Formula One season. The 102 was an evolution of the Lotus 101 and would eventually go on to compete in 37 races spanning three seasons from until ....
     - 1990-1991 F1
  • Lotus 103 - 1990-1990 F1 – not produced
  • Lotus 105 - 1990-1990 Racing X180R IMSA Supercars Drivers Champ Doc Bundy
  • Lotus 106 - 1991-1991 X180R roadgoing homolgation special
  • Lotus 107
    Lotus 107

    The Lotus 107 was a Formula One car designed for the 1992 Formula One Season, it brought in a final, frustratingly limited and short-lived period of competitiveness for the legendary Team Lotus in Formula 1....
     - 1992-1994 F1
  • Lotus 108
    Lotus 108

    The Lotus Type 108 is an Olympic pursuit bike. The revolutionary frame is an advanced aerofoil cross-section using a carbon composite monocoque....
     - 1992 - 1992 a bicycle
    Bicycle

    The bicycle, bike, or cycle is a pedal-driven, human-powered transport with two bicycle wheel attached to a bicycle frame, one behind the other....
     ridden by Chris Boardman
    Chris Boardman

    Chris Boardman is a former England racing cyclist who won an individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics and broke the world hour record three times as well as wearing the yellow jersey on three separate occasions at the Tour de France....
     to win a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics
    Cycling at the 1992 Summer Olympics

    Final results for the Cycling competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics. There were two categories of events ? road cycling and track cycling....
    , also known as the "LotusSport Pursuit Bicycle".
  • Lotus 109
    Lotus 109

    The Lotus 109 was a Formula One car used by Team Lotus in the latter part of the 1994 Formula One season. It was designed by Chris Murphy who based the car on his Lotus 107 model....
     - 1994-1994 F1 – Last Lotus F1 car.
  • Lotus 110 - Production version of type 108 bicycle
  • Lotus 111 - The Lotus Elise
  • Lotus 112
    Lotus 112

    The Lotus 112 was the proposed 1995 Formula One car of Team Lotus....
     - Final partial F1 design, got as far as the monocoque buck
  • Lotus 113 - Number not allocated
  • Lotus 114 - 1995-1995
  • Lotus 115
    Lotus Elise GT1

    The Lotus Elise GT1 was a race car developed for grand tourer-style sports car racing starting in 1997....
     - 1997-1998 – Lotus GT Race Car, aka Lotus Elise GT1
  • Lotus 116 - The Vauxhall VX220 / Opel Speedster, a collaboration with GM
  • Lotus 117 - Lotus Elise Mk2
  • Lotus 118 - Lotus M250. 2 seater concept car. Unveiled in Autumn of 1999 as a mid-range sports car, project was cancelled in 2001.
  • Lotus 119
    Lotus 119

    Lotus 119 was a Soapbox built by Lotus Cars to compete at the Soapbox Challenge that took place at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. It is believed to be the fastest box car built capable of 200 mph on a 45 degree slope....
     - Soapbox derby car Light vehicle out of carbon and aluminium, brakes discs, without engine, built for the race of the festival of speed of Goodwood
  • Lotus 120 - 1998 Elise V6 code named M120 Was never produced
  • Lotus 121 - 2006 Europa S
  • Lotus Carlton
    Lotus Carlton

    The Lotus Carlton was a Vauxhall Carlton saloon upgraded by Lotus Cars to be a 177 mph sports car. Like all Lotus vehicles, it was given a type designation ? Type 104 in this case....
     - 1990-1992 Tuned version of the standard Vauxhall saloon (designated Lotus 104).
  • Lotus Excel
    Lotus Excel

    The Type 89 Lotus Excel, built from 1982 to 1992, is a FR layout car based on the design of the earlier Lotus Eclat, which itself was based on the earlier Lotus Elite II....
     - 1985-1992 Updated Elite with Toyota running gear. 2159 Excels were made.
  • Lotus Eclat
    Lotus Eclat

    The Type 76 and Type 84 Lotus Eclat, built from 1974 to 1982, was a front engine rear drive coupe. It was based on the Lotus Elite but had a fastback body style which offered more practicality with storage in the boot ....
     - (1975-1982) Fastback version of the Elite. The rear roof line of the Elite was sloped down into a sporty fastback.
  • Lotus Elite
    Lotus Elite

    The Lotus Elite name was used for two vehicles from Lotus Cars....
     - Describes two cars, one an ultra-light two-seater coupé produced from 1957 to 1962, one an angular 3-door hatch with a back bone chassis produced from 1974 to 1982.
  • Lotus Elan
    Lotus Elan

    Lotus Elan is the name of two convertible cars and one fixed head coup? produced by Lotus . The original Type 26, 26R Racing version, 36 Fixed Head Coupe, 45 Drop Head Coupe, and the "Type 50" +2 Coupe, circa 1962 to 1975, are commonly known as the '60s Elans....
     - A small light roadster that made use of the Lotus-trademark steel backbone frame, coupled with a fibre glass body. This car was the design inspiration for the 1990 Mazda MX-5 / Miata.
  • Lotus Elan
    Lotus Elan

    Lotus Elan is the name of two convertible cars and one fixed head coup? produced by Lotus . The original Type 26, 26R Racing version, 36 Fixed Head Coupe, 45 Drop Head Coupe, and the "Type 50" +2 Coupe, circa 1962 to 1975, are commonly known as the '60s Elans....
     M100 - The second car that used the Elan name, released in 1989. It was a technical tour de force but one that also defied Lotus' 'performance through light weight' tradition, to its detriment. The idea of a front-drive Lotus, powered by a Japanese turbo-charged engine, was a brave concept and its cornering performance was undeniable. But the handling was negatively compared to the original Elan by some Lotus loyalists and its relatively high price (vs., e.g., the Mazda MX-5) meant that it was not a sales success.
  • Lotus Europa
    Lotus Europa

    The Lotus Europa or Lotus Europe was a two door mid-engined GT coup? built by Lotus from 1966 to 1975. In 2006 Lotus began production of a totally new, Lotus Elise-derived design, a mid-engined GT coup? named Lotus Europa S....
     - 1966-1975 mid-engine sports car.
  • Lotus Esprit
    Lotus Esprit

    The Lotus Esprit was a sports car built by Lotus in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 2004. The silver Italdesign concept that eventually became the Esprit was unveiled at the Turin Motor Show in 1972, and was a development of a stretched Lotus Europa chassis....
     - A mid-engined sports car, launched in the early 1970s. The Esprit shocked many at its launch; its geometric, laser-cut lines seemed far more futuristic than anything on the road—or on the cinema screen, for that matter. It was styled by Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro
    Giorgetto Giugiaro

    Giorgetto Giugiaro is an Italian automobile designer responsible equally for a stable of supercars and several of the most popular everyday vehicles driven today....
    . 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 20 February, 2004, after 28 years in production. A total of 10,675 Esprits were built since production began in 1976.
  • Lotus M250 - (2000) Concept car that never reached production


Current

Lotuselise
* Lotus Elise
Lotus Elise

The Lotus Elise is a roadster conceived in early 1994 and released in September 1996 by the England manufacturer Lotus Cars. The car has a hand-finished fibreglass body shell atop its aluminium extrusion and bonded frame that provides a rigid platform for the suspension, while keeping weight and production costs to a minimum....
 - The Elise incorporates many engineering innovations, such as an aluminum extrusion frame and a composite body shell. The Elise has also spawned several racing variants, including an exotic limited series called the 340R
Lotus 340R

File:Lotus 340R-01.jpgThe Lotus 340R is a limited edition sports car manufactured by Lotus in 2000 at their Hethel factory....
, which has an open-body design echoing the famed Seven. The Elise was recently introduced into the U.S., with a Toyota engine
Toyota ZZ engine

The Toyota ZZ engine family is a straight-4 piston engine series. The ZZ series uses an aluminum engine block and aluminum DOHC multivalve cylinder heads, a first for Toyota....
, in order to pass strict U.S. emissions laws. The 1ZZ & 2ZZ Toyota engines used have a Lotus ECU with their own fuel mapping. Also see the related Tesla Roadster
Tesla Roadster

The Tesla Roadster is an battery electric vehicle sports car produced by the electric car firm Tesla Motors and is the first car produced by the company....
 below.

  • Lotus Eco Elise is a version of its classic sports car that incorporates solar panel
    Solar panel

    "Solar panel" describes two types of devices that collect energy from the sun:* Solar photovoltaic modules use solar cells to convert light from the sun into electricity....
    s into a roof made from hemp
    Hemp

    File:Industrialhemp.jpgHemp is the common name for plants of the entire genus Cannabis, although the term is often used to refer only to Cannabis strains cultivated for industrial use....
    , while also employing natural materials in the body and interior of the car.


  • Lotus Exige
    Lotus Exige

    The Lotus Exige is a two-door, two-seat sports car made by Lotus Cars. It is essentially a coupe version of the Lotus Elise, which is a roadster....
     - A version of the Lotus Elise with a redesigned body to provide additional downforce (100 lb at 100 mph). Additionally, the following Elise Sport Pack and Hardtop options are standard on the Exige. The car is street legal and the base 2006 model was available in The USA for $50,990. Lotus updated the Exige with the supercharged Exige S in 2007.


  • Lotus Exige S
    Lotus Exige

    The Lotus Exige is a two-door, two-seat sports car made by Lotus Cars. It is essentially a coupe version of the Lotus Elise, which is a roadster....
     - An Exige with a supercharged engine providing 220 hp. The non-S Exige and Elise have .


  • Lotus Europa S
    Lotus Europa S

    Lotus Europa S is a grand tourer type two seater automobile designed to complement the very successful Lotus Elise sports car and its derivative, the Lotus Exige....
     - The Grand Tourer
    Grand tourer

    File:1962 Ferrari 250 GTO 34 2.jpgA grand tourer is a high-performance luxury automobile designed for long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coup? with either a two-seat or a 2 plus 2 arrangement....
     (GT)-inspired two-seater is claimed to offer a more upmarket sportscar experience, although it is based on the same chassis as the Elise and Exige, limited accommodation and practicality. Power comes from a Lotus-tuned variant of the turbocharged four-cylinder engine which powers the VX220. The Europa has been criticised in the motoring press for being expensive and for lacking equipment and practicality compared to rivals like the Porsche Cayman
    Porsche Cayman

    The Porsche Cayman is a RMR layout 2-seat sports car produced by Porsche AG of Germany. First launched in the 2006 model year, the Cayman is a coup? derived from Porsche's second generation Porsche Boxster convertible....
    .


  • Lotus Evora
    Lotus Evora

    The Lotus Evora is a sports car to be produced by United Kingdom car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The car, which was developed under the project name Project Eagle, was launched as the Evora on 22 July 2008 at the British International Motor Show....
     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 2-Eleven
    Lotus 2-Eleven

    The Lotus 2-Eleven is a car produced by United Kingdom car manufacturer Lotus Cars. It is based on the Lotus Exige S, and thus has the same supercharged Toyota_ZZ_engine#2ZZ-GE engine....
     Weighing just and with the Lotus 2-Eleven can sprint from 0-60 in 3.8 seconds and has a top speed of . 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 Exige 265E
    Lotus Exige

    The Lotus Exige is a two-door, two-seat sports car made by Lotus Cars. It is essentially a coupe version of the Lotus Elise, which is a roadster....
     is an experimental Bioethanol car.


Projects undertaken by Lotus Engineering

Lotus Engineering Limited, is an offshoot of Lotus Cars, which engineer cars for third party companies. Examples are shown here:-

  • Lotus Cortina
    Lotus Cortina

    The Lotus-Cortina was a high-performance automobile, the result of collaboration between Ford Motor Company and Lotus ....
    —Lotus version of the famed Ford Cortina
    Ford Cortina

    The Ford Cortina is a mid-sized family car built by Ford of Britain in various guises from 1962 to 1982.The Cortina was Ford's mass-market mid-sized car and sold in enormous numbers, making it common on British roads....
     Mk. I.
  • Lotus Talbot Sunbeam—Talbot's hot-hatch rally car of the early '80s.
  • 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 170 mph (274 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 .
  • Vauxhall VX220
    Vauxhall VX220

    The Opel Speedster/Vauxhall VX220 was a United Kingdom-built mid engined, Targa top, 2-seater sports car introduced in the summer of 2000.It was built for GM Europe in both right-hand drive and left-hand drive versions at the Lotus Cars plant in Hethel, Norfolk, England....
     (also Opel Speedster) - Lotus produced and based upon the same aluminium chassis design as the Lotus Elise
    Lotus Elise

    The Lotus Elise is a roadster conceived in early 1994 and released in September 1996 by the England manufacturer Lotus Cars. The car has a hand-finished fibreglass body shell atop its aluminium extrusion and bonded frame that provides a rigid platform for the suspension, while keeping weight and production costs to a minimum....
    . Production of these models ended in 2005
  • Lotus styled and assisted with the engineering of the Tesla Roadster
    Tesla Roadster

    The Tesla Roadster is an battery electric vehicle sports car produced by the electric car firm Tesla Motors and is the first car produced by the company....
    , an electric sports car, as well as licensing some technologies to Tesla Motors
    Tesla Motors

    Tesla Motors, Inc. is a Silicon Valley automobile startup company focusing on the production of high performance, consumer-oriented battery electric vehicles....
     and constructing the Roadster at their plant in Hethel
    Hethel

    Hethel is a small village in Norfolk, England. It is located near the historic market town of Wymondham, and is approximately 10 miles south of the city of Norwich....
    .
  • Lotus was responsible for most of the design, development, and testing, of the LT5
    GM LT engine

    General Motors Corporation' Generation II LT is a small block V8 engine. Making its debut in the 1992 Chevrolet Corvette, the new LT sought to draw upon the heritage of the ultimate small-block, the 1970 Chevrolet GM Small-Block engine#LT-1....
     DOHC V8 powerplant for the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1.
  • Lotus designed, developed and tested the GM Ecotec engine and its variants.
  • Lotus was responsible for various aspects of the Sinclair C5
    Sinclair C5

    The Sinclair C5 was a battery electric vehicle invented by Sir Clive Sinclair and launched in the United Kingdom on 10 January 1985. The C5 took the form of a battery-assisted tricycle steered by handles on either side of the driver's seat....
     electric tricycle.
  • Lotus was responsible for the suspension calibration of the Toyota MR2
    Toyota MR2

    The Toyota MR2 is a two-seat, MR layout, rear wheel drive sports car produced by Toyota from 1984 until July 2007 when production stopped in Japan, in three different design series....
     Mk. I, the Toyota Supra
    Toyota Supra

    The Toyota Supra is a sports car/grand tourer that was produced by Toyota from 1979 to 2002. The styling of the Toyota Supra was derived from the Toyota Celica, but it was both longer and wider....
     Mk. II and Mk. III, the Isuzu Piazza, the Isuzu Impulse
    Isuzu Impulse

    The Isuzu Piazza is a small sporty 3-door liftback coup? that was manufactured by Isuzu from 1981 to 1992 in two generations. In Australia it was sold by Holden, the local division of Isuzu's parent company, General Motors ....
     as well as newer Proton models.
  • Lotus was responsible for the development of the Campro engine
    Campro engine

    The Campro engine is the first automotive engine ever developed together with Lotus Cars by the Malaysian carmaker, Proton . The name Campro is short for Cam Profile....
     together with Proton, as well as its variable valve timing
    Variable valve timing

    Variable valve timing, or VVT, is a generic term for an automobile piston engine technology. VVT allows the lift, duration or timing of the intake or exhaust Poppet valve to be changed while the engine is in operation....
     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
    Mahindra Scorpio

    The Mahindra Scorpio is a Sport utility vehicle manufactured by Mahindra and Mahindra Limited. It is the first SUV from the company for the global market....
     to make it more stable at high speeds.
  • Lotus is partnering with ZAP
    ZAP (motor company)

    Founded in 1994, ZAP is a publicly-owned corporation located in Santa Rosa, California, which manufactures and markets various electric vehicles....
     on the design of their next electric vehicle
    Electric vehicle

    An electric vehicle is a vehicle with one or more electric motors for propulsion. This is also referred to as an electric drive vehicle....
    , the ZAP-X
    ZAP-X

    The ZAP-X was an Electric Car Crossover SUV previously expected to be launched in 2008 by Zap Motors and Lotus Cars based on the Lotus APX prototype platform....
    , based on the APX concept vehicle.
  • Lotus produced the revised Chassis of the Isuzu Piazza
  • The Dodge EV
    Dodge EV

    The Dodge EV development vehicle, also called Dodge Circuit EV sports car, is a two-passenger, rear-wheel-drive, all-electric car that combines a lithium-ion battery pack with a 200-kilowatt motor, capable of generating and of torque....
     electric vehicle from Chrysler is based on a Lotus Europa S
    Lotus Europa S

    Lotus Europa S is a grand tourer type two seater automobile designed to complement the very successful Lotus Elise sports car and its derivative, the Lotus Exige....
     chassis.


Lotus engines

  • Lotus-Ford Twin Cam
    Lotus-Ford Twin Cam

    The Lotus-Ford Twin Cam is a 1558 cc engine developed for the 1962 Lotus Elan and also used in a variety of other vehicles up until mid 1970's....
  • Lotus 900 series
    • Lotus 907
      Lotus 907

      The Lotus Cars 907 was an original design, dual overhead cam, 16 valve all alloy powerplant. It displaced 1973 cc and developed approximately with dual sidedraft Dell'Orto carburetors....
    • Lotus 910
    • Lotus 911
    • Lotus 912
    • Lotus 918
      Lotus Esprit

      The Lotus Esprit was a sports car built by Lotus in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 2004. The silver Italdesign concept that eventually became the Esprit was unveiled at the Turin Motor Show in 1972, and was a development of a stretched Lotus Europa chassis....
       V8


Lotus Engineering


In 2000, Lotus Engineering, Inc. was established in Ann Arbor, MI as it's US headquarters.

APX and VVA

The APX (also known as the "Aluminium Performance Crossover") is an aluminium
Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white and ductile member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al; its atomic number is 13....
 concept vehicle revealed at 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, the APX 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 litre N/A and 3.0 litre supercharged. A number of prototypes of both engines exist in full working order in a number of mule cars
Development mule

A development mule or a test mule in the automotive industry is a vehicle equipped with experimental or prototype components for testing. Automakers evaluate aspects of vehicles before a full pre-production car is built to find problems....
.

Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA) is an effort by the Lotus
Lotus Cars

File:Final assembly.jpgLotus Cars is a United Kingdom manufacturer of sports car and race car automobiles based at Hethel, Norfolk, England. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and high Car handling characteristics....
 car manufacturing company to reduce the investment needed for producing unique, niche-market cars by sharing a number of common components.

Cars produced using VVA:

  • Lotus APX
    Lotus APX

    The Lotus APX is a concept car created by the British automobile marque, Lotus Cars. It was first introduced at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show. It is the first complete vehicle built on the new Versatile Vehicle Architecture ....
  • Lotus Esprit
    Lotus Esprit

    The Lotus Esprit was a sports car built by Lotus in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 2004. The silver Italdesign concept that eventually became the Esprit was unveiled at the Turin Motor Show in 1972, and was a development of a stretched Lotus Europa chassis....
     2009


Vehicles


On September 20, 2007 Lotus Engineering released a five year construction plan in which new models would be created in the United States. It also states that there will be a rapid expansion of the US Lotus Engineering Program. Three new models are to be created around the 2010 year period, a 2+2 coupe, a brand new Lotus Excel, and of course the 2009 Esprit.

Electric vehicles

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

Lotus plans to enter the electric vehicle race, CEO Michael Kimberley told the Financial Times . "Don’t be surprised to see an electric Lotus shortly,” he said, adding that a concept version could debut as early as March 2009, at Geneva Motor Show . Lotus is now front and center in the electric-car arena.

Lotus did not reveal details about the car or the engine but discloses that it will go for 300 to and it will really live up to the expectations of being one of the best electric cars in the world .

Lotus
Lotus

Lotus may refer to:* Nelumbo, plant genus of true Lotus flowers* Lotus position, cross-legged sitting posture for meditation* Lotus Cars, British sports car manufacturer, and former Formula One Team Lotus...
 joined Jaguar Cars and Caparo
Caparo

Caparo is a Great Britain-based company founded by Swaraj Paul, with business interests predominantly in the manufacture of steel, automobile and general engineering products, materials testing services, hotels, film distribution, and private equity investment....
 on a luxury hybrid executive sedan
Hybrid electric vehicle

A hybrid electric vehicle is a hybrid vehicle which combines a conventional ground propulsion system with a rechargeable energy storage system to achieve better fuel economy in automobiles than a conventional vehicle....
 project called "Limo-Green"--funded by the UK Government Technology Strategy Board. The vehicle will be a series plug-in hybrid.

Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors

Tesla Motors, Inc. is a Silicon Valley automobile startup company focusing on the production of high performance, consumer-oriented battery electric vehicles....
, a likely rival for Lotus if its plans go through, has also turned to contractors for parts of the all-electric Roadster
Tesla Roadster

The Tesla Roadster is an battery electric vehicle sports car produced by the electric car firm Tesla Motors and is the first car produced by the company....
 .

Further reading

  • Gérard ('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: 1947-1960 Birth of a Legend (republished Motor Racing Publications, Chiswick, 1972)
  • Doug Nye, The Story of Lotus: 1961-1971 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: 1956-1986 (Motor Racing Publications, Croydon, 1986)
  • Peter Ross, Lotus - The Early Years 1951-54 (Coterie Press, Luton, 2004)
  • Rémy Solnon, (Editions Les Presses Littéraires, 2007)
  • Andrew Ferguson, Team Lotus: The Indianapolis Years (Haynes Publishing 1996) no longer available


See also

  • Colin Chapman
    Colin Chapman

    Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman Order of the British Empire was an influential United Kingdom designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry....
  • RAF Hethel
    RAF Hethel

    RAF Hethel is a former World War II airfield used by the US during the Second World War in Norfolk, England situated located 7 miles south west of Norwich....
  • Proton Holdings Berhad


External links