Lotus Cars facts for kids

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Lotus Cars Limited
Type	Private Limited Company
Industry	Car
Founded	1952
Founder	Colin Chapman
Headquarters	Hethel, Norfolk , England, United Kingdom
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Colin Chapman Dany Bahar Michael J Kimberley Syed Zainal Abidin Badrul Feisal
Products	Cars, Car parts
Owner	Proton Sdn.Bhd
Parent	Group Lotus plc

Lotus final assembly

Lotus Cars is a British builder of sports and racing cars. It is based at the old site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production cars. The cars are build to have a low weight. The cars handle well (they can turn, start and stop quickly.)

Lotus is owned by Proton. Proton took over Lotus after the bankruptcy of former owner Bugatti in 1994.

History
Formula One
Lotus car models
Lotus engines
Lotus Engineering
- APX and VVA
- Projects worked on by Lotus Engineering
Electric vehicles
Queen's Award for Enterprise
Images for kids
See also

History

The company was started as Lotus Engineering Ltd. by engineer Colin Chapman in 1952. The first factory was in old stables in Hornsey, North London. Team Lotus was started in 1954. It was split off from the Lotus Engineering company. Team Lotus was active and competitive in Formula One racing from 1958 to 1994.

The Lotus Group of Companies was formed in 1959. One company was Lotus Cars Limited which made road cars. The other company was Lotus Components Limited which worked on customer race cars. Lotus Components Limited became Lotus Racing Limited in 1971 but stopped building cars in the same year.

In 1959, the company moved to Cheshunt into a factory built to make cars. Since 1966 the company has been in a modern factory and road test facility at Hethel, near Wymondham. This site is the former RAF Hethel base. The test track uses parts of the old runway.

Chapman died of a heart attack in 1982 at the age of 54. The car maker built tens of thousands of successful racing and road cars. They won the Formula One World Championship seven times. At the time of his death he was linked with the DeLorean scandal over the use of government subsidies for the production of DeLorean DMC-12 for which Lotus had designed the chassis.

In 1986, the company was bought by General Motors. On 27 August 1993, GM sold the company to Bugatti Automobili SpA. In 1996, a majority share in Lotus was sold to Proton, a Malaysian car company.

The company is organized as Group Lotus. Group Lotus is divided into Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering. Lotus Engineering builds suspension for other car builders. They also worked with General Motors to develop the 4-cylinder Ecotec engine.

The four letters in the middle of the logo stand for the initials of Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman.

Formula One

Main pages: Team Lotus and Lotus Racing

Lotus 77

Lotus 99T

Lotus 72

The Lotus Cars helped its customers to race its cars. They entered Formula One through its sister company Team Lotus in 1958. In 1960, Lotus got its first win in F1. A Lotus 18 driven by Stirling Moss won at Monaco. The car was entered by privateer Rob Walker.

They had big success in 1963 with the Lotus 25. With Jim Clark driving, Lotus its first F1 World Constructors Championship. Clark had a bad crash in a Formula Two Lotus 48 in April 1968. He was killed in the crash. It was a severe blow to the team and to Formula One. Clark was the dominant driver with the best car at the time. He is an important part of Lotus' early years. The 1963 championship was won by Clark's teammate, Graham Hill.

Lotus made the mid-engined layout popular for IndyCars. They developed the first monocoque Formula One chassis. They also made the engine and transaxle a part of the chassis. A transaxle is a combination of the transmission and rear axle. Lotus was also among the first in Formula One to add wings and shape the bottom of the car. This created aerodynamic downforce. They were the first to move radiators to the sides of the car. This improved the aerodynamic performance of the car. Lotus also developed active suspension.

After Chapman's death, until the late 1980s, Lotus was still to be a major player in Formula One. Ayrton Senna drove for the team from 1985 to 1987. Senna won twice in each year and earned 17 pole positions. By the company's last Formula One race in 1994, the cars were not competitive. Lotus won a total of 79 Grand Prix races. Lotus was the first team to achieve 50 Grand Prix victories.

Formula One Constructors' Championships (Drivers' Championship winner for Lotus)

1963 (Jim Clark)
1965 (Jim Clark)
1968 (Graham Hill)
1970 (Jochen Rindt)
1972 (Emerson Fittipaldi)
1973
1978 (Mario Andretti)

In 1992, Team Lotus started Classic Team Lotus for the Works historic motorsport activity. Classic Team Lotus keeps Lotus F1 cars fixed and in running condition. They race them in the FIA Historic Formula One Championship. It keeps the Team Lotus archive and the Works Collection of cars. It is managed by Clive, Chapman, the son of Colin Chapman. At the end of the 1994 season, Lotus left Formula One racing.

The Lotus name returned to Formula One for the 2010 season. A new team in Malaysia was started called Lotus Racing. They used the Lotus name with licensor from Group Lotus. The new team was unrelated to the old Team Lotus. The new team was funded by a Malaysian Consortium (group of companies) including Proton. Proton is the owner of Lotus Cars.

After the 2010 season, Proton ended the license for Lotus Racing to use the Lotus name. Proton believed the team broke the license rules. Lotus Racing then bought Team Lotus Ventures Ltd. This company owned the rights to use the name Team Lotus. The Lotus Racing team announced they would be known as Team Lotus starting in 2011.

In December 2010 Group Lotus (Proton) purchased part of the Renault F1 team. They announced the team would be now be known as Lotus Renault GP. Lotus Renault GP will compete in Formula One starting in 2011.

Lotus car models

Future

2013 Lotus Elan.

2013 Lotus Eterne.

At the 2010 Paris Motorshow, Lotus announced five new models. These will be introduced over the next five years.

New Lotus Esprit. Due to be released in 2013. The Esprit will be powered by a 5.0 litre Lexus V8 pressure charged engine delivering up to 620 PS, capable of 0 to 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) in about 3.4 seconds.
New Lotus Elan. Due to be release during the second half of 2013. The Elan will powered by a 4.0 litre V6 pressure charged engine capable of delivering up to 450 PS with a weight of 1,295 kilograms (2,855 lb).
New Lotus Elite. A 2+2 GT. It has a front-mid positioned 5.0 litre V8 engine producing up to 620 PS, capable of 0 to 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) in about 3.7 seconds. Due for release in spring 2014.
New Lotus Elise. The replacement for the Lotus Elise. It is due in 2015. It will have a 2.0 litre inline 4 pressure charged engine producing up to 320 PS, the Elise 2015 is stated to be capable of 0 to 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) in less than 4.5 seconds.
New Lotus Eterne. A four-door, four seater sports GT. It will have a 5.0 litre pressure charged V8. It was designed to compete with the Porsche Panamera and the Aston Martin Rapide.

Current car models

The Lotus Elise

Lotus Evora

Lotus Elise: The Elise uses many new engineering techniques, including an aluminum extrusion frame and a composite body shell. The U.S. version was uses a Toyota engine. This is to pass the U.S. emissions laws. The supercharged Lotus SC and limited edition Jim Clark Type 25 Elise have higher performance. They can do 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 4.3 seconds.
Lotus Exige: A version of the Elise with a redesigned body to provide additional downforce (100 lb (45 kg) at 100 mph (160 km/h)).
Lotus Exige S: An Exige with a supercharged engine providing 220 hp (160 kW) hp. The non-S Exige and Elise have 190 hp (140 kW).
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 2-Eleven: The Lotus 2-Eleven weighs only 670 kg (1,480 lb) and with 252 bhp (188 kW). It can go from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 3.8 seconds, and has a top speed of 155 mph (249 km/h). Intended as a track day car (a car to be driven only on a race track). Lotus will make the car fully road legal if desired.
Lotus T125 Exos: A track-only Formula 1 inspired car. It has a 3.5l Cosworth V8, producing 640 bhp (480 kW). Only 25 cars will be built, and they will cost $1 million each.

Lotus 1, 1948

Lotus Mk 4

Lotus Eleven

Lotus Europa S2

Lotus Elite

Lotus 26, 1965

Lotus Eclat 22

Lotus Esprit S4, 1995

Lotus GT1 Road Car, 2008

Lotus Elise S1

Lotus Mk IX

Lotus 340

Lotus Mark I (1948): Austin 7 based car
Lotus Mark II (1949–1950): Ford-powered trials car
Lotus Mark III (1951): 750 cc formula car
Lotus Mark IV (1952): Trials car
Lotus Mark V (1952 2): 750 cc formula car, never built
Lotus Mark VI (1953–1955): The first "production" race, about 100 built
Lotus Seven (1957–1970): Classic open sports car, without any unnecessary equipment. Designed to handle a racing circuit and nothing else. The rights to the Seven were sold in 1973 to Caterham Cars, who continue to produce it today. Updated versions of this 1957 design are also produced by other firms, including Westfield Sportscars and Donkervoort.
Lotus Mark VIII (1954): Sports racer
Lotus Mark IX (1955): Sports racer, based on the Mark VIII
Lotus Mark X (1955): Sports racer, a more powerful Mark VIII
Lotus Eleven (1956–1957): Sports racer
Lotus 12 (1956–1957): Formula Two and Formula One race car
Lotus 13: Never used
Lotus Elite|Lotus 14 (1957–1963): First production street car, the Elite
Lotus 15 (1958): Sports racer—successor to the Eleven
Lotus 16 (1958–1959): Formula One/Formula Two car based on the 12
Lotus 17 (1959): Sports racer update of the 15, was not successful
Lotus 18 (1960–1961): First mid-engined Lotus single seater, Formula Junior/Formula Two/Formula One
Lotus 19 (1960–1962): Mid-engined sports racer, known as the "Monte Carlo"
Lotus 20 (1961): Formula Junior
Lotus 21 (1961): Formula One
Lotus 22 (1962–1965): Formula Junior/Formula Three
Lotus 23 (1962–1966): Small displacement mid-engined sports racer
Lotus 24 (1962): Formula One
Lotus 25 (1962–1964): Formula One World Champion
Lotus 26 (1962–1971): Production street sports car, the original Elan.
Lotus 27 (1963): Formula Junior
Lotus Cortina (Lotus 28) (1963–1966): Lotus version of the Ford Cortina street/racer
Lotus 29 (1963): Indy car Ford stock block
Lotus 30 (1964): Large displacement sports racer (Ford V8)
Lotus 31 (1964–1966): Formula Three space frame racer
Lotus 32 (1964–1965): Monocoque F2 and Tasman Cup racer
Lotus 33 (1964–1965): Formula One World Champion
Lotus 34 (1964): Indy car, DOHC Ford
Lotus 35 (1965): Formula Three, Formula Two, Formula B
Lotus Elan (Lotus 36) (1965–1968): Fixed Head Coupe version of the original Elan, different from the Type 26 Elan which could be fitted with a removable hard top
Lotus 38 (1965): Indy winning mid-engined car
Lotus 39 (1965–1966): Tasman Cup formula car
Lotus 40 (1965): Version of the 30
Lotus 41 (1965–1968): Formula Three, Formula Two, Formula B
Lotus 42 (1967): Indy car—raced with Ford V8
Lotus 43 (1966): Formula One
Lotus 44 (1967): Formula Two
Lotus Elan (Lotus 45) (1966–1974): Convertible (Drop Head Coupe), a version of the original Elan with a revised body style. This version had permanent side window frames.
Lotus 46 (1966–1968): Original Renault-engined Europa
Lotus Europa (Lotus 47) (1966–1970): Racing version of Europa
Lotus 48 (1967): Formula Two
Lotus 49 (1967–1969): Formula One World Champion
Lotus Elan (Lotus 50) (1967–1974): Four-seat "Elan +2" production car
Lotus 51 (1967–1969): Formula Ford
Lotus 52 (1968): Prototype "Europa" twincam
Lotus 53 (1968): Small displacement sports racer, never built
Lotus Europa (Lotus 54) (1968–1970): Series 2 "Europa" production car.
Lotus 55 (1968): Formula Three
Lotus 56 (1968–1971): Indy turbine wedge/Formula One turbine (56B)
Lotus 57 (1968): Formula Two design study
Lotus 58 (1968): Formula One design study
Lotus 59 (1969–1970): Formula Three/Formula Two/Formula Ford
Lotus Seven (Lotus 60) (1970–1973): Greatly modified version of the Seven—AKA Seven S4
Lotus 61 (1969): Formula Ford wedge
Lotus 62 (1969): Prototype Europa racer
Lotus 63 (1969): 4-wheel drive Formula One
Lotus 64 (1969): 4-wheel drive Indy cars, did not compete
Lotus 65 (1969–1971): "Federalized" Europa S2
Lotus 66: Never used
Lotus 67 (1970): Proposed Tasman Cup car, never built
Lotus 68 (1969): F5000 prototype
Lotus 69 (1970): Formula Three/Formula Two/Formula Ford
Lotus 70 (1970): F5000/Formula A
Lotus 71: Undisclosed design study
Lotus 72 (1970–1972): Formula One World Champion
Lotus 73 (1972–1973): Formula Three
Lotus Europa (Lotus 74) (1971–1975): Europa Twin Cam production cars
Lotus Elite (Lotus 75) (1974–1982): Luxury 4 seat GT, "Elite II"
Lotus 76 (1975–1982): Fastback version of Elite II, "Éclat S1"—also 1974 F1
Lotus 77 (1976): Formula One
Lotus 78 (1977–1978): Formula One ground effects car
Lotus 79 (1978–1979): Formula One World Champion, also used for a street GT "Esprit" (1975–1980)
Lotus 80 (1979): Formula One
Lotus 81 (1980–1981): Formula One, also used for a Sunbeam Talbot rally car
Lotus Esprit (Lotus 82) (1982–1987): Turbo Esprit street GT car
Lotus Elite (Lotus 83) (1980): Elite series 2
Lotus Eclat (Lotus 84) (1980–1982): Éclat series 2
Lotus Esprit (Lotus 85) (1980–1987): Esprit series 3
Lotus 86 (1980–1983): Formula One dual chassis, never raced
Lotus 87 (1980–1982): Formula One
Lotus 88 (1981): Formula One dual chassis car, banned
Lotus Excel (Lotus 89) (1982–1992): Lotus Excel GT, re-engineered Éclat
Lotus 90: Unreleased Elan/Toyota
Lotus 91 (1982): Formula One
Lotus 92 (1983): Formula One
Lotus 93T (1983): Formula One Turbo
Lotus 94T (1983): Formula One Turbo
Lotus 95T (1984): Formula One Turbo
Lotus 96T (1984): Indy car project, abandoned
Lotus 97T (1985–1986): Formula One Turbo
Lotus 98T (1986–1987): Formula One Turbo
Lotus 99T (1987): Formula One Turbo, last Lotus F1 winner
Lotus 100T (1988): Formula One Turbo
Lotus Elan M100 (Lotus Elan (Type M100)) (1989–1995): Front-drive convertible Elan.
Lotus 101 (1989): Formula One
Lotus 102 (1990–1991): Formula One
Lotus 103 (1990): Formula One, not produced
Lotus Carlton (Lotus 104) (1990–1992): Lotus Carlton: Tuned version of the standard Vauxhall saloon.
Lotus 105 (1990): Racing X180R IMSA Supercars Drivers Champ Doc Bundy
Lotus 106 (1991): X180R roadgoing homologation special
Lotus 107 (1992–1994): Formula One
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): Formula One, Last Lotus F1 car.
Lotus 110: Production version of type 108 bicycle
Lotus 111: The Lotus Elise
Lotus 112: Final partial Formula One design
Lotus 113: Never used
Lotus 114 (1996): Lotus Esprit GT1
Lotus Elise GT1 (Lotus 115) (1997–1998): Lotus GT Race Car, also known as the Lotus Elise GT1
Vauxhall VX220 (Lotus 116): The Vauxhall VX220/Opel Speedster, a built with GM
Lotus Elise (Lotus 117): Lotus Elise Mk2
Lotus 118: Lotus M250. Two-seater concept car. Unveiled in Autumn of 1999 as a mid-range sports car, project was canceled in 2001.
Lotus 119: Soapbox derby car Light vehicle out of carbon and aluminum. It had brakes discs, and no engine. It was built for the race of the festival of speed of Goodwood
Lotus Elise (Lotus 120) (1998): Elise V6 code named M120, never produced
Lotus Europa S (Lotus 121) (2006): Europa S
Lotus 122: Lotus Evora
Lotus 123: Lotus 2-Eleven
Lotus 124: Evora Race Car
Lotus 125: Exos—Ultimate track Car
Lotus Excel (1985–1992): Updated Eclat with Toyota running gear. 2,159 Excels were made.
Lotus Eclat (1975–1982): Fastback version of the Elite. The rear roof line of the Elite was sloped down into a sporty fastback.
Lotus Elite: 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 Europa (1966–1975): Mid-engine sports car.
Lotus Esprit: A 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. It had several version with turbo-charging and electronic upgrades. Final version had an 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, never reached production
Lotus Europa S: The Grand Tourer (GT)-inspired two-seater. Based on the same chassis as the Elise and Exige. Powered by a Lotus-tuned variant of the turbocharged four-cylinder engine which powers the VX220. The Europa has been criticized in the motoring press for being expensive and for lacking equipment and practicality compared to rivals like the Porsche Cayman.

Lotus engines

Lotus Evora engine

Lotus-Ford Twin Cam
Lotus 900 series
- Lotus 907
- Lotus 910
- Lotus 911
- Lotus 912
- Lotus 918 V8
Range Extender Engine. This all aluminum, 1.2 liter, four-stroke, engine. It is designed to only turn an alternator The alternator is connected directly to the crankshaft. This will generate electricity for series-hybrid cars.

Lotus Engineering

Lotus Engineering Limited, is an offshoot of Lotus Cars. They consult with other companies that build car and car equipment.

APX and VVA

The APX (also known as the "Aluminum Performance Crossover") is an aluminum concept vehicle revealed at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show. It is built on Lotus Engineering's Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA).

The VVA design will be used in a new mid-engined sports car for Lotus cars. The APX is a high performance 7 seat Multi Purpose Vehicle. It is four-wheel drive and has a front mounted V6 engine.

Cars produced using VVA:

Lotus APX

Projects worked on by Lotus Engineering

DeLorean DMC 12 with Lotus designed Chassis

Sinclair C5

Dodge EV

Examples of work done by Lotus Engineering include:

Lotus Talbot Sunbeam – Talbot's hot-hatch rally car of the early '80s.
DeLorean DMC-12 – Redesigned the original concept car. Used many of the material and manufacturing techniques used by Lotus in the Lotus Esprit.
Vauxhall Lotus Carlton (also Opel Lotus Omega) – At the time (early 1990s) this was the fastest saloon car available. Top speed was over 170 mph (274 km/h).
The 1991 Dodge Spirit R/T – Used an engine with a 16-valve double overhead camshaft head designed by Lotus. Produced over 220 hp (160 kW).
Vauxhall VX220 (also Opel Speedster) – Built by Lotus and based upon the aluminum chassis design as the Lotus Elise.
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.
Lotus was responsible for most of the design, development, and testing, of the LT5 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 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 was responsible for the development of the Campro engine together with Proton, 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
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
The Hennessey Venom GT a soon to be released hypercar is to be based on the Lotus Exige.
2009: Range Extender engine. This all aluminium, monoblock, 1200cc, four-stroke engine is specifically designed to turn an alternator for series-hybrid cars. The engine is small and light having three cylinders and no detachable cylinder head.
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.

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 400 miles (640 km) and it will really live up to the expectations of being one of the best electric cars in the world.

Lotus joined Jaguar Cars, MIRA Ltd and Caparo on a luxury hybrid executive sedan project called "Limo-Green"—funded by the UK Government Technology Strategy Board. The vehicle will be a series plug-in hybrid.

Tesla Motors, a likely rival for Lotus if its plans go through, has also turned to contractors for parts of the all-electric Roadster. Of note however, is the fact that Tesla currently obtains the chassis for their Roadster from Lotus as do Dodge for their EV because of the heavy weight of the batteries in an EV and Lotus's widely known low weight and sharp handling characteristics. While only 10% of the parts of the Tesla Roadster are shared with the Lotus Elise, Lotus is responsible for approximately 40% of the overall content of the car.

Queen's Award for Enterprise

Lotus Cars were awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise for contribution to International Trade, one of 85 companies receiving the recognition in that category in 2002. Lotus cars wore the badge of the award for a number of years.