Lotus (car)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Lotus Group (also known as Lotus Cars) is a British multinational automotive manufacturer of luxury sports cars and electric vehicles. Lotus Group is composed of three primary entities. Lotus Cars, a high-performance sports car company, is based in
Hethel Hethel is a small village in the civil parish of Bracon Ash, in the English county of Norfolk. Hethel is located south-east of the market town of Wymondham, and approximately south of the city of Norwich. History Hethel's name is of Angl ...
,
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
. Lotus Technology Inc. (), an all-electric lifestyle vehicle company, headquartered in
Wuhan Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...
, China, and operates regional facilities in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany. Additionally, Lotus Engineering, an engineering consultancy firm, is headquartered at the Lotus Advanced Technology Centre (LATC) located at the University of Warwick's
Wellesbourne Wellesbourne is a large village in the civil parish of Wellesbourne and Walton, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. In the 2021 census the parish had a population of 7,283, a significant increase from 5,84 ...
Campus. Lotus was founded and owned for many years by
Colin Chapman Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (19 May 1928 – 16 December 1982) was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of the sports car company Lotus Cars. Chapman founded Lotus in 1952 and initia ...
. After his death and a period of financial instability, it was bought by
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
, then
Romano Artioli Romano Artioli (born 5 December 1932, in Moglia) is an Italian entrepreneur and one-time owner of Bugatti and Lotus automobile brands. Artioli was born in Moglia in the Province of Mantua. He was raised in Bolzano where in the 1980s he operate ...
and then
DRB-HICOM DRB-HICOM Berhad () is one of Malaysia's leading corporations, involved in the automotive manufacturing, assembly and distribution industry through its involvement in the passenger car and four wheel drive vehicle market segment, the national ...
through its subsidiary
Proton A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , Hydron (chemistry), H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' (elementary charge). Its mass is slightly less than the mass of a neutron and approximately times the mass of an e ...
, which owned Lotus from 1996 to 2017. Lotus is currently majority-owned by Chinese multinational
Geely Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd. (ZGH), commonly known as Geely Holding ( ; ), is a Chinese multinational automotive conglomerate headquartered in Hangzhou, China. The company was founded by, and is privately owned by Chinese entrepre ...
. Between 2017 and 2025, Lotus traded as Lotus NYO in China due to a trademark dispute with
Youngman Youngman (officially China Youngman Automobile Group Co., Ltd.) () was a Chinese manufacturer of buses and trucks located in Jinhua, Zhejiang province. The company was founded in 2001 by Pang Qingnian and also used to manufacture automobiles. H ...
. Lotus was previously involved in
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
racing, via
Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, American Championship Car Racing, Ind ...
, winning the Formula One World Championship seven times. Notable Lotus cars include the
Lotus Seven The Lotus Seven is a sports car produced by the British manufacturer Lotus Cars (initially called Lotus Engineering) between 1957 and 1973. The Seven is an open-wheel car with two seats and an open top. It was designed by Lotus founder Colin Ch ...
, the Elan, the Esprit and the Elise.


History


Early years

The company was formed in 1952 as Lotus Engineering Ltd. by
Colin Chapman Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (19 May 1928 – 16 December 1982) was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of the sports car company Lotus Cars. Chapman founded Lotus in 1952 and initia ...
but had earlier origins in 1948 when Chapman built his first trials car in a garage. The four letters in the middle of the logo represent Chapman's full name, Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman. When the logo was created, Chapman's original partners Michael and Nigel Allen were allegedly told that the letters stood for Colin Chapman and the Allen Brothers. The first factory was situated in old stables behind the Railway Hotel in
Hornsey Hornsey () is a district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Haringey. It is an inner-suburban, for the most part residential, area centred north of Charing Cross. It adjoins green spaces Queen's Wood to the west and Alexand ...
, North London.
Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, American Championship Car Racing, Ind ...
, which was split from Lotus Engineering in 1954, was active and competitive in
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
racing from 1958 to 1994. The Lotus Group of Companies was formed in 1959. This was composed of Lotus Cars Limited and Lotus Components Limited, which focused on road cars and customer competition-car production, respectively. Lotus Components Limited became Lotus Racing Limited in 1971, but the newly renamed entity ceased operation that same year.Golden Gate Lotus Club
Retrieved 1 May 2008
The company moved to a purpose-built factory at
Cheshunt Cheshunt (/ˈtʃɛzənt/ CHEZ-ənt) is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England, situated within the London commuter belt approximately north of Central London. The town lies on the River Lea and Lee Navigation, bordering th ...
in 1959, and since 1966 it has occupied a modern factory and road test facility at
Hethel Hethel is a small village in the civil parish of Bracon Ash, in the English county of Norfolk. Hethel is located south-east of the market town of Wymondham, and approximately south of the city of Norwich. History Hethel's name is of Angl ...
, near
Wymondham Wymondham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England. It lies on the River Tiffey, south-west of Norwich and just off the A11 road (England), A11 road to London. The pari ...
in
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
. The site is a former
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
airfield,
RAF Hethel Royal Air Force Hethel or more simply RAF Hethel is a former Royal Air Force station which was used by both the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. The airfield is located south w ...
, and the test track uses sections of the old runway. In its early days, Lotus sold cars aimed at private racers and trialists. Its early road cars could be bought as kits in order to save on purchase tax. The kit car era ended in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with the
Lotus Elan Lotus Elan is the name of two separate ranges of automobiles produced by Lotus Cars. The first series of cars was produced between 1962 and 1975 as a rear-wheel drive vehicle. The second series was produced between 1989 and 1995 as a front-wheel ...
Plus Two as the first Lotus road car not offered in kit form, and the
Lotus Eclat Lotus or LOTUS may refer to: Plants * List of plants known as lotus, a list of various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: **''Nelumbonaceae'', a single-genus family of aquatic flowering plants, consisting of just two species; ...
and
Lotus Elite The Lotus Elite name has been used for two production vehicles and one concept vehicle developed and manufactured by British automobile manufacturer Lotus Cars. The first generation Elite Type 14 was produced from 1957 until 1963 and the second ...
of the mid-1970s were offered only in factory-built versions. After the Lotus Elite of the 1950s, which featured a complete fibreglass monocoque fitted with built-in steel pickup points for mounting major components, Lotus found critical and sales success in the 1960s with the Lotus Elan. This two-seater was later developed to two-plus-two form (Elan +2S). Lotus was notable for its use of fibreglass bodies, backbone chassis and overhead camshaft engines, initially supplied by
Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British manufacturer of forklift trucks, fire pumps, racing engines, and other speciality engines. History Pre WWI The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, a joint venture by Jens Stroyer and Pelham Lee. In 1 ...
but later replaced by Lotus-Ford units (
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
block, Lotus head and twin-cam valve gear). Lotus also worked with Ford on the
Lotus Cortina Lotus Cortina is the commonly used term for the Ford Cortina Lotus, a high-performance sports saloon, which was produced in the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1970 by Ford Motor Company, Ford in collaboration with Lotus Cars. The original version, w ...
, a successful sports saloon. Another Lotus of the late 1960s and early 1970s was the two-seater
Lotus Europa The Lotus Europa name is used on two distinct mid-engine GT cars built by British automobile manufacturer Lotus Cars. The original Europa and its variants comprise the Lotus Types 46, 47, 54, 65 and 74, and were produced between 1966 and 1975. ...
, initially intended only for the European market, which paired a backbone chassis and lightweight body with a mid-mounted
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
engine, later upgraded to the Lotus-Ford twin-cam unit as used in the Elan. The
Lotus Seven The Lotus Seven is a sports car produced by the British manufacturer Lotus Cars (initially called Lotus Engineering) between 1957 and 1973. The Seven is an open-wheel car with two seats and an open top. It was designed by Lotus founder Colin Ch ...
, originating in the 1950s as a simple, lightweight open two-seater. continued in production into the early 1970s. Lotus sold the rights to produce the Seven to
Caterham Caterham () is a town in the Tandridge (district), Tandridge district of Surrey, England. The town is administratively divided into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which includes the main town centre in the middle of a dry valle ...
, which has continued to produce the car since then. By the mid-1970s, Lotus sought to move upmarket with the launch of the Elite and Eclat models, four-seaters aimed at prosperous buyers, with features such as optional air conditioning and automatic transmissions. The mid-engine line continued with the
Lotus Esprit The Lotus Esprit is a sports car built by Lotus Cars from 1976 to 2004 at their Hethel, England factory. It has a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. Together with the Lotus Elise / Exige, it is one of Lotus' most long-lived models. Th ...
, which became one of the company's longest-lived and most iconic models. Lotus developed its own series of four-cylinder
DOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combus ...
engines, the
Lotus 900 series The Lotus 900 series is a family of internal combustion engines designed and built by Lotus Cars of United Kingdom. Successor to the Lotus-Ford Twin Cam, the 900 was the first complete engine developed by Lotus. The engine was built from 1972 t ...
, and later a V8, and
turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...
versions of the engines appeared in the Esprit. Variants of the 900-series engine were supplied for the Jensen Healey
sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...
and the Sunbeam Lotus "hot hatchback". In the 1980s, Lotus collaborated with
Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors Limited , ;Company No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. is a British Automoti ...
to produce the
Lotus Carlton The Lotus Carlton (also called Vauxhall Lotus Carlton, Lotus Omega and Opel Lotus Omega) is a version of the Vauxhall Carlton/Opel Omega A saloon upgraded by Lotus in order to be a high performance sports saloon. Like all Lotus vehicles, it w ...
, the fastest roadgoing Vauxhall car.


Financial troubles, death of Chapman

By 1980, Group Lotus was in serious financial trouble. Production had dropped from 1,200 units per year to a mere 383. This situation resulted from the worldwide economic
recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction that occurs when there is a period of broad decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be tr ...
combined with the virtual collapse of sales in the American market and limited development of the model range. In early 1982, Chapman forged an agreement with
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
to exchange intellectual property and applied expertise. As a result, Lotus Engineering helped develop the Mk2
Toyota Supra is a sports car and grand tourer manufactured and developed by the Toyota Motor Corporation beginning in 1978. The name " supra" is a definition from the Latin prefix, meaning "above", "to surpass" or "go beyond". The initial four generations ...
, also known as the Toyota Celica XX. The partnership also allowed Lotus to launch the new
Lotus Excel The Lotus Excel (Type 89) is a sports car designed and built by British automobile manufacturer Lotus Cars from 1982 to 1992. It is based on the design of the earlier Lotus Eclat, which itself was based on the earlier Lotus Type 75 Elite. ...
to replace the ageing
Lotus Eclat Lotus or LOTUS may refer to: Plants * List of plants known as lotus, a list of various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: **''Nelumbonaceae'', a single-genus family of aquatic flowering plants, consisting of just two species; ...
. Using drivetrain and other components build by Toyota enabled Lotus to sell the Excel for £1,109 less than the outgoing Eclat. Looking to reenter the North American market, Chapman was approached by young law professor and investment banking consultant Joe Bianco, who proposed a new and separate American sales company for Lotus. By creating an unprecedented tax-incentivised mechanism by which each investor received a personalised Lotus Turbo Esprit, the new American company, Lotus Performance Cars Inc. (LPCI), was able to provide fresh capital to Group Lotus in the United Kingdom. Former
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
North America general manager John Spiech was recruited to run LPCI, which imported the remarkable
Giugiaro Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2002. He w ...
-designed Turbo Esprit for the first time. American sales began to quickly jump into six figures annually. Chapman died of a heart attack on 16 December 1982 at the age of 54. At the time, both Chapman and Lotus were linked to the
DeLorean Motor Company The DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) was an American automobile manufacturer formed by automobile industry executive John DeLorean in 1975. It produced just one model, from early 1981 to late 1982—the stainless steel DeLorean sports car featur ...
scandal regarding the use of
UK Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
subsidies for the production of the
DMC DeLorean The DMC DeLorean is a rear-engine, two–seat sports car manufactured and marketed by John DeLorean's DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) for the American market from 1981 until 1983—ultimately the only car brought to market by the fledgling compa ...
, for which Lotus had designed the chassis. Chasing large sums of money that had disappeared from the DeLorean company, Lotus was besieged by
Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...
inspectors, who imposed an £84 million legal "protective assessment" on the company. At the trial of Lotus accountant Fred Bushell, the judge insisted that had Chapman lived, he would have received a sentence "of at least 10 years." With Group Lotus near bankruptcy in 1983,
David Wickins David Allen Wickins (15 February 1920 – 28 January 2007) was an English accountant-turned-entrepreneur, best known for founding the vehicle remarketing business British Car Auctions, and saving Lotus Cars. Early life David Allen Wickins was ...
, the founder of
British Car Auctions Constellation Automotive Group is a used vehicle marketplace. It was founded in the United Kingdom in 1946, as Southern Counties Car Auctions, and was a publicly traded company, BCA Marketplace, when acquired and taken private by TDR Capital in ...
, agreed to become the new company chairman through an introduction by his friend
Mark Thatcher Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet (born 15 August 1953) is an English businessman. He is the son of Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, and Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Baronet; his sister is Carol Thatcher. His ...
. Taking a combined 29% BCA/personal stake in Group Lotus, Wickins negotiated with Inland Revenue and recruited new investors:
merchant bank A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage, it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in comm ...
Schroeder-Wagg (14%),
Michael Ashcroft Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, (born 4 March 1946) is a British-Belizean businessman, pollster and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and wa ...
's Bermudian operating company Benor (14%) and
Sir Anthony Bamford Anthony Paul Bamford, Baron Bamford (born 23 October 1945), is a British billionaire businessman who is the chairman of J.C. Bamford Excavators Limited (JCB). He succeeded his father, Joseph Cyril Bamford, as chairman and managing director of ...
of JCB (12%). Wickins oversaw a complete turnaround in the company's fortunes, for which he was dubbed "the saviour of Lotus."


International ownership

Despite having employed designer Peter Stevens to revamp the range and design two new concept cars, by 1985 the British investors recognised that they lacked the capital to fund production and sought to find a buyer. In January 1986, Wickins oversaw the majority sale of the Group Lotus companies and 100% of North American–based LPCI to
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
. After four months, Toyota sold GM its stake. By October 1986, GM had acquired a 91% stake in Group Lotus for £22.7 million, which allowed GM to legally force the company buyout. On 27 August 1993, GM sold the company for £30 million, to A.C.B.N. Holdings S.A. of
Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
, a company controlled by Italian businessman
Romano Artioli Romano Artioli (born 5 December 1932, in Moglia) is an Italian entrepreneur and one-time owner of Bugatti and Lotus automobile brands. Artioli was born in Moglia in the Province of Mantua. He was raised in Bolzano where in the 1980s he operate ...
, who also owned Bugatti Automobili SpA. In 1996, a majority share in Lotus was sold to Malaysian car company
Proton A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , Hydron (chemistry), H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' (elementary charge). Its mass is slightly less than the mass of a neutron and approximately times the mass of an e ...
. Lotus Cars was awarded the
Queen's Award for Enterprise Queens is a borough of New York City. Queens or Queen's may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Queens (group), a Polish musical group * "Queens" (song), a 2018 song by Saara Aalto * ''Queens'' (novel), by Stephen Pickles, 1984 * "Queens", ...
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 several years. On 24 May 2017, Chinese multinational
Geely Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd. (ZGH), commonly known as Geely Holding ( ; ), is a Chinese multinational automotive conglomerate headquartered in Hangzhou, China. The company was founded by, and is privately owned by Chinese entrepre ...
announced that it was taking a 51% controlling stake in Lotus. The remaining 49% was acquired by Etika Automotive, a holding company of Proton's major shareholder Syed Mokhtar Albukhary. In January 2021, Geely announced a joint venture with
Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance The Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance, originally known as the Renault–Nissan Alliance, is a French-Japanese strategic alliance between the automobile manufacturers Renault (based in Boulogne-Billancourt, Île-de-France, France), Nissan ( ...
and its
Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...
division to develop a range of electric performance cars sharing some of their future platforms. In April 2021, Lotus announced plans to produce only electric cars by 2028 and increase production numbers from around 1,500 per annum to tens of thousands. Geely and Etika Automotive provided two billion pounds (US$2.8 billion) to fund the changes. Lotus Technology Inc., the electric-vehicle division of Lotus, which has a different ownership structure (30% by Etika and the rest by Geely and Nio Capital), was listed on
Nasdaq The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...
in February 2024, following the completion of a merger with a
special-purpose acquisition company A special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC; ), also known as a blank check company or a blind-pool stock offering, is a shell corporation listed on a stock exchange with the purpose of acquiring (or merging with) a private company, thus taking ...
affiliated with
L Catterton L Catterton is an American multinational private equity firm. Founded in Greenwich, Connecticut in 1989, the fund has made over 250 investments in brands across all segments of the consumer industry. The firm is led by co-CEOs Michael Chu (privat ...
. After the listing, 10.3% of shares are held by the public.


Operations

Currently organised as Group Lotus Limited, the business is divided into Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering. In addition to manufacturing sportscars, the company also acts as an engineering consultancy, providing engineering development—particularly of
suspensions In chemistry, a suspension is a heterogeneous mixture of a fluid that contains solid particles sufficiently large for sedimentation. The particles may be visible to the naked eye, usually must be larger than one micrometer, and will eventually ...
—for other car manufacturers. Lotus's powertrain department is responsible for the design and development of the four-cylinder
Ecotec Ecotec (capitalized ECOTEC, from "Emissions Control Optimization TEChnology") is a General Motors (GM) and Opel Automobile GmbH (Opel) trademark that refers to a series of emissions technologies that were implemented throughout a range of GM engines ...
engine found in many of GM's
Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...
,
Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...
,
Saab Saab or SAAB may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Saab AB, a Swedish aircraft, aerospace and defence company, still known as SAAB, and together with subsidiaries as Saab Group ** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab ...
,
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...
and
Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...
cars. The American Elise and Exige models used the 1.8L VVTL-i I4 from Toyota's late Celica GT-S and the Matrix XRS. Michael Kimberley, who had been a guiding figure at Lotus in the 1970s, returned as acting chief executive officer in May 2006. He chaired 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. Kimberley retired as CEO on 17 July 2009, replaced on 1 October 2009 by former
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
executive Dany Bahar. Bahar intended to drive the brand into the expanding global luxury-goods sector and away from the company's traditional lightweight simplicity and pure driving-experience focus. Bahar was suspended on 25 May 2012 while an investigation into his conduct was undertaken. On 7 June 2012, Lotus announced the termination of Bahar and the appointment of Aslam Farikullah as the new chief operating officer. The ambitious plans for several new models were cancelled following Bahar's departure. Jean Marc Gales became CEO in 2014, and in 2017, he enabled the company to achieve its first profit in decades. Gales left the company in June 2018 for personal reasons and was replaced by Feng Qingfeng from Lotus Group's parent company, Geely. October 2018 saw further senior personnel changes as Phil Popham was named CEO of Lotus Cars, with Qingfeng remaining in charge of Group Lotus. In January 2021, Matt Windle was appointed managing director of Lotus Cars after Phil Popham resigned.


Formula One and motorsport

In its early days, the company encouraged its customers to race its cars, and it first entered
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
through its sister company
Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, American Championship Car Racing, Ind ...
in 1958. A Lotus Formula One car driven by
Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers to never win the Formula On ...
won the marque's first Grand Prix in 1960 at 1960 Monaco Grand Prix, Monaco. Moss drove a Lotus 18 entered by privateer Rob Walker Racing Team, Rob Walker. Major success came in 1963 with the Lotus 25, which, with Jim Clark driving, won Team Lotus its first F1 List of Formula One World Constructors' Champions, World Constructors' Championship. Clark was killed in April 1968 when the rear tyre of his Formula Two Lotus 48 failed while making a turn at a race in Hockenheim. His death was a severe blow to the team and to Formula One, as he had been the dominant driver of Lotus's early years. That year's championship was won by Clark's teammate Graham Hill. Team Lotus is credited with making the mid-engine layout popular for IndyCar Series, IndyCars, developing the first monocoque Formula One chassis and integrating the engine and transaxle as chassis components. Team Lotus was among the pioneers in Formula One in adding wings and shaping the undersurface of the car to create downforce. It invented active suspension and was the first to move radiators to the sides of the car to improve aerodynamic performance. Formula One List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions, Drivers' Championship winners for Lotus were Jim Clark in 1963 and 1965, Graham Hill in 1968, Jochen Rindt in 1970, Emerson Fittipaldi in 1972 and Mario Andretti in 1978. In 1973, Lotus won the constructors' championship only; the drivers' title went to Jackie Stewart of Tyrrell Racing, Tyrrell. Chapman saw Lotus beat Ferrari as the first marque to achieve 50 Grand Prix victories, even though Ferrari had won its first nine years sooner. Until the late 1980s, Team Lotus continued to be a major player in Formula One. Ayrton Senna drove for the team from 1985 to 1987, winning twice in each year and achieving 17 pole positions. Team Lotus established Classic Team Lotus in 1992, which continues to maintain Lotus F1 cars and run them in the FIA Historic Formula One Championship. It also preserves the Team Lotus archive and Works Collection of cars, under the management of Colin Chapman's son Clive. Team Lotus's participation in Formula One ended after the 1994 Formula One season, 1994 season, when the team's cars were no longer competitive. Cars constructed by the team won a total of 79 Grand Prix races. Former racing driver David Hunt (racing driver), David Hunt (brother of F1 world champion James Hunt) purchased the name Team Lotus and licensed it to the Formula One team Pacific Racing, which was rebranded Pacific Team Lotus. The Pacific Team folded at the end of the 1995 season. The Lotus name returned to Formula One for the 2010 Formula One season, 2010 season, when a new Malaysian team called Team Lotus (2010–11), Lotus Racing was awarded an entry. The new team used the Lotus name under licence from Group Lotus and was unrelated to the original Team Lotus. In September 2010 Group Lotus, with agreement from its parent company Proton, terminated the licence for future seasons as a result of what it called "flagrant and persistent breaches of the licence by the team." Lotus Racing then announced that it had acquired Team Lotus Ventures Ltd, the company led by David Hunt, and with it full ownership of the rights to the Team Lotus brand and heritage. The team confirmed that it would be known as Team Lotus from 2011 onward. In December 2010, Group Lotus announced the creation of Lotus Renault GP, the successor to the Renault F1 team. This team contested the 2011 Formula One season, 2011 season having purchased a title sponsorship deal with the team, with the option to buy shares in the future. The team's car for that season, the Renault R31, R31, was badged as a Renault, while Team Lotus's car, the Lotus T128 (Formula One car), T128, was badged as a Lotus. In May 2011, the British High Court of Justice ruled that Team Lotus could continue to use the Team Lotus name, but Group Lotus had sole right to use the Lotus name. As a consequence, for Lotus Renault GP was rebranded as Lotus F1, Lotus F1 Team and its entries were badged as Lotus cars, while Team Lotus was renamed Caterham F1, Caterham F1 Team (after the Caterham Cars, sportscar manufacturer owned by team principal Tony Fernandes) and its cars were badged as Caterhams. Group Lotus was also involved in several other categories of motorsport. It sponsored the KV Racing Technology, KV team in the IndyCar Series and the ART Grand Prix, ART team in the GP2 Series, GP2 and GP3 Series in 2011 and 2012. After fielding underpowered and uncompetitive engines in the 2012 Indianapolis 500, in which drivers Jean Alesi and Simona de Silvestro were black-flagged after ten laps for failing to maintain a competitive pace, Lotus was released from its contract and did not participate in future seasons.


Racecars


Lotus car models


Current

Current Lotus models include: * Lotus Evija: The Lotus Evija is a limited production electric sports car; it is the first electric vehicle to be introduced and manufactured by the company. Codenamed "Type 130", production of the Evija will be limited to 130 units. Production is set to begin early-mid 2021 with delivery in early 2023. The Evija is powered by a 70 kWh battery pack developed in conjunction with Williams Advanced Engineering, with electric motors supplied by Integral Powertrain. The four individual motors are placed at the wheels and each is rated at , for a combined total output of 1,500 kW (2,039 PS; 2,011 hp) and of torque. Lotus claims that the Evija will be able to accelerate from 0 to in under 3 seconds, from 0 to in 9.1 seconds, and achieve a limited top speed of 350 km/h (217 mph). * Lotus Emira: This model was unveiled in July 2021, and production began in March 2022. The Emira will be Lotus’ final vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine. *Lotus Eletre: The first electric SUV by Lotus, the Eletre is powered by a 112 kWh battery pack and an 800V high voltage system, achieving a maximum range of 600 km and 400 km of range after 20 minutes of charging. The 2024 model offers 603 horsepower for the base and S models, and 905 horsepower the R model and a top speed of 260 km/h. It is the first Lotus to offer features such as lidar. Delivery began on 29 March 2023 and was expected to launch in Europe in the summer or fall of 2023 and in the United States in 2024. * Lotus Emeya: A battery-electric Grand tourer.


Previous

* Lotus Mark I (1948): Austin 7–based sports 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): 750 cc formula car, never built * Lotus Mark VI (1953–1955): The first "production" racer, about 100 built *
Lotus Seven The Lotus Seven is a sports car produced by the British manufacturer Lotus Cars (initially called Lotus Engineering) between 1957 and 1973. The Seven is an open-wheel car with two seats and an open top. It was designed by Lotus founder Colin Ch ...
(1957–1972): A minimalist open sports car designed to manoeuvre a racing circuit. * Lotus Mark VIII (1954): sports racer, BMC B-Series engine#1.5 litre engines, MG 1.5 L * Lotus Mark IX (1955): sports racer, shorter and improved Eight * Lotus Mark X (1955): sports racer for larger displacement, Bristol Cars, Bristol/BMW M328, BMW 2 L * Lotus Eleven (1956–1957): small displacement sports racer (750 – 1500 cc) * Lotus 12 (1956–1957): Formula Two and
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
racecar * Lotus 13: Designation not used * Lotus Elite, Lotus 14 (1957–1963): Lotus Elite, the first production street car * Lotus 15 (1958–1960): Sports racer, update of the Mk.X, Coventry Climax FPF, Climax 1.5 – 2.5 L * Lotus 16 (1958–1959): F1/F2 car, "Miniature Vanwall" * Lotus 17 (1959): Lighter sports racer update of the 11 in response to Lola Cars, Lola Mk.I * Lotus 18 (1960–1961): First mid-engined Lotus single seater—Formula Junior/F2/F1 * Lotus 19 (1960–1962): Mid-engined larger displacement sports racer, "Monte Carlo" * Lotus 20 (1961): Formula Junior * Lotus 21 (1961): Formula One * Lotus 22 (1962–1965): Formula Junior/F3 * 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): Lotus Elan, production street sports car * Lotus 26R (1962–1966): Racing version of 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 all-aluminium OHV small block V8 * Lotus 30 (1964): Large displacement sports racer (Ford small block 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 V8 * Lotus 35 (1965): F2/F3/FB * Lotus Elan, Lotus 36 (1965–1968): Elan Fixed Head Coupe (Type 26 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): Sports racer, a development of the 30 * Lotus 41 (1965–1968): Formula Three, Formula Two, Formula B * Lotus 42 (1967): Indy car, Ford V8 * Lotus 43 (1966): Formula One * Lotus 44 (1967): Formula Two * Lotus Elan, Lotus 45 (1966–1974): Convertible (Drop Head Coupe) Elan with permanent side window frames. * Lotus 46 (1966–1968): Original Renault-engined Lotus Europa, 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): Lotus Elan +2, four-seat production car * Lotus 51 (1967–1969): Formula Ford * Lotus 52 (1968): Prototype Europa Twin Cam * Lotus 53 (1968): Small displacement sports racer, never built * Lotus Europa, Lotus 54 (1968–1970): Series 2 'Europa' production car. * Lotus 55 (1968): F3 * Lotus 56 (1968–1969): Indy turbine wedge * Lotus 56B (1971): F1 turbine wedge * Lotus 57 (1968): F2 design study * Lotus 58 (1968): F1 design study * Lotus 59 (1969–1970): F2/F3/Formula Ford * Lotus LX (1960): Lotus Elite built to win at Le Mans with a 2.0 L Coventry Climax FPF, FPF engine. * Lotus Seven, Lotus 60 (1970–1973): Lotus Seven S4, Greatly modified version of the Seven * Lotus 61 (1969): Formula Ford, "the wedge" * Lotus 62 (1969): prototype Europa racer * Lotus 63 (1969): 4-wheel drive F1 * Lotus 64 (1969): 4-wheel drive Indy car, did not compete * Lotus 65 (1969–1971): Federalized Europa S2 * Lotus 66 (2024): track day car based on a 1969 Can-Am study * Lotus 67 (1970): Proposed Tasman Cup car, never built * Lotus 68 (1969): F5000 prototype * Lotus 69 (1970): F2/F3/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): F3 * Lotus 74 - Texaco Star (1973): F2 * Lotus Europa, Lotus 74 (1971–1975): Europa Twin Cam production car * Lotus Elite, Lotus 75 (1974–1982): Elite II, Luxury 4-seat GT * Lotus 76 (1974): F1, redundant designation * Lotus Eclat, Lotus 76 (1975–1982): Éclat S1, fastback version of Elite II, redundant designation * Lotus 77 (1976): F1 * Lotus 78 (1977–1978): F1 ground effects car * Lotus Esprit, Lotus 79 (1975–1980) Lotus Esprit, street GT, redundant designation * Lotus 79 (1978–1979): Formula One World Champion, redundant designation * Lotus 80 (1979): F1 * Sunbeam Lotus, Lotus 81 (1979–1980): Sunbeam Talbot Lotus, redundant designation * Lotus 81 (1980–1981): F1, redundant designation * 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): F1 dual chassis, never raced * Lotus 87 (1980–1982): F1 * Lotus 88 (1981): F1 dual chassis car, banned * Lotus Excel, Lotus 89 (1982–1992):
Lotus Excel The Lotus Excel (Type 89) is a sports car designed and built by British automobile manufacturer Lotus Cars from 1982 to 1992. It is based on the design of the earlier Lotus Eclat, which itself was based on the earlier Lotus Type 75 Elite. ...
GT, re-engineered Éclat * Lotus M90/X100: Toyota-based "new Elan", abandoned in favour of the Elan M100 * Lotus 91 (1982): F1 * Lotus 92 (1983): F1 * Lotus 93T (1983): F1 Turbo * Lotus 94T (1983): F1 Turbo * Lotus 95T (1984): F1 Turbo * Lotus 96T (1984): Indy car project, abandoned * Lotus 97T (1985–1986): F1 Turbo * Lotus 98T (1986–1987): F1 Turbo * Lotus 99T (1987): F1 Turbo, last original
Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, American Championship Car Racing, Ind ...
F1 winner * Lotus 100T (1988): F1 Turbo * Lotus Elan M100, Lotus Elan (Type M100) (1989–1995): Front-drive convertible Elan. * Lotus 101 (1989): F1 * Lotus 102 (1990–1991): F1 * Lotus 103 (1990): F1, not produced * Lotus Omega, Lotus 104 (1990–1992): Lotus Carlton/Omega, tuned version of the Opel/Vauxhall saloon. * Lotus 105 (1990): Racing X180R, IMSA Supercars Drivers Champ (Doc Bundy) * Lotus 106 (1991): X180R, roadgoing homologation special * Lotus 107 (1992–1994): F1 * Lotus 108 (1992): a track only bike ridden by Chris Boardman to win a gold medal at the Cycling at the 1992 Summer Olympics, 1992 Barcelona Olympics, also known as the "LotusSport Pursuit Bicycle". * Lotus 109 (1994): F1, Last original
Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, American Championship Car Racing, Ind ...
F1 car. * Lotus 110 : Road and TT bike. Often mistaken for the Lotus 108 but completely different bikes. * Lotus 111 (1996–2022): Lotus Elise * Lotus 112: Partial F1 design, reached as far as the monocoque buck * Lotus 113: Number not allocated * Lotus 114 (1996): Lotus Esprit GT1 race car * Lotus Elise GT1, Lotus 115 (1997–1998): Lotus Elise GT1 * Opel Speedster, Lotus 116: Opel Speedster/Vauxhall VX220, a collaboration with Opel * Lotus Elise, Lotus 117: Elise S2 with Rover engines * Lotus 118: Lotus M250, two-seat mid-range sports car concept unveiled in Autumn of 1999, project cancelled in 2001 * Lotus 119 (2002): Soapbox Derby car made of carbon and aluminium, disc brakes, no engine, for Goodwood Festival of Speed * Lotus Elise, Lotus 120 (2004-2022): Elise S2 with Toyota engines * Lotus Exige, Lotus 121 (2000–2022): Exige S2 * Lotus Europa S, Lotus 121 (2006): Europa S * Lotus 2-Eleven, Lotus 122 (2007–2011): Lotus 2-Eleven, 0-door speedster (automobile), speedster * Lotus Evora, Lotus 123 (2010–2022): Lotus Evora * Lotus Evora#Motorsport, Lotus 124: Lotus Evora, race car * Lotus T125 (2010): Lotus Exos * Lotus 126: Number not allocated * Lotus T127 (2010): Team Lotus (2010–11), Team Lotus F1 car, made for 2010 season * Lotus T128 (Formula One car) (2011): Team Lotus (2010–11), Team Lotus F1 car, made for 2011 season * Lotus T128 (Le Mans Prototype) (2013): race car built for 24 Hours of LeMans * Lotus 3-Eleven, Lotus 129 (2016–2022): Lotus 3-Eleven, 0-door speedster * Lotus E20 (2012): Lotus F1 Team F1 car, made for 2012 season * Lotus E21 (2013): Lotus F1 Team F1 car, made for 2013 season * Lotus E22 (2014): Lotus F1 Team F1 car, made for 2014 season * Lotus E23 (2015): Lotus F1 Team F1 car, made for 2015 season


Announcements of future cars

At the 2010 Paris Motorshow, Lotus announced five new models to be introduced over the next five years: Their intention was to replace the Elise with an entirely different model, as well as to introduce two entirely new sports coupes, which would have been known as the Elite and the Elan, a new sports saloon, the Eterne, to rival the Aston Martin Rapide and Maserati Quattroporte, and a modern interpretation of the Esprit supercar. It became apparent in July 2012 that the firm's financial difficulties had made this plan impossible to implement, and initially all but the Esprit project were cancelled. Subsequently, the Esprit project was also cancelled. Lotus also showed an unnamed city car concept using its 1.2L range-extender engine. In 2011, Lotus revealed this as the Lotus Ethos, a plug-in hybrid car based on the Proton EMAS, EMAS concept from its parent company Proton, and likely to be primarily built by Proton in Malaysia. This car has also been cancelled. Lotus CEO at the time Jean Marc Gales confirmed in 2017 that development of an SUV is currently under way, after the company was acquired by the Chinese automotive manufacturer, Geely. In July 2019 Lotus revealed the Evija, a and electric supercar. In January 2021, Lotus teased that the Elise, Exige, and Lotus Evora, Evora would be discontinued and be replaced by the Type 131 which had yet to be released at the time of announcement. In July 2021, Lotus revealed that this new model is called Lotus Emira, Emira. In November 2021, Lotus teased the future introduction of the future Type 132 SUV, later named as Lotus Eletre, Eletre. In September 2023, Lotus announced the Lotus Emeya, Emeya, the company's first electric GT car. The Lotus Theory 1 is a sports car concept set to be revealed on 16 September 2024.


Lotus engines

* Lotus-Ford Twin Cam *
Lotus 900 series The Lotus 900 series is a family of internal combustion engines designed and built by Lotus Cars of United Kingdom. Successor to the Lotus-Ford Twin Cam, the 900 was the first complete engine developed by Lotus. The engine was built from 1972 t ...
** Lotus 907 ** Lotus 900 series#Type 910 and 910S, Lotus 910 ** Lotus 900 series#Type 911, Lotus 911 ** Lotus 900 series#Type 912, Lotus 912 ** Lotus 900 series#Type 920, Lotus 920 ** Lotus 900 series#Type 918, Lotus 918 * Range Extender Engine. This all-aluminium, monoblock, 1200 cc, three-cylinder, 47 horsepower, four-stroke engine is specifically designed to directly drive an alternator for electricity generation for series-hybrid cars. The engine is small and light at , having three cylinders and no detachable cylinder head. The cylinder head and engine block are all one casting to reduce size, weight and production costs. As the engine does not turn belt driven ancillaries such as alternator, power-steering pump or an air conditioning compressor, the block requires no strong points to accommodate such ancillaries, resulting in a simple and light block. The engine has a reduced parts count for lightness and cheaper production. * On 18 August 2011 Lotus developed an all new in-house designed V8 destined for the new era range of cars. At and just long, the unit is dry sump lubricated to save depth and will feature a 180° flat plane crank. The engine is being utilised as a stressed component, a technique pioneered by Colin Chapman in F1, specifically with the 1967 Type 49. It was expected to be used in the Le Mans LMP2 car in 2012. Expected performance is likely to be in excess of and with a 9,200 rpm redline. * Lotus Omnivore, research engine and prototype.


Lotus Engineering

Lotus Engineering Limited is an Corporate spin-off, offshoot of Lotus Cars, which provides engineering consultancy to third-party companies primarily in the automotive industry. As well as
Hethel Hethel is a small village in the civil parish of Bracon Ash, in the English county of Norfolk. Hethel is located south-east of the market town of Wymondham, and approximately south of the city of Norwich. History Hethel's name is of Angl ...
in the United Kingdom Lotus has engineering centres in Ann Arbor, USA, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Shanghai, China. In 2000, Lotus Engineering, Inc. was established with an office in Ann Arbor, Michigan.


Engineering demonstrators

*Lotus Eco Elise is an engineering demonstrator of its classic sports car that incorporates solar panels into a roof made from hemp, while also employing natural materials in the body and interior of the car. *Lotus Exige 265E Bio-fuel *Lotus Exige 270E Tri-fuel *Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid. Shown at the 2010 Geneva Motor show *Lotus CityCar, Lotus Concept City Car. Shown at the 2010 Paris motor show.


APX and VVA

The APX (also known as the "Aluminium Performance Crossover") is an aluminium concept vehicle revealed at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show built on Lotus Engineering's Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA). Whereas the VVA technology was to be used in the development of a new mid-engine 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 in a 2.2-litre naturally aspirated and 3.0-litre supercharged variations. An electric version was also shown in the 2007 NADA show. Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA) is an effort by the Lotus 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


Projects undertaken by Lotus Engineering

Examples of work undertaken by Lotus Engineering include: * Lotus Talbot Sunbeam—Talbot's hot hatch rally car of the early 1980s *
DMC DeLorean The DMC DeLorean is a rear-engine, two–seat sports car manufactured and marketed by John DeLorean's DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) for the American market from 1981 until 1983—ultimately the only car brought to market by the fledgling compa ...
. Changes to the original concept led to considerable schedule pressures. The car was deemed to require almost complete re-engineering, which was turned over to engineer
Colin Chapman Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (19 May 1928 – 16 December 1982) was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of the sports car company Lotus Cars. Chapman founded Lotus in 1952 and initia ...
, founder of Lotus. Lotus replaced most of the unproven material and manufacturing techniques with those then employed by Lotus in the
Lotus Esprit The Lotus Esprit is a sports car built by Lotus Cars from 1976 to 2004 at their Hethel, England factory. It has a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. Together with the Lotus Elise / Exige, it is one of Lotus' most long-lived models. Th ...
* Vauxhall Lotus Carlton (also Opel Lotus Omega, internal name Lotus Type 104) – At the time (early 1990s) this was the fastest saloon car available, with a top speed of over 175 mph (280 km/h) *The 1991 Dodge Spirit R/T with a version of the 2.2 L K-car engine with a 16-valve DOHC head designed by Lotus with over * Vauxhall VX220 (badged Opel Speedster outside of the UK) – Lotus produced and based the car upon the same aluminium chassis design as the Lotus Elise. Production of these models ended in 2005 * Lotus styled and assisted with the engineering of the Tesla Roadster (2008), 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 Hethel is a small village in the civil parish of Bracon Ash, in the English county of Norfolk. Hethel is located south-east of the market town of Wymondham, and approximately south of the city of Norwich. History Hethel's name is of Angl ...
. * The Aston Martin DB9's chassis was developed with the help of Lotus Engineering * Lotus was responsible for most of the design, development, and testing, of the GM LT engine#LT5, LT5 DOHC V8 powerplant for the Chevrolet Corvette C4#ZR-1, Chevrolet Corvette C4 ZR-1 * Lotus designed, developed and tested the GM Ecotec engine and its variants * Lotus was responsible for various aspects of the Sinclair C5 electric tricycle * Lotus was responsible for the suspension calibration of the Toyota MR2 Mk. I, the
Toyota Supra is a sports car and grand tourer manufactured and developed by the Toyota Motor Corporation beginning in 1978. The name " supra" is a definition from the Latin prefix, meaning "above", "to surpass" or "go beyond". The initial four generations ...
Mk. II and Mk. III, the Isuzu Piazza, the Isuzu Impulse as well as newer Proton models * Lotus did engineering work on the Satria GTi, PROTON Satria GTi model * Lotus was responsible for the development of the Campro engine together with Proton,About Proton Engineering
– Proton Cars UK
as well as its variable valve timing system, the Cam Profile Switching (CPS). Currently available in the 1.6-litre and 1.3-litre variants, the Campro engine now powers most of Proton's newer models * Lotus has worked on the suspension of the Mahindra Scorpio to make it more stable at high speeds * Lotus produced the revised chassis of the Isuzu Piazza * Lotus has worked on the suspension and handling of the Volvo 480 * The Dodge EV concept electric vehicle from Chrysler is based on a Lotus Europa S * Lotus has worked on the suspension and handling of the Nissan GT-R * Lotus rebuilt, modified, and tuned a Lada Riva on Top Gear season 1, episode 8. * The 2006 Volkswagen GX3 features a chassis developed by Lotus for VW * The 2009 Kia Soul features Lotus tuned suspension (UK only) * 2010: Limo-Green project with Jaguar Cars. Lotus provided the Range Extender engine for a prototype Jaguar XJ, XJ series-hybrid car. The car returned 58 mpg (imperial) running off the range extender alone * Lotus partnered with Jaguar for developing chassis system and engine management of the Jaguar C-X75. The engine is a supercharged 1.6 turbo petrol engine rated at coupled with a . * Lotus has worked on handling and steering of the 2015 Hyundai Genesis. * The 2015 Spyker B6, Spyker B6 Venator is powered by a Lotus-built engine originating from a Toyota-sourced block. * The Baojun 730, a Chinese minivan with Lotus-tuned suspension, built by a
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
subsidiary. * HB.T, a track bicycle with a novel aerodynamic design; produced in collaboration with Hope Technology and British Cycling.


Lotus based cars

* Detroit Electric SP.01, based on Elise chassis * Hennessey Venom GT, based on the Exige/Elise chassis * Infiniti Emerg-e concept car, based on Evora 414E * Melkus RS2000, based on Elise chassis * Rinspeed sQuba concept car, based on Elise chassis * Tesla Roadster (2008), Tesla Roadster, based on Elise chassis * Vauxhall VX220/Opel Speedster, based on the Elise


Electric vehicles


Evija

Lotus unveiled their first production electric hypercar called the Lotus Evija, Evija in July 2019, production would be limited to 130 units and is scheduled to begin in summer 2020 and is being delivered to customers in early 2023. The car was undergoing development under the codename Type 130. In 2022 Lotus switched to a 93 kilowatt-hours (330 MJ) battery,(up from 70 kwh) which Unipart's Hyperbat claims to supply. There are 4 electric motors, one placed on each wheel supported by an Integral powertrain. The powertrain is rated at a total output of with of torque. The Evija has a range of .


Other cars

The Tesla Roadster (first generation), Tesla Roadster is based on the Elise chassis. On 11 July 2005, Tesla and Lotus entered an agreement about products and services based on the Lotus Elise, where Lotus provided advice on designing and developing a vehicle as well as producing partly assembled vehicles. Lotus Engineering has established a group dedicated to hybrid and electric vehicles. Lotus Engineering developed the Evora 414E as their first hybrid concept car. Featuring a total hybrid range of more than 300 miles. Lotus joined Jaguar Cars, MIRA Ltd and Caparo on a luxury hybrid electric vehicle, hybrid executive sedan project called "Limo-Green"—funded by the UK Government Innovate UK, Technology Strategy Board. The vehicle will be a series plug-in hybrid.


See also

* List of car manufacturers of the United Kingdom


Further reading

* Gérard Crombac, 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) * William Taylor ''The Lotus Book'' (Coterie Press, Luton, 1998, 1999, 2005) * William Taylor ''The Lotus Book Collectibles'' (Coterie Press, Luton, 2000) * Peter Ross, ''Lotus: The Early Years 1951–54'' (Coterie Press, Luton, 2004) * Rémy Solnon
''Lotus Esprit – le grand tourisme à l'anglaise''
(Editions Les Presses Littéraires, 2007) * Andrew Ferguson, ''Team Lotus: The Indianapolis Years'' (Haynes Publishing 1996) no longer available


References

*


External links

* {{Authority control Lotus Cars, 1952 establishments in England British companies established in 1952 Car brands Car manufacturers of the United Kingdom Companies based in Norfolk Electric vehicle manufacturers of the United Kingdom English brands Joint ventures South Norfolk Sports car manufacturers Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1952 az:Lotus