Lotus Seven

lotus
	Series 2, manufactured in 1965
Seven
Production period:	1957-1972
Class :	Sports car
Body versions :	Roadster
Engines:	; Petrol engines : 0.95-1.6 liters ; (21-92 kW)
Length:	3366 mm
Width:	1549 mm
Height:	940 mm
Wheelbase :	2184 mm
Empty weight :	750 kg

The Lotus Seven is a two-seater, open sports car model from Lotus Cars . The spartan, lightweight and relatively small sports car was produced between 1957 and 1972.

history

The Lotus Seven was launched in 1957 after the Lotus Eleven had already been produced in limited numbers. Based on Chapman's first mass-produced sports car, the Lotus 6, the Seven was powered by a 40 bhp Ford side valve engine with a displacement of 1172 cc. The car was therefore mainly designed for inexpensive club races on short distances.

Series 2 (S2) followed in 1960 and Series 3 (S3) in 1968. In 1970, Lotus changed the design of the car significantly; The result was the somewhat more conventionally proportioned Series 4 (S4) with a more angular GRP body, which largely replaced the previous aluminum structure. With the Series 4, the Seven also offered standard comfort features such as a fan heater for the first time. However, the S4 model was not well received and Lotus only sold a few copies.

The tax system of the time ( purchase tax , consumption tax) enabled the car to be sold more cheaply by offering it as a kit car , as this eliminates the tax surcharge that would have been incurred on fully assembled vehicles. However, the tax laws stated that no building instructions could be enclosed with the kits. However, Lotus took advantage of a loophole in the legal text and provided customers with dismantling instructions that only had to be followed in reverse order to assemble the vehicle. With the accession of the United Kingdom to the EEC on January 1, 1973, the British government had to replace consumption tax with VAT . This eliminated the tax advantages and the Lotus Seven kit vehicles came to an end.

In 1973, Lotus decided to completely abandon the "kit car image" and instead concentrate on limited-edition racing and sports cars. Lotus therefore sold the production rights of the Seven to their last remaining dealer, Caterham Cars . After the Caterham company continued to produce the Series 4 for a short time (including the assembly of remaining Lotus kits), they introduced their version of the Series 3 model. Since then, it has been produced as Caterham Seven and is constantly being revised. In addition, many other companies have found each other that follow the idea of the small, light sports car and offer very similar vehicles, including Irmscher (D), Westfield (GB), Dax (GB), Sylva (GB), Locust (GB), Robin Hood (GB), Donkervoort (NL), HKT (D), VM (D), Rush (D) and RCB (D).

The Lotus 7 is a specialty in the history of the Lotus models. Up to the present day, all road models were given a model designation beginning with an "E" (a homage to Chapman's wife), while all racing cars were given a consecutive number. Only the Lotus Seven had a number, although it was a road vehicle, albeit designed as a racing car.

The Super 7 made its most famous media appearance in 1967 in the British cult television series The Prisoner / Number 6 (1969 on ZDF). In the opening credits, the protagonist "Number Six", played by Patrick McGoohan , drives through the City of London on the way to his supervisor to give him his letter of resignation. In one episode ( Herzlichen Glückwunsch / Many Happy Returns ), "Number 6" reports on how he built the car and therefore knows it perfectly. McGoohan had chosen the model himself in order to underline the individualism of the figure. Graham Nearn, the then owner of the company, can be seen briefly in the last episode, "Unmasking", as a mechanic who parks Number Six 'Lotus in front of his house.