Lotus Cars

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Lotus Cars plc

logo
legal form Public Limited Company
founding 1952
Seat Hethel United KingdomUnited Kingdom
management Feng Qingfeng
sales about £ 90 million
Branch Automobile manufacturer
Website www.lotuscars.com

Lotus Cars is a manufacturer of automobiles based in Hethel near Norwich ( Norfolk ), United Kingdom , which was founded by Colin Chapman . The former racing team Team Lotus was associated with the vehicle manufacturer . In 1996 Lotus Cars was taken over by the Malaysian company Proton . In January 2012 this, and with it Lotus, was bought by the Malaysian group DRB-HICOM . On May 24, 2017, the Chinese company Geely took over 51% of the company shares.

history

Lotus Seven
Finishing line of production

Colin Chapman began his entrepreneurial career in 1947 with custom-made products based on the technology of the Austin 7 . In 1952 he founded the company Lotus Engineering , which he split up in 1959 into Lotus Components and Lotus Cars . In contrast to other companies in the Lotus Group , Lotus Cars never ran racing itself, but only supported its customers in doing so.

The first successful series model from Lotus, the Lotus Mark VI , was sold as a kit. Despite the small number of around 100 cars, the Lotus MK VI achieved numerous successes, including in hill climbs. The subsequent and Frank Costin developed Lotus 8 was not only the basis for his successor Mk9 and Mk 10 , also orientated towards him Mk 11 , a racing car in its class and the 24-hour race at Le Mans won .

In 1957, Lotus produced its first racing car. A successful racing career began with the Mk 12 , during which Lotus won the constructors' world championship several times. Colin Chapman won the title and first prizes not primarily through increased performance, but through lightweight construction and innovative manufacturing processes. Not infrequently, so his competitors accused him, that he disregarded elementary safety rules in favor of advanced technology and used, among other things, "undersized" components, for example very filigree wheel suspensions. It should be noted, however, that Chapman made a considerable contribution to the further development of the Grand Prix racing car.

An example of this is the Lotus 25 from 1962, the slimmest and lowest F1 racing car to date. For the Lotus 25, Chapman had replaced the tubular space frame of the Lotus 24, which was released only a few weeks earlier, with a monocoque (shell) construction known from aircraft construction. This reduced the weight by around 20 kg and increased the torsional stiffness, which is important for road holding and handling. In the meantime (1957) the Elite was on the market with a streamlined and self-supporting body made of GRP . It was replaced in 1962 by the more durable Elan .

The first Lotus Cortina were produced in Cheshunt , where Lotus had moved in the late 1950s. Lotus later built a new plant in Hethel, where production of the Lotus Europa began in 1966 .

In 1967 the Elan +2 was added to the range, a 2 + 2-seater that was derived from the 1961 Elan. A new front-wheel drive model with a Japanese four - cylinder turbo engine that was presented in 1990 was a flop. Production was finally stopped in 1993 and the license was sold to Kia . The Esprit, which was built until 2004, started in the early 1970s.

Lotus Elan Concept

Company founder Colin Chapman died in 1982. The company became the property of General Motors in 1986 . In August 1993, GM sold the company to ACBN Holdings SA owned by Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli , who also owned Bugatti Automobili SpA. In 1996 the Malaysian Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd ( Proton ) took over the majority of Lotus. Since December 2008, Lotus has also been present on the market in the People's Republic of China with the Europestar brand , whose models are identical to the Proton models.

future

At the Mondial de l'Automobile 2010, Lotus announced five new models within the next five years. These are new editions of the Esprit (2013), Elan (postponed from 2013 to 2017 for better marketing of the Evora) and Elite (from 2014), as well as the successor to the current Elise (from 2015). As a new model, Lotus announced the four-seater GT Eterne. While Esprit, Elite and Eterne are powered by a 5-liter V8, the Elan is to receive a 4-liter V6, and the Elise a new type of 2-liter in-line four-cylinder with around 320 hp. All new engines are charged . In 2011, Lotus presented the city car Lotus Ethos with a 1.2-liter hybrid drive, based on a concept by the Malaysian owner Proton. In the summer of 2012, the announcements from 2010 were withdrawn and the managing director dismissed.

Models

Lotus at the 2018 Paris Motor Show
Lotus Eleven (1956 to 1958)
Lotus Esprit S2, 1980 (1976 to 2004)

In production

Former

Timeline

Lotus street model timeline since 1950
Body shape Motor position Lotus engineering still independent, Lotus Cars as part of the Lotus Group from 1986 GM from 1993 ACBN from 1996 Proton from 2012 DRB-HICOM from 2017 Geely
1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 0
Roadster Front engine Seven
Elan type 26 Elan M100
Mid-engine Elise S1 Elise S2 Elise S3
Coupe Front engine Elite type 14 Elite type 75/83
Éclat Excel
Mid-engine Europe Europe S
esprit
Exige Exige S2 Exige S3
Evora
Electric motor Evija

Cooperations with other automobile manufacturers

  • Ford Lotus Cortina MK1 and MK2.
  • For the French manufacturer Talbot , Lotus developed a sportier version of the Talbot Sunbeam , the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus 16V.
  • Lotus developed a high-performance variant of the Omega sedan for Opel. The vehicle was sold as the Lotus Omega , or in England as the Lotus Carlton.
  • For Opel / Vauxhall, Lotus developed and produced the Opel Speedster / Vauxhall VX220. It is based on the extended Lotus Elise chassis. Lotus is now offering the Lotus Europa on the same basis.
  • Lotus participated in the development of the Tesla Roadster and builds the vehicle in its plant in Hethel.
  • The company ZAP was supported by Lotus in the development of an electric sports car.
  • Lotus is / was involved in the co-development of the following cars, among others: Aston Martin DB9, DeLorean DMC-12, Chevrolet Corvette C4 ZR-1, Dodge EV, Nissan GT-R, Hennessey Venom GT, Dodge Spirit R / T, Toyota MR2, Toyota Supra, Isuzu Piazza, Isuzu Impulse, Mahindra Scorpio, Melkus RS 2000.
  • Detroit Electric SP: 01

See also

literature

  • Russell Hayes: Lotus . Heel-Verlag, Königswinter 2007, ISBN 3-89880-823-8
  • Jeremy Walton: Lotus Esprit: The Complete Story . Crowood Press, Marlborough, 1997, ISBN 1-86126-066-0 (English)
  • Owner's Handbook of Lotus Elise S2 111S
  • Jeremy Walton: Lotus Elise: The Official Story continues , Coterie Press, Great Britain, 2004 (English)
  • William Taylor: The Lotus Book S3 , Coterie Press, 2004 (English)
  • Alastair Clements: Elise Rebirth of the true lotus , Haynes Publishing, 2003 (English)

Web links

Commons : Lotus Cars  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Change of boss at Lotus: Feng Qingfeng succeeds Jean-Marc Gales. Retrieved January 4, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Lotus drives deeper into the red . The Independent . January 10, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  3. ↑ Lotus receives £ 10 million Government grant . telegraph.co.uk . November 25, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  4. ↑ Chinese car giant Geely has bought Lotus , on topgear.com
  5. ↑ Chris Knapman: Paris Motor Show 2010: five new models from Lotus. The Daily Telegraph , October 1, 2010, accessed November 9, 2010 .
  6. ↑ Volkswagen denies interest in Lotus. Handelsblatt , July 27, 2012, accessed on May 16, 2014 .
  7. ^ Martin Eberhard: Lotus position. Tesla Motors, July 25, 2006, accessed November 22, 2008 .
  8. ↑ Lotus-based electric athlete will arrive at the end of 2017 , on auto-motor-und-sport.de/