History of Lotus Cars.
1948 - First Lotus car
is built, based upon a 1930 Austin Seven saloon.
Used successfully for competition by Colin
Chapman.
1949 - The second Lotus, Mark
II is built.
1950 - Mark II successfully
competes in British Trials.
1951 - The
Lotus Mark III begins for competition in the
750cc road racing class. Dominates competition
and customers begin to order copies.
1952 - Lotus Engineering Company is
formed. Mark IV is built and Mark VI is designed
as first Lotus road car.
1953 - Orders
pour in for the Mark VI as it becomes a very
successful club racer.
1954 - Work
begins on the Lotus Mark VIII with aerody-namic
body by Frank Costin. Mark VIII hits 125 MPH
from 85 bhp engine.
1955 - Lotus Cars
Ltd. founded by Colin Chapman. Mark IX is
entered in Le Mans 24 hour race.
1956-
Lotus introduces the Lotus Eleven. 270 were
eventually sold through 1960.
- Lotus
builds first single seat formula car, Lotus 12.
1957 - Lotus Elite introduced. The Elite
astounded the motoring world using aeronautical
production standards and designs. The Elite was
featured Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic (GFRP)
monocoque chassis, shaped into a wind cheating
aerodynamic shape with 4 wheel independent
suspension, disc brakes and a 1216cc alloy over
head cam engine. Production was discontinued in
1962.
- Lotus introduces replacement for
Lotus Mark 6, the Lotus Mark 7. Production
continues through 1973.
1958 - First
Formula One Grand Prix is entered, Lotus 15 with
Graham Hill driving.
1959 - Lotus moves
to new purpose-built factory in Cheshunt,
Hertfordshire, England.
1960 - Lotus
scores it's first Grand Prix win at Monaco with
a Lotus 18 driven by Sterling Moss.
1961
- Moss wins again at Monaco in a Lotus 18.
1962 - Lotus Elan is introduced. The
Elan features a GFRP body mounted atop a
now-famous steel backbone chassis, the powerful
Lotus twin cam engine of 1558cc, 4 wheel
independent suspension, 4 wheel disc brakes and
the was the first production car to use hidden
headlights. Production of the Elan continued
through 1973.
- Lotus introduces first
all monocoque Formula One race car, the Lotus
25, a landmark design.
1963 - The Lotus
25 in the hands of Jim Clark wins 7 Grand Prix
and the first Championship for Lotus.
1964 - Lotus goes to Indy and wins 3
Grand Prix with the Lotus 33.
1965 -
Lotus introduces the Elan Fixed Head Coupe
(hardtop version).
- Jim Clark wins the
Indy 500 driving a Lotus.
1966 - The
Elan Drophead Coupe is introduced.
- The
mid-engined Lotus Europa powered by a Lotus
modified Renault engine is introduced.
-
Lotus moves from Cheshunt to its present home in
Hethel, Norfolk, England.
1967 - The
Elan +2 is introduced (powered by the Lotus Twin
Cam engine).
- Lotus introduces the
Lotus 49 and wins the Dutch Grand Prix. Another
landmark car, taking 8 consecutive pole
positions.
1968 - Lotus Cars Limited
goes public.
- Graham Hill becomes World
Champion driving a Lotus 49.
1969 - Tony
Rudd joins Lotus as Engineering Director.
Engineering projects include more powerful
version of Lotus Twin Cam engine and new Lotus
2.0 liter 16 valve 907 engine to address coming
emission laws and preserve performance.
- Mike Kimberley joins Lotus as Chief
Engineer for the Twin Cam Europa Project.
- Lotus brings 4 wheel drive cars to
Formula One and to Indy.
1970 - Powerful
Elan Sprint is introduced with 126 BHP Lotus
Twin Cam engine.
- Yet another landmark
Formula One car in the Lotus 72. A World
Championship for Lotus.
1971 - Lotus
introduces the Type 907 engine, 2.0 liter, 16
valves, the first 4 valve production engine
- Europa is updated using the 1558cc
Lotus Twin Cam engine.
1972 - Emerson
Fittipaldi is World Champion driving a Lotus 72.
1973 - Emerson Fittipaldi and Ronnie
Peterson dominate Formula One and win the
Championship for Lotus.
1974 - Lotus
revives the name Elite for its newly-introduced
four passenger model. The Elite is powered by
the 2 liter, 160 HP, 907 engine. Exceeded all
foreseeable European and U.S. safety and
emission regulations.
1975 - Lotus Elite
wins the Don Safety Trophy from the U.K.
Minister of Transport for design and exceeding
all safety and emission regulations.
-
Worldwide introduction of Esprit S1 and Eclat,
powered by the Lotus Type 907 engine.
1976 - The first ever ground effects
car, the Lotus 78, is built and secretly tested.
1977 - Lotus Esprit featured in James
Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me".
1978 -
Introduction of Lotus Esprit S2.
- Lotus
agrees to provide design and development
expertise for DeLorean DMC-12.
- Lotus
wins the World Championship with Mario Andretti
driving the Lotus 79.
1979 - Lotus
Sunbeam Talbot wins World Rallye Championship
with 2.2 liter version of the Lotus 907 engine.
1980 - Esprit, Eclat and Elite are
uprated with 2.2 liter engine and chassis
guaranteed for 5 years.
- Turbo Esprit
introduced to the U.K. market with 210 BHP and
revised suspension.
- Lotus Engineering
and Technology unit announced.
1981 -
Esprit S3 introduced for U.K. market. Uses
chassis of the Turbo Esprit.
- Turbo
Esprit featured in James Bond film "For Your
Eyes Only".
- Lotus cars are not
imported to U.S. during 1981 -1982.
1982
- Excel 2+2 is introduced. First car built by
Lotus to use the VARI process.
- Colin
Chapman, founder and chairman, dies at age of 54
on December 16, 1982.
1983 - Importation
of Lotus cars resumes to U.S. market.
Introduction of Turbo Esprit to U.S.
-
Active Suspension System announced and
demonstrated to the press.
1984 -
Completion of 30,000th Lotus road car produced
by Hethel, Norfolk factory; 1966-1984.
1985 - Group Lotus Car Companies renamed
Group Lotus plc.
- Formula One wins with
drivers Elio de Angelis and Aryton Senna.
1986 - General Motors acquires a
complete shareholding in Lotus plc.
-
Project M100 begins, for what becomes the new
Elan.
1987 - Group Lotus forms U.S.
distribution and marketing operation; Lotus Cars
USA.
1988 - Heavily revised Esprit Turbo
with new body and interior is introduced. Body
construction stronger and formed with VARI
process.
1989 - Esprit Turbo receives
electronic Multi-port Fuel Injection (MPFI),
distributorless ignition and stronger gearbox
with improved gear ratios.
- Esprit
Turbo SE is introduced with 280 BHP chargecooled
engine.
1990 - Lotus Cars USA campaigns
team of Esprit Turbo SE's in SCCA World
Challenge Cup. 4 wins (out of 8 races); two 1-2
wins; 6 pole positions.
- Lotus Elan is
introduced to U.K. market. Front drive roadster
with 1588cc 4 valve twin cam engine. Available
in standard, normally aspirated and SE,
turbocharged, forms.
1991 - Introduction
of the new Lotus Elan to the U.S. market,
turbocharged model only.
1992 - Chris
Boardman take Olympic 4000m Gold Medal on
epoch-making "Lotus Sport" carbon-composite
monocoque bicycle.
- Boardman and the
Lotus "superbike" smash World 5km pursuit record
by over 8 seconds. Boardman's unofficial Olympic
4km record is ratified also
- Doc Bundy,
driving the Lotus Sport X180R, takes the
Driver's title in USA national sports car series
(Bridgestone Potenza Supercar). Tom Langeberg
wins Dutch Production Car Series in Lotus Esprit
- Launch at NEC of Esprit Sport 300: --
the highest performance Lotus to date. Bases on
the X180R, the Sport 300 blends racetrack
performance with road manners in a dramatic
variant of the classic Lotus Esprit shape.
1993 - Lotus Esprit S4 introduced -- new
elegant bodyshell encloses dynamic improvements
such as power steering (standard).
-
Lotus Esprit Sport 300 goes into production
- Two Lotus Esprit Sport 300s race at Le
Mans -- first works-supported entry for over 30
years.
- New Lotus Sport 110 road bike
debuts on the Tour de France with Team ONCE
- Bugatti buys Group Lotus from General
Motors; Romano Artioli of Bugatti Industries
named Chairman, Group Lotus Limited (Millbrook
Proving Grounds retained by GM.)
1994 -
Elan S2 shown at Geneva Show. Featuring new 16"
wheel/tire package and other improvements, car
will enter production in June for limited run of
800 units only.
- Chris Boardman is
re-united with a Lotus bicycle (the new Lotus
Sport 110) for the first time since the 1992
Olympics, and wins 30km stage of Tour de Suisse.
- Boardman sets new record average
speed? on the Prologue for the Tour de France,
riding the Lotus Sport 110. He keeps the "yellow
jersey" as Tour leader for two further days.
- Lotus Esprit Sport 300 driven by
Thorkild Thyrring wins the British National GT
series.
- Chris Boardman wins World
Championship in Sicily, in 4km Pursuit and 30km
Road Race -- both on Lotus Sport 110, proving
its competitiveness and versatility.
-
Esprit S4s announced at Birmingham Motor Show --
300 hp peak power in S4-based body, with new
wheels, Michelin tires, and revised suspension
settings to suit increased performance.
1995 - Sad day for motorsports
enthusiasts as Team Lotus (not part of Group
Lotus since 1986, except in name and spirit)
lays off all of its staff and finally joins
forces with Pacific Racing. A sad end to an
illustrious and unforgettable period of
motorsport which saw Team Lotus win the Formula
One World Championship seven times, the
Indianapolis 500 once, and many other formula
victories including class wins at Le Mans. Its
success was a tribute to one man -- Colin
Chapman.
- Lotus celebrates the
completion of the 50,000th car since the birth
of the marque in 1948. The car, a Lotus Elan S2,
is donated to a major national charity with the
help of former Lotus driver Britt Ekland. With
the help of The Sun newspaper, over ?65,000 is
raised by the car.
- Lotus GT car,
driven by Alessandro Zanardi and Alex Portman,
stuns spectators at Donington, leading the GT2
class by over a lap and running up to third
overall. Only a transmission fault five minutes
before the end of the four hour race prevents
the team from taking a fairy-tale result.
- Lotus Esprit sales worldwide buck
static market, recording an 11% increase in the
first six months against previous year.
- Lotus is the featured marque at the
Monterey Historic Automobile Races in
Califormaia,. Hazel Chapman attends as guest of
honor. Unique collection of Lotus F1, Indy,
sports and road cars on display; Lotus
Enthusiasts attend from around the world.
- Lotus Elise is unveiled at Frankfurt
Motor Show. Immediately billed as "star of the
show", Elise is superlight at 1488 lbs with
advanced chassis of epoxy-bonded aluminum
extrusion -- a worlds' first. Other "firsts"
include extruded aluminum suspension uprights
and aluminum metal matrix brake discs. Promising
breathtaking performance(--60 in 5.9 seconds) at
a price "under ?20,000" with stunning looks,
Elise earns praise from onlookers, and many
advance orders are taken. First deliveries are
expected mid-1996
1996 - At the Geneva
Auto Show Lotus introduces the Espirt V8,
powered by a purpose-built Lotus V8 engine. The
3.5 liter, twin-turbocharged unit produces 350
hp at 6500 rpm and 295 lb ft of torque at 4250
rpm. The engine is impressively small, fitting
comfortably inside a cube 28" high, 28" wide and
24" long with all ancillaries in place. Of
modular design, the engine can support a 4-liter
naturally aspirated version s well as a family
of V6 and four-cylinder engines.
- All
new Lotus Espirt GT1 car (type number 114) is
unveiled at the Paul Ricard circuit for the
first race of the 1996 GT series. The new racer
features the Lotus V8 engine, a new six-speed
racing transmission, F1-sytel aerodynamics,
carbon brakes, and is down to the 900kg minimum
weight limit. After showing early promise, the
car retires due to a? fractured exhaust.
- The Lotus GT Team finishes a credible
second at the Silverstone round of the BPR
Global Endurance series.
- On October 31
the Malaysian multinational DRB HICOM announces
that is has taken a majority shareholding in the
Lotus Group of Companies. Tan Sri Yahaya Ahmad,
Chairman of HICOM-PROTON Group names Modamed
Zainal as managing Director of Group Lotus.
- The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato
Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, visits Lotus and lays
the foundation stone for a new ?7 million
"body-in-white" prototype development and
engineering center.
- At the Bologna
Motor Show, Lotus unveils the Elise Trophy car,
a race-prepared Elise for a one-make racing
series stages in Italy in March, 1997.
1997 - Lotus debuts its Espirt V8 PPG
Pace Car at the North American International
Auto Show in Detroit. The car includes O.Z.
Racing. wheels, Euro headlamps and a unique PPG
paint containing special translucent particles
held in suspension, allowing the paint to change
color from black to gold as light conditions
vary.
- Zytek's Electonic Lotus Elise
powered by two Zytek electric motors, is the
star of the 1997 SAE International Congress
& Exposition in Detroit, reaffirming the
fundamental correctness of the Elise's
lightweight construction method and proving that
EB's don't have to be boring.
- DRB
HICOM Chairman Tan Sri Yahaya Ahmad and his wife
are killed in a helicopter crash near Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia.
- The Lotus Esprit V8
earns an Exceptional Merit Award in teh Robb
Report Exotic Car of the Year balloting.
- Lotus Cars USA dedicates a new 31,000
square-foot headquarters building at 500
Marathon Parkway in Lawrenceville, GA.
-
The 1000th Lotus Elise (a left-hand drive model
with red leather upholstery and Titanium paint)
rolls off the assembly line at Hethel, UK. Elise
production now stands at 11 per day.
-
Group Lotus announces that appointment of Chris
Knight, former senior executive with Royal Dutch
Shell, as CEO and Paul Layzell as Director --
Cars, Sales & Marketing, Mohamed Zainal
continues as DRB HICOM Chairman's
representative.
- The Lotus Sport Elise
is unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Conceived for road use, but designed as a race
car, the Sport Elise is powered by a 1.8-liter
Rover K Series engine with 190 hp. Ultra
lightweight competition accessories, including
specially manufactured front and rear
clamshells, reduce its overall weight to just
1477 pounds.
- 1998 Lotus Esprit V8
debuts at the London Motorshow with a revised
interior, improved shift mechanism, twin-plate
clutch and new ABS system. A GT version of the
V8 also debuts.
- Group Lotus terminates
its agreement with GT1 Racing Ltd. GT1 ran the
Type 115, and Elise- based GT-1 race car, in the
FIA GT Championship. Plagued by a sanctioning
body ruling which made the Lotus V8 turbo engine
uncompetitive, the GT1 team switched to a
6.0-liter normally aspirated V8 as the 1997
season began, but never recovered.
1998
- The 1998 Esprit V8 is unveiled at the Chicago
Auto Show. A restyled interior, new climate
control unit, twin-plate clutch with revised
hydraulic actuation, modified gearbox and
selector mechanism, refined ABS system, new
windshield wiper design, and upgraded alarm
round out the changes.
- Romano Artioli,
part-owner of Lotus and a former chairman of the
company, steps down as Lotus Cars Limited's
Director of Special Projects to pursue other
interests.
- Malaysian automaker Proton
purchases the 16.25 percent interest in Lotus
held by the estate of former Proton CEO Tan Sri
Yahaya Ahmad. This gives Proton an 80-percent
stake in the company.
- A big month for
Lotus. On September 12, the factory holds an
invitation only celebration of the 50th
anniversary of the first Lotus car. Almost 2,000
Lotus cars and 10,000 Lotus car owners, dealers,
clubs and enthusiasts make their way to Lotus
headquarters to participate in the 50th
Anniversary celebrations at Hethel. A 1/2 ton
birthday cake measuring five feet by six feet is
cut by Lotus CEO Chris Knight and Hazel Chapman,
widow of the company founder Colin Chapman to
mark the occasion.
- September also sees
the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
president Ronald K. Leonard open Lotus' new
Engine Test Facility in Hethel. It adds 19 new
test cells, bringing the total number on the
Lotus campus to 42.
- The Birmingham
Motor Show is the setting for the launch of two
new Lotus vehicles. First up is the Elise 340R
an aggressive lightweight concept with
production possibilities. It features minimal
bodywork, cycle fenders over its otherwise open
wheels, and does away with both the roof and
doors. The Esprit Sport 350 heads to production
with a lightened bodyshell, a carbon fiber rear
wing and side fins developed for the Type 115
GT-1 race car, and magnesium O.Z. wheels. It is
painted in a distinctive aluminum color with
blue highlights and features blue cam covers on
its 3.5 Liter Lotus V8 engine.
Lotus Cars - General Information.
Information about Lotus car
Merchandise. general information about Lotus cars.
Lotus Elise. The Lotus Elise.
Lotus Exige. The Lotus Exige.
Lotus Europa. The Lotus Europa.
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