Lotus final assembly

Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics.^[1] It also owns the engineering consultancy Lotus Engineering, which has facilities in the United Kingdom, United States, Malaysia and China.

Lotus is owned by Proton, which acquired it following the bankruptcy of former owner Romano Artioli in 1994.

History[link]

The company was formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd. by engineer Colin Chapman, a graduate of University College, London, in 1952. The first factory was in old stables behind the Railway Hotel in Hornsey, North London. Team Lotus, which was split off from Lotus Engineering in 1954, was active and competitive in Formula One racing from 1958 to 1994. The Lotus Group of Companies was formed in 1959. This was made up 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 in the same year.^[2]

The company moved to a purpose built factory at Cheshunt in 1959^[3] and since 1966 the company has occupied a modern factory and road test facility at Hethel, near Wymondham. This site is the former RAF Hethel base and the test track uses sections of the old runway.

By 1982 the company was experiencing severe financial difficulties and Chapman sought additional capital from outside sources. The crisis resulted principally from the fact that only a handful of Lotus cars were sold each year in the world's largest market, the US. These problems were solved by a young law professor and investment banking consultant, Joe Bianco, who was able to capitalize a new and separate United States sales company for Lotus. By creating an unprecedented tax-incentived mechanism^[4] (wherein each investor received a specially personalized Lotus Turbo Esprit) the new American company, Lotus Performance Cars Inc. (LPCI,) was able to provide fresh capital to the British manufacturer. Former Ferrari North America general manager John Spiech was brought in to run LPCI, which imported the remarkable Giugiaro-designed Turbo Esprit for the first time. US sales quickly jumped into triple digits annually. This transaction was generally regarded as having saved Lotus from bankruptcy.^[5] LPCI was subsequently sold along with Group Lotus PLC to General Motors.

Chapman died of a heart attack in 1982 at the age of 54, having begun life an innkeeper's son and ended a multi-millionaire industrialist in post-war Britain. The car maker built tens of thousands of successful racing and road cars and 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 the 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, for £30 million, to A.C.B.N. Holdings S.A. of Luxembourg, a company controlled by Italian businessman Romano Artioli, who also owned Bugatti Automobili SpA. In 1996, a majority share in Lotus was sold to Proton, a Malaysian car company listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.

The company also acts as an engineering consultancy, providing engineering development—particularly of suspension—for other car manufacturers. Lotus' powertrain department is responsible for the design and development of the 4-cylinder Ecotec engine found in many of GM's Vauxhall, Opel, Saab, Chevrolet and Saturn cars. Today, the current Lotus Elise and Exige models use the 1.8L VVTL-i I4 from Toyota's late Celica GT-S and the Matrix XRS.

The company is organised as Group Lotus plc, which is divided into Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering.

Michael Kimberley took over as Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Company and its Group from May 2006. He currently chairs 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^[6] and was replaced as CEO by Dany Bahar on 1 October 2009. Bahar was formerly Senior Vice President, Commercial & Brand for Ferrari SpA where he was responsible for worldwide road car sales and after sales business, overall road car and F1 marketing activities, licensing, and merchandising business. Bahar was suspended as CEO on 25 May 2012 on a temporary basis while an investigation into his conduct was undertaken.^[7]

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

Formula One[link]

Lotus 77

Lotus 99T

Lotus 72

The company encouraged its customers to race its cars, and entered Formula One through its sister company Team Lotus in 1958. A Lotus Formula One car driven by Stirling Moss won the marque's first Grand Prix in 1960 at Monaco in a Lotus 18 entered by privateer Rob Walker. Major success came in 1963 with the Lotus 25, which — with Jim Clark driving — won Lotus its first F1 World Constructors Championship. Clark's untimely death — he crashed a Formula Two Lotus 48 in April 1968 after his rear tyre failed in a turn in Hockenheim — was a severe blow to the team and to Formula One. He was the dominant driver in the dominant car and remains an inseparable part of Lotus' early years. That year's championship was won by Clark's teammate, Graham Hill.

Lotus is credited with making the mid-engined layout popular for IndyCars, developing the first monocoque Formula One chassis, and the integration of the engine and transaxle as chassis components. Lotus was also among the pioneers in Formula One in adding wings and shaping the undersurface of the car to create downforce, as well as the first to move radiators to the sides in the car to aid in aerodynamic performance, and inventing active suspension.

Even after Chapman's death, until the late 1980s, 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. However, by the company's last Formula One race in 1994, the cars were no longer competitive. Lotus won a total of 79 Grand Prix races. During his lifetime Chapman saw Lotus beat Ferrari as the first team to achieve 50 Grand Prix victories, despite Ferrari having won their first nine years sooner.

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^[8]
• 1978 (Mario Andretti)

Team Lotus established Classic Team Lotus in 1992, as the Works historic motorsport activity. Classic Team Lotus continues to maintain Lotus F1 cars and run them in the FIA Historic Formula One Championship and it preserves the Team Lotus archive and Works Collection of cars, under the management of Colin Chapman’s son, Clive.

Team Lotus' participation in Formula One ended at the end of the 1994 season.

The Lotus name returned to Formula One for the 2010 season, when a new Malaysian team called Lotus Racing, using the Lotus name on licence from Group Lotus, was awarded an entry. The new team was unrelated to the previous incarnation of Team Lotus when it was first founded, although it was funded by a Malaysian Consortium including Proton (the owner of Lotus Cars). After a dispute between the two parties (Lotus Racing and Proton), Group Lotus, with agreement from their 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 they had acquired Team Lotus Ventures Ltd, the company led by David Hunt since 1994, during which Team Lotus had stopped competing in Formula One, and with it full ownership of the rights of the Team Lotus brand and heritage. The team confirmed that they would be known as Team Lotus from 2011 onwards.

In December 2010 Group Lotus (Proton) announced the creation of "Lotus Renault GP", the successor to the Renault F1 team, that contested the 2011 season having purchased a title sponsorship deal with the team with the option to buy shares in the future. The team's cars continued to be called "Renaults", up against the Team Lotus cars which were known as "Lotus". For 2012, "Lotus Renault GP" has been rebranded as "Lotus F1 Team" and their cars will be known as "Lotus", whereas the former Team Lotus has been renamed Caterham F1 Team and their cars will be known as "Caterhams".

Group Lotus is currently also involved in several other categories of motorsport. It sponsors the ART team in the GP2 and GP3 Series, and the KV team in the IndyCar Series. In 2011, Lotus also returned to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a semi-works effort run by Jetalliance Racing, which fielded two Lotus Evoras. In 2012 they will partner with Engine Developments LTD/John Judd to build a 2.2 Liter Twin Turbocharged V-6 Engine to be used in the Izod Indycar Series.

Lotus car models[link]

The Lotus Elise

Lotus Evora

Current Lotus models include:

• Lotus Elise: The Elise started in 1996 and weighed 725 kg (1,598 lb). The current model starts at 901 kg (1,986 lb) and incorporates some engineering innovations, such as an aluminium extrusion frame and a composite body shell. The Elise has also spawned several racing variants, including a limited series called the 340R, which has an open-body design echoing the old Seven. The Elise was introduced into the U.S., with a Toyota engine, in order to pass strict U.S. emissions laws. The 1ZZ & 2ZZ Toyota engines used have a Lotus ECU with their own fuel mapping. The supercharged Lotus SC and limited edition Jim Clark Type 25 Elise editions add a new performance dimension to the Elise range. 0–60 mph acceleration is in 4.3 seconds and 0–100 km/h in 4.6 seconds.

• Lotus Exige: A version of the Elise with a redesigned body to provide additional downforce (100 lb at 100 mph).^[9] Additionally, the following Elise Sport Pack and Hardtop options are standard on the Exige. The car is street legal and the base 2006 model was available in the USA for $50,990.^[10] Lotus updated the Exige with the supercharged Exige S in 2007.

• Lotus Exige S: An Exige with a supercharged engine providing 220 hp.^[11] The non-S Exige^[12] and Elise^[13] 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 will provide the Evora S Model (2011) as rapid response vehicles to the Rome and Milan Carabinieri to replace the previous Lamborghini Gallardos. See Lotus webpage

• Lotus 2-Eleven Weighing just 670 kg (1,500 lb) and with 252 bhp (188 kW) the Lotus 2-Eleven can sprint from 0–60 in 3.8 seconds and has a top speed of 155 mph (249 km/h). Intended as a track day car it costs £39,995 but for an additional £1,100 Lotus will make the car fully road legal.
• Lotus T125 Exos Track-only Formula 1 inspired car. 3.5l Cosworth V8, 640 bhp; 25 will be built at $1 million each. To run in the 'Exos Experience by Lotus', a club, initiated and operated by Lotus Motorsport, in which a limited number of owner drivers can refine their driving skills and challenge themselves with expert one-to-one advice from former Grand Prix drivers and trainers. Also, previous holder of the fastest Top Gear lap time although it was disqualified for not being able to meet the requirements of getting over a speed bump.

Previous[link]

Lotus 1, 1948

Lotus Mk 4

Lotus Mk IX

Lotus Eleven

Lotus Europa S2

Lotus Elite

Lotus 26, 1965

Lotus Eclat 22

Lotus Esprit S4s, 1995

Lotus GT1 Road Car, 2008

Lotus Elise S1

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" racer—about 100 built
• Lotus Seven (1957–1970): Classic open sports car, a minimalist machine designed to manoeuvre 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 speciality firms, including Westfield Sportscars and Donkervoort. Originally the number seven was applied to a Riley-powered Formula 2 car, but the vehicle was never completed in its original form, finally emerging instead as the Clairmonte Special, a two-seat sports car powered by a Lea-Francis engine.
• Lotus Mark VIII (1954): sports racer
• Lotus Mark IX (1955): sports racer, based on Eight
• Lotus Mark X (1955): sports racer, a more powerful Eight
• Lotus Eleven (1956–1957): sports racer
• Lotus 12 (1956–1957): Formula Two and Formula One racecar
• Lotus 13: Designation not used
• Lotus 14 (1957–1963): First production street car—the Elite
• Lotus 15 (1958): Sports racer—successor to the Eleven
• Lotus 16 (1958–1959): F1/F2 car based on the Twelve
• Lotus 17 (1959): Sports racer update of the 15—not successful
• Lotus 18 (1960–1961): First mid-engined Lotus single seater—Formula Junior/F2/F1
• Lotus 19 (1960–1962): Mid-engined 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): Production street sports car—the original Elan.
• Lotus 27 (1963): Formula Junior
• 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): F2/F3/FB
• Lotus 36 (1965–1968): Fixed Head Coupe version of the original Elan, so called perhaps to distinguish it 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): Improved(?) 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 45 (1966–1974): Convertible (Drop Head Coupe), a version of the original Elan with a revised body style, most notable for its permanent side window frames.
• Lotus 46 (1966–1968): Original Renault-engined Europa
• Lotus 47 (1966–1970): Racing version of Europa
• Lotus 48 (1967): Formula Two
• Lotus 49 (1967–1969): Formula One World Champion
• 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 54 (1968–1970): Series 2 "Europa" production car.
• Lotus 55 (1968): F3
• Lotus 56 (1968–1971): Indy turbine wedge/F1 turbine (56B)
• Lotus 57 (1968): F2 design study
• Lotus 58 (1968): F1 design study
• Lotus 59 (1969–1970): F2/F3/Formula Ford
• 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 F1
• Lotus 64 (1969): 4-wheel drive Indy cars—did not compete
• Lotus 65 (1969–1971): "Federalized" Europa S2
• Lotus 66: designation not used
• 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 (1971–1975): Europa Twin Cam production cars
• 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): F1
• Lotus 78 (1977–1978): F1 ground effects car
• Lotus 79 (1978–1979): Formula One World Champion—also street GT "Esprit" (1975–1980)
• Lotus 80 (1979): F1
• Lotus 81 (1980–1981): F1—designation also used for Sunbeam Talbot rally car
• Lotus 82 (1982–1987): Turbo Esprit street GT car
• Lotus 83 (1980): Elite series 2
• Lotus 84 (1980–1982): Éclat series 2
• 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 89 (1982–1992): Lotus Excel GT—re-engineered Éclat
• Lotus 90: Unreleased Elan/Toyota
• 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 Lotus F1 winner
• Lotus 100T (1988): F1 Turbo
• 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 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): F1
• 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): F1—Last Lotus F1 car.
• Lotus 110: Production version of type 108 bicycle
• Lotus 111: The Lotus Elise
• Lotus 112: Final partial F1 design, got as far as the monocoque buck
• Lotus 113: Number not allocated
• Lotus 114 (1996): Lotus Esprit GT1
• Lotus 115 (1997–1998): Lotus GT Race Car, AKA Lotus Elise GT1
• Lotus 116: The Vauxhall VX220 / Opel Speedster, a collaboration with GM
• Lotus 117: Lotus Elise Mk2^{[citation needed]}
• Lotus 118: Lotus M250. Two-seater concept car. Unveiled in Autumn of 1999 as a mid-range sports car, project was cancelled in 2001.
• Lotus 119: Soapbox derby car Light vehicle out of carbon and aluminium, brakes discs, without engine, built for the race of the festival of speed of Goodwood
• Lotus 120 (1998): Elise V6 code named M120—was never produced
• 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 ^[14]
• 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, which went through several iterations of turbo-charging and electronic upgrades, before finally being replaced by a highly 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 that never reached production
• Lotus Europa S: The Grand Tourer (GT)-inspired two-seater is claimed to offer a more upmarket sportscar experience, although it is based on the same chassis as the Elise and Exige, limiting accommodation and practicality. Power comes from a Lotus-tuned variant of the turbocharged four-cylinder engine which powers the VX220. The Europa has been criticised in the motoring press for being expensive and for lacking equipment and practicality compared to rivals like the Porsche Cayman.

Announcements of future cars[link]

2013 Lotus Elan.

2013 Lotus Eterne.

At the 2010 Paris Motorshow, Lotus announced five new models to be introduced over the next five years:^[15]

• New Lotus Esprit. Due to be released in 2013, the Esprit will be powered by a 4.8-litre Lotus Performance V8 pressure-charged engine delivering up to 620 PS (456 kW; 612 hp), capable of 0–100 km/h in approximately 3.4 seconds.
• New Lotus Elite. A 2+2 GT with a front-mid positioned 5.0-litre V8 engine delivering up to 620 PS (456 kW; 612 hp), capable of 0–100 km/h in approximately 3.7 seconds. Set for release in spring 2014.
• New Lotus Elise. The replacement for the Lotus Elise is due in 2015 with a 2.0-litre inline 4 pressure-charged engine delivering up to 320 PS (235 kW; 316 hp), the Elise 2015 is stated to be capable of 0–100 km/h in under 4.5 seconds.
• New Lotus Eterne. A four-door, four-seater sports GT with a 5.0-litre pressure-charged V8. Designed as a competitor to the Porsche Panamera, Aston Martin Rapide and Maserati Quattroporte.
• New Lotus Elan. This was set for release during the second half of 2017, to feature a 4.0-litre V6 pressure-charged engine capable of delivering up to 450 PS (331 kW; 444 hp) with a weight of 1,295 kg (2,855 lb). Lotus later postponed the production of the car until 2017, allowing the company to develop the current Evora.^[16]

Lotus also showed an unnamed city car concept using its 1.2L range-extender engine.^[17] In 2011 Lotus revealed this as the Lotus Ethos, a plug-in hybrid car based on the EMAS concept from its parent company Proton, and likely to be primarily built by Proton in Malaysia.^[16]

Lotus engines[link]

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-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 56 kg (123 lb), 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.^[18][19]
• On 18 August 2011 Lotus fired up an all new in-house designed V8 destined for the new era range of cars. At 170 kg (375 lb) and just 612 mm (24.1 in) long, the unit will be 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 is expected to be used in the Le Mans LMP2 car in 2012. Expected performance is likely to be in excess of 590 PS (434 kW; 582 hp) and with a 9,200 rpm redline.^[20]

Lotus Engineering[link]

Lotus Engineering Limited, is an offshoot of Lotus Cars, which provides engineering consultancy third party companies primarily in the automotive industry. As well as Hethel 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.^[21]

Engineering demonstrators[link]

• 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 Concept City Car. Shown at the 2010 Paris motor show.

APX and VVA[link]

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 will be used in the creation of a new mid-engined 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 as a 2.2-litre N/A and 3.0-litre supercharged. A number of prototypes of both engines exist in full working order in a number of mule cars.

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[link]

DeLorean DMC 12 with Lotus designed Chassis

Sinclair C5

Dodge EV

Examples of work undertaken by Lotus Engineering include:

• Lotus Talbot Sunbeam—Talbot's hot-hatch rally car of the early '80s.
• DeLorean DMC-12. 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, founder of Lotus. Lotus replaced most of the unproven material and manufacturing techniques with those then employed by Lotus in the Lotus Esprit.
• 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 220 hp (160 kW).
• Vauxhall VX220 (badged Opel Speedster outside of the UK) – Lotus produced and based 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, 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.^[22]
• The Aston Martin DB9 chassis was developed with the help of Lotus Engineering.
• Lotus was responsible for most of the design, development, and testing, of the LT5 DOHC V8 powerplant for the 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 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,^[23] 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 is to be based on the Lotus Exige.
• 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.^[24]

Electric vehicles[link]

Lotus Engineering has established a group dedicated to hybrid and electric vehicles.^[25]

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.^[26][27] Lotus is now front and center in the electric-car arena.^[28]

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.^[27]

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.^[28][29]

Tesla Motors, a likely rival for Lotus if its plans go through, has also turned to contractors for parts of the all-electric Roadster.^[26] 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.^[26]

Queen's Award for Enterprise[link]

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.^[30]

See also[link]

Cars portal

• Colin Chapman
• RAF Hethel
• Proton Holdings Berhad

Notes[link]

Further reading[link]

• 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

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lotus Cars

• Lotus Cars Official Site
• Lotus Renault GP Official Site

v t e Team Lotus Founder: Colin Chapman Noted personnel: Frank Dernie · Gérard Ducarouge · Maurice Philippe · Peter Warr · Peter Wright World Champions:  Mario Andretti ·  Jim Clark ·  Emerson Fittipaldi ·  Graham Hill ·  Jochen Rindt Other notable drivers: Elio de Angelis ·  Mika Häkkinen ·  Johnny Herbert ·  Nigel Mansell ·  Gunnar Nilsson ·  Ronnie Peterson ·  Nelson Piquet ·  Carlos Reutemann ·  Ayrton Senna ·  Alex Zanardi Formula One cars: 16 · 18 · 21 · 24 · 25 · 33 · 43 · 49 · 56B · 63 · 72 · 76 · 77 · 78 · 79 · 80 · 81 · 86 · 87 · 88 · 91 · 92 · 93T · 94T · 95T · 97T · 98T · 99T · 100T · 101 · 102 · 107 · 109 · 112 Formula Two cars: 12 · 16 · 18 · 32 · 35 · 41 · 44 · 48 · 59 · 69 Formula Three cars: 22 · 31 · 35 · 41 · 55 · 59 · 69 Formula Junior cars: 18 · 20 · 22 · 27 Formula Ford cars: 51 · 59 · 61 · 69 Formula 5000 cars: 68 · 70 Tasman Series cars: 32 · 39 · 67 Indianapolis 500 cars: 29 · 34 · 38 · 42 · 56 · 64 · 96T Sports racing cars: 15 · 17 · 19 · 23 · 30 · 40 · 47 · 53

v t e  Lotus F1 Team Team Principal: Éric Boullier Personnel: James Allison · Gerard Lopez  · Alan Permane Race drivers: 9. Kimi Räikkönen · 10. Romain Grosjean Test drivers: Jérôme d'Ambrosio Formula One Cars: E20

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Bruno Senna

Born	(1983-10-15) 15 October 1983 (age 28) São Paulo, Brazil
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Brazilian
2012 team	Williams-Renault
2012 car #	19
Races	32
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	17
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	2010 Bahrain Grand Prix
Last race	2012 Monaco Grand Prix
2011 position	18th (2 pts)

Bruno Senna Lalli (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈbrunu ˈsenɐ], born 15 October 1983 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver and the nephew of the late three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna. His mother is Ayrton's older sister, Viviane. His father, Flávio Lalli, died in a motorcycle crash in 1996. He wears a slightly modified version of his uncle's helmet. Senna made his Formula One début in 2010, driving for Hispania Racing. He moved to Renault in 2011, replacing Nick Heidfeld as a driver from August of that year,^[1] and since January 2012 he is signed to the Williams team.

Career[link]

Early career[link]

As a child, Bruno raced go-karts against Ayrton on the family farm, and Ayrton regarded his nephew's potential very highly. When leaving McLaren at the end of 1993, Ayrton said: "If you think I'm fast, just wait until you see my nephew Bruno".^[2] Ayrton's death while driving a Williams at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, however, brought Bruno's own racing career to an abrupt halt.

At Imola in 2004, however, on the 10th anniversary of his uncle's death, Senna was given an example of his uncle's 1986 Lotus 98T as a gift from an Italian friend. Senna drove the car at the 2004 Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix meeting in São Paulo, at Interlagos, where Ayrton had won in 1991 and 1993.

Ayrton's McLaren team mate of the 1990–1992 seasons, Gerhard Berger is a close friend of the Senna family and has advised Senna on his career. Senna's sister, Bianca, meanwhile, has managed his affairs and sponsorship acquisition.

In 2004, Bruno competed in six races of the Formula BMW UK series for Carlin Motorsport, scoring six points.

Formula Three (2005–2006)[link]

In 2005, he moved on to the British Formula Three International Series, driving for the Räikkönen Robertson Racing team owned by then-McLaren Formula One driver Kimi Räikkönen and his business managers David and Steve Robertson. His results included three podium finishes in the last seven races of the season, as he finished tenth in the final standings. In 2006 he stayed with the team and finished third in the series standings behind champion and teammate Mike Conway and Oliver Jarvis, taking five victories. He won the opening two races of the series at Oulton Park in the wet. He again won the first race at Donington Park and then won the second race at Mugello in Italy, again in the wet.

Senna had a massive crash during the first race of round five of the series at Snetterton. On lap 2, he and Hitech Racing's Salvador Durán clashed wheels on the Revett Straight at nearly 150 mph (240 km/h). Senna's car took off just before the bridge, and may have even clipped it, while cartwheeling through the air.^[3] His car landed violently and careered along and down the safety barrier for some distance, but Senna walked away. His car however was damaged beyond immediate repair and Senna missed out on the second race of the day.

Bruno Senna driving a Dallara F304 in a support race at the 2006 Australian Grand Prix

On the rear wing of the car he had advertised the Ayrton Senna Foundation web page.

In 2006, Senna competed in the Formula Three support races at the 2006 Australian Grand Prix, winning three of the four races.^[4][5]

On 28 May Senna made his first appearance on Monaco circuit, as a guest in the Porsche Supercup event. Unfortunately, he was forced to retire at the first corner because of a clutch failure.

In October 2006 he appeared in an eight-part weekly series called Vroom Vroom on British TV station Sky One. Each week he would drive a different car being tested on the show, as quickly as possible, to the top of a multi-storey car park.

GP2 Series (2007–2008)[link]

In October 2006 Senna was said to be targeting a seat on the Formula One grid by 2009.^[6] He signed to drive for the Red Bull-sponsored Arden International team for the 2007 GP2 Series. He finished fourth on his debut at Bahrain and soon after scored his first win in the feature race in Spain. In the single race Monaco event, Senna struggled owing to poor tyres.

During the four week break in the GP2 series between the Monaco and French races, Senna took part in the third round of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli European series at Silverstone on June 9 and 10, 2007. Driving an F430 on a weekend devoted to the 60th anniversary of Ferrari, Senna won both races, starting each from pole. The purpose of this involvement was to gain a better understanding of the circuit, which is on the GP2 calendar.

Senna driving for iSport International at the Silverstone round of the 2008 GP2 Series season

At Silverstone, a mistake during qualifying on the Friday meant Senna started 26th and last. After a great start Senna was able to finish 11th in the feature race. The sprint race was not any better in terms of points with a 10th place finish. A poor qualifying session at the Nurburgring for the feature race meant Senna started 16th but was up to ninth after a cleverly timed first pit stop. However he was given a drive-through penalty after being involved in a collision with Adam Carroll and ended up finishing a poor 15th. The Sprint race ended on the first lap after a collision. At Hungary for both races, Senna finished out of the top ten after struggling with the set-up of the car. The feature race in Turkey brought another poor result, however Senna finished sixth in the sprint race and with it came his first points since France. At Monza Senna finished fourth after starting fourteenth. Starting fifth for the sprint race Senna had an excellent start by moving up to second, however after contact with Luca Filippi resulted in bent steering, Senna managed to finish third and on the podium for the first time since France in July. At Spa Senna showed raw pace through practice and set the third fastest time early on during Qualifying for the feature race. However a stall on the grid meant he started 22nd and while fighting to make up ground he got a bit of oversteer and then the camber changed, ending his day in the tyre barrier. Starting at the back of the grid for the sprint race, Senna finished eighth leaving Belgium pointless. At the season finale in Valecia Spain, Senna ended the feature race with a DNF and thus starting the sprint race from 19th could only manage to finish 14th. This was a positive season on the whole for Senna finishing in the top 10 in only his third full year of single seater racing, with one win and three podiums.

Senna switched teams for the 2008 season, moving to iSport International, where his team-mate was Karun Chandhok.^[7] He also drove for the team in the 2008 GP2 Asia Series. In the second round of the season at Istanbul Senna collided with a stray dog during the sprint race. The suspension of Senna's car was damaged in the incident, causing him to retire. Senna himself escaped without injury, while the dog died in the incident. Senna won the GP2 Feature race at Monte Carlo, the first time in 15 years since the Senna name has shown at the top of the leaderboards at the principality. It also moved Senna to first position in the points table, although he was to eventually finish runner-up in the championship to Giorgio Pantano.

Le Mans Series (2009)[link]

Senna driving for Oreca at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Senna had been holding out for a Formula One drive for 2009, and after he realised this would not happen, he began looking at other opportunities to keep him "race fit" ahead of negotiations for a 2010 drive in Formula One. He tested with the AMG-Mercedes DTM team, but after holding talks with the outfit he decided he did not want to commit himself to the series.^[8]

After testing an Oreca LMP1 car, Senna joined the team to race the 24 Hours of Le Mans^[9] and the Le Mans Series. His first race was the 2009 1000 km of Catalunya, teamed with Stéphane Ortelli, finishing 3rd.

Formula One[link]

Senna demonstrating a Ferrari 312B2 Formula One car at the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Bruno Senna sampled a contemporary Formula One car for the first time in November 2008 when he tested for Honda in Barcelona. Honda assessed the Brazilian during their first winter test at the Circuit de Catalunya on November 17–19. His tasks included an initial familiarisation with Honda's RA108 car and its systems before progressing to a full programme during which the team intended to evaluate his performance, technical skill and ability to work within a large team organisation.

Despite Senna, over the course of the three day test, coming to within 0.3 seconds of then Honda F1 racing driver Jenson Button, the later announcement that Honda would withdraw from Formula One with immediate effect amid the economic crisis appeared to have significantly lessened his opportunity of a 2009 race seat in Formula One, unless the squad were to find a buyer before the beginning of the season in March. Senna was expected to be the team's second driver were it to make the 2009 grid,^[10] until Rubens Barrichello was reported to have re-signed with the team.^[11] Senna decided not to sign with Mercedes for 2009 DTM season "to focus completely on his Formula One chances".^[12] Bruno Senna said to the BBC in an interview that he did not want to negotiate with Lotus because of sentimental reasons as his uncle Ayrton Senna took his first win with Team Lotus. He also told the BBC that "I felt important to enter F1 now otherwise I would never be in it". He also told the BBC he had been negotiating with Manor GP, Campos Meta & one existing outfit rumoured to be Brawn GP as he was close to securing a drive the previous season but Barrichello renewed his contract with Brawn.^[13] Rubens Barrichello admitted he was lucky to be driving for Brawn. Barrichello said "I'm just lucky that at this time F1 has changed a little bit". He also wished Bruno the very best in the future, saying he only had a position as Ross Brawn chose the more experienced person because of lack of testing time. He also said he was sure due to Senna's potential that he would get a drive next season.^[14]

Hispania (2010)[link]

Senna driving for Hispania Racing at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix, his Formula One début

On 30 October 2009, Senna announced that he had signed a deal to race in Formula One in 2010;^[15] on 31 October 2009, Adrián Campos confirmed that Senna would be driving for Campos Meta.^[16] It was unclear whether Senna still had the drive after the takeover of Campos by José Ramón Carabante, with new team principal Colin Kolles saying the new-look team would need to find extra funding, review the existing operation, and announce the driver line up in due course, with no mention of Senna. On March 2, Campos announced a name change to Hispania Racing. Two days later, Karun Chandhok was confirmed as Senna's team-mate.^[17]

Senna wore a plain yellow helmet at the 2010 Belgian Grand Prix to advertise a competition where fans could design his helmet for his home race later in the year

After nine races, Senna was replaced for the British Grand Prix, with Sakon Yamamoto filling his seat.^[18] Senna returned to the driver's seat for the German Grand Prix with Yamamoto replacing Chandhok in the team's other car.

On 7 January 2011, HRT announced that Senna would not drive for them during the 2011 season.^[19]

Renault (2011)[link]

Senna scored his first F1 points for Renault at the 2011 Italian Grand Prix.

On 31 January 2011, Senna was announced as a test and reserve driver for the Renault team.^[20] On 9 February, the team confirmed that Senna would be sharing testing duties with Nick Heidfeld on the Saturday and Sunday of the four-day test at Jerez. This was to evaluate the drivers in preparation of replacing the injured Robert Kubica for the 2011 season.^[21] Heidfeld was given the race seat on 16 February 2011.^[22] On 24 July 2011, after the conclusion of the German Grand Prix, it was confirmed that Senna would make his first appearance of the 2011 season, replacing Heidfeld in the first free-practice session at the Hungarian Grand Prix.^[23]

On 22 August, Eddie Jordan reported that Senna would replace Nick Heidfeld for the remaining races of the 2011 season.^[24] On 24 August this was confirmed by Renault.^[1] He qualified seventh for his first race with the team, the Belgian Grand Prix, and finished 13th after colliding with Jaime Alguersuari at the first corner, for which Senna received a drive-through penalty. He finished ninth at the Italian Grand Prix, scoring his first Formula One points. In Singapore, the Renault cars struggled with grip on the slow street circuit, with Senna qualifying and finishing 15th, however he still finished ahead of teammate Petrov. Senna finished 16th in Japan, 13th in Korea, and 12th in the first Indian Grand Prix, after being forced to change tyres late in the race. In Abu Dhabi, Senna again finished 16th after receiving a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue flags, and suffering a KERS failure.^[25] In the final race of the season, his home race in Brazil, Senna outqualfied Petrov for the third time, by starting ninth on the grid. On lap 10 of the race, Senna was involved in a collision with Michael Schumacher, for which Senna received a drive-through penalty,^[26] and finished the race in 17th place.

On 9 December, it was announced that Romain Grosjean would partner Kimi Räikkönen at the team in 2012, leaving Senna without a drive.^[27]

Williams (2012)[link]

Senna driving for Williams at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix.

On 17 January 2012, Senna was confirmed as a Williams driver, where he partners Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado.^[28] As his uncle had been racing for Williams at the time of his death, Senna first sought out his family's blessing before joining the team.^[29][30] Senna qualified 14th for the Australian Grand Prix, and retired in the race's closing stages after contact with Felipe Massa; both drivers later agreed that it was a racing incident.^[31] He was classified 16th, having completed around 90% of the race distance. On 25 March, Senna scored his first points for Williams at the Malaysian Grand Prix, finishing in sixth place, for which he earned eight points after coming through the field in changeable conditions. Senna's result in Sepang gained more points for the team than Williams had earned throughout the whole of the 2011 season. Three races later, his teammate Pastor Maldonado won his first Grand Prix in Spain. After the race, a fire broke out in the Williams garage. Senna's car was damaged and four crew members were treated for injuries.

Helmet design[link]

Bruno Senna's helmet is a modified version of his uncle's helmet design: a yellow helmet with a green and blue S shaped stripe. The green stripe has a blue and white outline, while the blue stripe has a green and white outline. There is a green stripe under the chin area and a blue rounded rectangle in the top area.

Racing record[link]

Career summary[link]

^† As Senna was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
^* Season in progress.

Complete GP2 Series results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete GP2 Asia Series results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

24 Hours of Le Mans results[link]

Year	Class	No	Tyres	Car	Team	Co-Drivers	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2009	LMP1	10	M	Oreca 01 AIM YS5.5 5.5L V10	Team Oreca Matmut AIM	Stéphane Ortelli Tiago Monteiro	219	DNF	DNF

Complete Formula One results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

^† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
^* Season in progress.

Notes and references[link]