Lotus Cars For Sale

Show search form Lotus is an English company specializing in the production of sports and racing cars. Since 1996, it has been owned by the Malaysian concern Proton.

The company was founded in 1953 by Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman and was named Lotus Engineering Co.. Soon the famous "Lotus-Seven" (that is, "seven") was created, and in 1957 its serial production began.

In 1954, the sports "Lotus-8" for racing appeared, then the lighter and shorter model "9" followed. In 1955, Chapman even participated in the 24-hour races at Le Mans, but he was not comprehendedluck - the car flew off the track. The construction of racing cars became more and more fascinating for the designer.

In 1955, a streamlined "Lotus-11" with a four-cylinder engine (1098 cm3) with a capacity of 84 hp was created. with., where the famous racer Graham Hill began his career, later a two-time world champion in Formula 1. At an average speed of 160 km / h, the car drove 11.5 km on one liter of fuel.

On October 16, 1957, the Lotus Elite, an elegant coupe with a fiberglass body, was presented at the London Motor Show. Motor "Coventry-Climex" (4 cylinders, 1216 cm3) developed76 l. with. at 6100 rpm (GT version - 104 hp). The light car reached 200 km / h and had excellent handling. Chapman was recognized in European automotive circles, but he aspired to the world of racing and began to build cars of the "Junior" formula.

In 1957, the first racing car "Lotus-12" was built, which marked the beginning of the company's successful activity in the field of creating cars for the F-1.

Lotus has been building Formula 1 cars since 1958. But only in 1961 the first of the cars appeared, which brought Chapman worldwide fame. It was one of the lightest and most elegant carsF-1 for its time, the legendary "Lotus-25". The racer was reclining, like a pilot in an airplane (Chapman's aviation experience came in handy), holding the steering wheel with outstretched hands. Jim Clark got behind the wheel of the "twenty-fifth" - and in 1963 he became the world champion! This is how Lotus entered the motorsport elite. Then the double "Elan" appears.

In 1962, the "Lotus Elite S-2" appears.

In 1965, Clarke won the famous Indy 500 race in the States in Lotus 38! In sports circles, talk of the "invincible combination" of Clark and "Lotus" began.

In 1966, at a new plant in Heathle, Norfolk, Chapman begins manufacturingproduction of the model "Europa" with a coupé body and a central position of the engine.

In 1967, Chapman obtained exclusive rights to the wonderful Ford Cosworth DFV engine by Keith Duckworth, which he equipped with the Lotus 49, developed in collaboration with M. Philip.

A year later, Lotus 56, designed by Maurice Philippe, was released. This is a curious Pratt & Whitney gas turbine race car, and four-wheel drive too! The car had no clutch or gearbox. Morse multi-row chain transferring force to the center differentialal Fergusson, who divided it equally between the axes. Disc brakes were located at the main gear.

In the 60s, the names of Chapman and his company were on everyone's lips, and the Lotus racing stable took the lead in Formula 1. But the first clouds were gathering over the company. On April 7, 1968, Jim Clark, a fan favorite, crashed on the Hockenheim track, and the British public simply idolized him. Nevertheless, the champion of 1968 was a rider from the Chapman team - Hill won in a 435-strong Lotus-49B.

And the 1970 season brought a new tragedy. In the F1 championship without aJochen Rindt was in the lead on Lotus 72. But at a training session in Monza, flying up to the infamous "parabolic" turn, Rindt's car flew off the track at a speed of 280 km / h and hit the fence. Rindt's death rocked the public.

In the early 70s. a new sports car "Elite" with a fiberglass coupe body, equipped with a 2-liter 4-cylinder engine, has appeared.

Chapman was the first to paint racing cars in the colors of the team sponsors. The black and gold "Lotus-JPS", which looked very impressive, was completely painted insponsored by John Player Special. Emerson Fittipaldi became the 1972 champion at Lotus-JPS. Chapman felt like a triumphant again. Seeing how he runs out onto the track (then this was still possible), greeting his winning racers, everyone understood that Chapman was living for these minutes.

Until 1973, about 2900 cars of four series were produced. And then - due to new taxes - the license for the production of the model was sold to Caterham Cars Sales, which had been selling lotuses for six years.

Didn't forgetthe company and production cars: the elegant Esprit ("Spirit") with a body work of Giugiaro appeared. And in Formula 1 there was a decline.

In the 1978 season, the Lotus-79 was presented with completely new aerodynamics: the wing car, which also had the effect of “sticking” to the road, could take turns faster. The engine developed 475 hp. with. at 10,750 rpm. Everything seemed to be done for success, but ... the tragedy again fell like a shadow on the triumph. Ronny Peterson, co-pilot of the team, had an accident at the start of the race on September 9 in Monza. He passed away the next day.

In 1982do Colin Chapman died suddenly. He worked non-stop, really worn out, and lived only fifty-four years ...

Having lost an ideological inspirer, an energetic leader, the company experienced a recession. True, J. Ducarouge and P. Wright designed the 99T model. The twin-turbo car was one of the first to be equipped with a computer-controlled active suspension. On it in 1987, the young Ayrton Senna entered the top three in Formula 1, and the team won third place in the Constructors' Cup. But then things got worse. In the 1995 season, "Lowas no longer involved. Production of serial cars also experienced a decline.

In January 1986, the company was acquired by GM.

In 1996, it was bought by the English car company Proton, as a result of which things have recently started to improve at Lotus: in 1997, 2,248 cars were assembled, which is three times more than in 1996. Most of the sales came from the two-seater Elise roadster. Besides him, Lotus has another model in the program - Esprit, produced since 1975 without significant changes.

One of the modifications of the Elise model with kuthe call of the coupe, which received the name Exide. In fact, it is an urban-adapted version of the sporty Elise, designed for circuit racing.

List of the Lotus models