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Lotus cars
was established in the year 1952 by the British engineer Colin Chapman.
Earlier, in the year 1948 the first Lotus saw the light of day. It was
an Austin Seven based trial car which was named Lotus Mk I. The first
company building was located located at old stables in Hensey, north
London. In the year 1954 the company was split into Lotus cars and Team
Lotus for the racing activities. Team Lotus competed in the Formula 1
championships from 1958 until 1994. Concerning the street cars Lotus has
become renown for the Lotus seven and the Super Seven. These ultra light
'street racers' are being produced until this day. The cars are
available ready made and in kit form.
All Lotus racing and sports cars are being engineered by the same
philosophy: as light as possible. Because of the low weight Lotus cars
feature superb road holding capacities, the experience is truly go-kart
like. In 1957 the famous Lotus de Elite was presented, this sports car
was the first car with a GRP (glass fiber reinforced plastic) unitary
bodywork. The Elite was very competitive on the track. In the year 1962
the Lotus Elan was introduced. The Elan was constructed with a backbone
chassis on which the GRP body was mounted. The Elan is one of the finest
driving and handling classic sports cars. The year 1966 saw the birth of
the Lotus Europa. Again a backbone chassis was used but this time the
car featured a centrally mounted engine.
Lotus is still alive and kicking with the models Elise, Exige and the
modern Europa. The story continues strongly because Lotus always stuck
to their philosophy: building ultra light, fast and superb handling cars
for road and track use.
Technical
data
Engine:
Coventry Climax four cylinder in-line
with overhead camshaft (OHC)
Carburettors: 2 S.U.
Cylinder capacity: 1220 cc.
Capacity: 83 bhp. at 6100 rpm.
Gearbox: 4-speed, manual
Top-speed: 190 km/h.
Weight: 559 kg.(!)
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