Before Colin Chapman even began Lotus in 1952 he had already built his fourth car. An avid racing driver and skilled engineer, Chapman built one of the world’s most successful Formula 1 racing teams to date (even though Lotus stopped racing in 1994). One of Chapman’s main ideologies about starting Lotus was that he wanted to make cars people would race. He enjoyed rapid success with his Mark 6 and Mark 8 sport cars (the Mark 7 was produced for 15 years before the design was sold to Caterham who use the same design for the Caterham 7. The 7 is still produced today and widely regarded as one of the 20th Century’s most fun cars to drive).
Lotus was a pioneer in Formula 1, having developed the first monocque chassis - adding front wings and shaping the undersurface to create downforce - and moving the radiators to the side of the car to improve aerodynamics. It was these innovative techniques that lead to Lotus’ domination of Formula 1 in the 1960s and 1970s. The first win was recorded by Stirling Moss who won the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix, driving a Lotus 18. Jim Clark then went on to win the Driver’s Championship in 1963 (and Lotus won the Constructors Championship). In total, Lotus won seven Formula 1 Constructor’s Championships, six Driver’s Championships and the Indianapolis 500.
Even after Chapman’s untimely death in 1982 his legacy of building lightweight cars with superior handling has lived on today with the Lotus Elise and Exige models.
Lotus are looking to the future by producing the experimental Lotus Exige 265E, powered by bio-ethanol this model is the most powerful Exige to date. In true Lotus style the car weighs just 930kg (unladen) with an approximate horsepower of 265bhp. With a 0 – 60 of approx 3.8 seconds and a top speed of approximately 158mph, this Exige is one of the fastest road legal E85 bio-ethanol cars in the world.