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1948

Humble Origins

Founder, Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman, studied structural engineering at University College in London

1950

Chapman's 2nd Trials car

During his leave periods from the RAF, Chapman built his second trials car

1951

Mark 3 Circuit Racing

Founder, Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman, studied structural engineering at University College in London

1952

The Lotus Engineering Company

Chapman formed the Lotus Engineering Company

1954

Team Lotus is Set Up

The team comes into being.

1956

EARLY PRODUCTION

The Mark 6 was much in demand, but after manufacturing only 100 cars, orders for the pure sports racing cars took priority. Chapman gave up his job to become fully employed with the production of Lotus cars at the Hornsey factory.

1956

THE LOTUS II

Developed as a descendant of the Mark 9

1957

LE MANS

The Eleven achieved a historic win in the 750cc Class of the Index of Performance at Le Mans

1958

GROUP LOTUS PLC

This is the year Chapman established Group Lotus

1959

Focused on winning, Chapman adopted and improved upon the mid-engined layout of the successful Cooper race cars.

1960

Keen to maintain Lotus’ pre-eminence in Junior racing, Chapman developed the Type 20.

1961

Type 21

The Type 21 was the FIRST F1 car to use a reclining driving position.

1962

TYPE 26

The Type 26 Lotus Elan was introduced.

1963

F1 WINNERS

With Jim Clark at the wheel of the Type 25, Lotus secured its first Formula One Constructors’ Championship, and the Drivers title.

1964

TYPE 33

The Type 33 was an evolution of the monocoque Type 25.

1965

TYPE 36

Type 36 Lotus Elan fixed head coupe made its debut.

1966

MOVE TO HETHEL

It was in this year that Lotus moved to a purpose-built factory based in Norfolk.

1967

TYPE 49

The FIRST car to be powered by the legendary Cosworth-Ford DFV V8 engine.

1968

1968 proved to be a tragic year for Team Lotus. They were to lose the heroic and talented Jim Clark in a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim on 7th April.

1969

TYPE 33

The Type 33 was an evolution of the monocoque Type 25.

1970

ELAN SPRINT

In the January the famous Elan Sprint sports car was introduced with the new 126 bhp ‘Big Valve’ engine.

1971

NEW ENGINE

Europa went on to realize its full potential with a change of engine and improvements to the handling, cabin space and styling. It became one of the worlds quickest production sports cars.

1972

ESPRIT

The Lotus Esprit concept, designed by Ital Design, is shown for the first time.

1973

TEXACO STAR

Lotus causes confusion by naming its next race car the Type 74, a type number already given to the Europa. However, due to the sponsorship scheme on the car, the car became more commonly known as the ‘Texaco Star’.

1974

2+2 ELITE

Lotus’ first 4 seater sports car was launched, the attractively shaped Type 75 Elite.

1975

ESPRIT

At the Paris Motor show Lotus stunned the world with the premier of the dramatic Guigiario-styled Esprit (Type 79).

1977

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME

‘The name’s Bond… James Bond…’

1978

F1 DOMINANCE

Team Lotus dominated Formula One, achieving 12 pole positions, and 8 wins, and winning the double.

1979

ROYAL VISIT

HRH Duke of Edinburgh visited the Hethel factory.

1980

PARTY TIME

The awesome Esprit Turbo was launched in tremendous style at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

1981

TWIN CHASSIS

The FIRST car designed with a carbon fibre monocoque, and two chassis.

1982

2+2 EXCEL

The 2+2 (Type 89) Excel was launched in October, replacing the Eclat.

1983

TYPE 92

Chapman was greatly missed, but the spirit he imparted to his team and his colleagues lived on.

1984

ETNA CONCEPT

In a bold step to demonstrate its commitment to becoming a major automotive engineering consultancy, Lotus invested £500,000 and opened two of the most sophisticated computer-controlled engine test cells in Europe.

1985

AYRTON SENNA

As proof that Team Lotus had become a breeding ground for young talent, Ayrton Senna replaced the departing Nigel Mansell.

1986

GENERAL MOTORS

Lotus marked 20 years at the Hethel site. General Motors acquired 100% shareholding of Group Lotus plc.

1987

NEW ESPRIT TURBO

At the London Motorfair the new Esprit Turbo made its debut; restyled by designer Peter Stevens, both inside and out. Stevens managed to give the car a more aggressive appearance, but retain its iconic stance. A normally aspirated model joined the line-up.

1988

TYPE 100T

Formula One World Champion, Nelson Piquet joined Lotus, following Ayrton Senna’s departure.

1989

ESPRIT TURBO SE

The launch of the most powerful Lotus supercar to date: the 264bhp, 164 mph Esprit Turbo SE, with a 0-60 mph speed from standstill of 4.7 seconds.

1990

LOTUS CARLTON

The legendary Lotus Carlton (Lotus Omega outside the UK) was launched.

1991

ELAN AWARD

The Elan received the British Design Council award.

1992

SPORT ESPRIT X180R

Doc Bundy, driving the Sport Esprit X180R, took the Drivers’ title in the Sports Car Club of America World Challenge for ‘street-legal’ cars.

1993

The Esprit S4 had a minor facelift and a range of mechanical refinements including power-steering as standard.

1994

ESPRIT S4S

The S4S came with 300bhp (224 kW; 304 PS), new wheels and tyres, and revised suspension settings.

1995

GT RACE PROGRAMME

The Lotus GT race programme was brought in-house in preparation for an all-out assault on UK sports car endurance racing.

1996

PROTON

Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd (Proton) announced it had acquired an 80% majority shareholding in Group Lotus plc from ACBN Holdings S.A. (the holding company of Bugatti International).

1997

1000TH ELISE

The Elise proved more of a hit than even Lotus expected – the 1000th Elise rolled off the production line in the middle of May. This forced a rethink on production volumes, which were raised to 2500 units a year from the 800 originally planned.

1998

ESPRIT SPORT 350

The lightweight and big-braked Esprit Sport 350 supercar was released as a dramatic limited edition model.

1999

M250

Lotus revealed an all-new mini-supercar concept that fitted into the range between the Elise and Esprit.

2000

EXIGE LAUNCH

On the eve of the inaugural round of the Autobytel Lotus Championship race series, Lotus thrilled the crowds by unveiling the new Exige.

2002

100% PROTON

PROTON acquired the remaining shares from ACBN Holdings and become 100% shareholders in Lotus Group International Ltd.

2003

CANARIES

Lotus became the shirt sponsor for Norwich City Football team, ‘the Canaries’, reinforcing links with the local community and a popular sport.

2004

NEW EXIGE

At the 2004 Geneva Show, Lotus presented the new Lotus Exige on the world stage.

2005

APX

At the Geneva motor show Lotus Engineering unveiled APX (“Aluminium Performance Crossover” ) vehicle, a fully running concept prototype embodying many of the technological philosophies Lotus had been following in its R&D programmes.

2007

WORLD RECORD

Lotus went into the Guinness Book of Records for the biggest meet of any marque when 311 Lotus sports cars turned up at Brands Hatch and formed a nose to tail lap.

2008

2-ELEVEN

The Lotus Sport 2-Eleven GT4 Supersport race car asserted itself at the pinnacle of the 2-Eleven range, combining race winning pedigree with unparalleled handling and balance.

2009

TYPE 124

The Lotus Evora Type 124 Endurance Racecar was developed from the award-winning Evora road car

2010

EVORA CUP

The Lotus Evora Cup was unveiled in January at the Autosport International; a GT4-spec racing version, and a championship to go with

2011

HETHEL TEST TRACK

The Lotus test track at Hethel was renovated in 2011 and officially re-opened on 21 June

2012

GOODWOOD 2012

Lotus headlined the world’s biggest car culture event in the summer, the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2012, to celebrate its glorious history and toast the present.

2013

EVORA SPORTS RACER

A visually enhanced and optimised version of the mid-engined 3.5 litre Evora is launched, available in both naturally-aspirated or supercharged variants.

2014

JEAN-MARC GALES

Jean-Marc Gales joined the company in late-spring. The multi-lingual, international, automotive businessman took over the reins of Group Lotus plc in May.

2015

3-ELEVEN

Heralding the next generation of Lotus high performance sports cars, the 3-Eleven is the company’s quickest and most expensive series production car ever.