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In 1952, Colin Chapman, an innkeeper's son and engineer, created Lotus Engineering Ltd in a factory in some old stables located behind the Railway Hotel in Hornsey, North London. The cars he made, all for sports customers, were quickly successful and he was encouraged to start Team Lotus, a separate car racing concern. In 1954, he left Lotus to concentrate on the manufacturing side of the business. Further expansion led to the Lotus Group in 1959. Lotus Cars Ltd focussed on road cars and Lotus Components Ltd concentrated on competition car production.
Manufacturing and design moved out of the cramped Hornsey site, first to Cheshunt and finally to the present, famous home on an old RAF base at Hethel near Wymondham, Norfolk, in 1966. The test track takes up part of the runway. By this time, Team Lotus had begun its domination of Formula One with great drivers like Jim Clark and Graham Hill who, with others, won seven championships between 1963 and 1978. Although the team finally withdrew in 1994, the Lotus name re-emerged in 2010 and is again competing in Formula One.
From the outset, Chapman built high performance, affordable Lotus cars, designed to race without any of the trappings of luxury. Classic designs like the Lotus Seven, the Elan and Elite, small, quick but stylish, led Lotus sales. The engineering expertise and the workforces' flexibility of imagination has long been exploited in consultancy arrangements with other manufacturers. Due to the engineering skills, used Lotus cars hold their value well.
Chapman's death, in 1982, led to a period of instability as Lotus lost its leading light. This uncertainty was not helped by Chapman's unfortunate involvement in the De Lorean scandal. Lotus designed the DMC-12 chassis. Ownership of the Lotus companies wandered around for some years, until Proton the Malaysian car maker took control in 1996.
One of the most successful of Lotus achievements, the popular Elise model, has been supported by Lotus Cars continuing developmental work on projects like the electric high performance Tesla and types like the Evora, Excel and Carlton.
