The Lotus brand was founded in 1952 by the British Colin Chapman. The production of a prototype begun in 1947 and was carried out by Lotus Engineering Ltd. Lotus is known primarily for its racing cars.

Lotus – from the student kit to racing

The first standard model that was introduced in the market was the Lotus 6 which was sold as a kit. They entered the market with the relatively small amount of 100 cars. However, this model had many successes in racing. In 1957 Lotus produced the MK12. This car was designed solely for racing and also represented the beginning of a very successful racing career that would bring many constructors' titles with it. In 1962 the Lotus 25 was developed. At the time, it was the slimmest and lowest Formula 1 car. With the establishment of the factory in Hethel in 1966, the production of the Lotus Europa began. A milestone in the history of Lotus was the introduction of the Lotus Elite, which was built from 1957 until 1962. The most well-known series of Lotus was the Lotus 7, which was built in four series until 1972. The rights to this vehicle were acquired by the Lotus dealer Caterham. In 1982 Colin Chapman, the founder of Lotus, died. This would also mean the beginning of the decline of Lotus. Due to financial difficulties the company was acquired by General Motors in 1986 and sold to the ACBN Holding SA of the Italian Romano Artioli in 1993.

The Lotus classic cars

The Lotus Mark I was the first prototype of Lotus and was built in 1948 by Colin Chapman when he was still a student. It is better known as the Lotus MK I and is based on an Austin 7 chassis. The Lotus Mark series extends to the Lotus Mark X, the tenth vehicle in this series. The most famous classic car is the Lotus 7, a sports car which was built from 1957 to 1970 and which is only available as a 2-seater. It embodies the philosophy of Lotus with its light weight and simple construction to improve performance.

The Lotus logo

The Lotus logo is known for its colours, green and yellow, and the white lettering "Lotus". The ACBC seen on the logo symbolises the company founder Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman.