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Text File | 1995-05-06 | 12KB | 304 lines

Last-modified: Wed May  3 10:31:48 PDT 1995 by [e-mail]
Archive-name: autos/lotus-cars-faq/group-lotus
Version: 1.07
Posting-Frequency: monthly

                              Lotus Cars FAQ

                               Version 1.07


        This is part 2 of the FAQ for Lotus Cars.  As with most FAQs,
        this is a list of questions that are frequently asked, in this
        case about Lotus Cars.  Alan F. Perry ([e-mail]) wrote
        the first version of this document and is currently maintaining
        it.  Send mail to [e-mail] for questions or updates.

        Special thanks to Mike Causer, Patrick Peal of Group Lotus,
        K.C. Babb, Bob Bandera, Bill Castellano, Noel Chiappa, Phil
        Ethier, Jon Fairhurst, Doug Fraser, Mike Galos, Andrew Huang,
        Ken Landaiche, John O'Connor, Ian Peters, Michael Sands and
        Dave Van Horn for their help in preparing this FAQ.

        NOTE: This document was created and maintained by owners and
        enthusiasts of Lotus-built or -inspired vehicles and is not in
        any way connected with Group Lotus Limited, Team Lotus Limited,
        Lotus Cars USA or any other subsidiaries or related companies.

Questions:

A. General Questions
   A1. Who makes Lotuses?
   A2. Who owns Lotus?
   A3. What is the history of Lotus?
   A4. Who was Colin Chapman?
   A5. What is the relationship between Lotus Cars, the road car company,
       and Team Lotus, the Formula One racing team?
   A6. Why are the cars called "Lotus"?
   A7. Where were/are Lotuses built?
   A8. What films and television series have featured Lotus cars?
   A9. What books are available about Lotus?
   A10.How can I contact a Lotus Car club in my area?
   A11.What Internet resources are available on Lotus cars?
   A12.Who has the Lotus Cars Mailing List map of England?
   A13.What is the plural form of "Lotus"?
B. Group Lotus/Lotus Cars Questions
   B1. How can I contact Lotus Cars?
   B2. What does Group Lotus currently sell?
   B3. What kind of Lotus might I see on the street?
   B4. Why were Lotuses sold as kits?
   B5. Is the DeLorean a Lotus?
   B6. Is the Jensen-Healey a Lotus?
   B7. Is the first-generation Toyota MR2 a Lotus?
   B8. Is the Corvette ZR-1 a Lotus?
   B9. Is the [insert car name here] a Lotus?
   B10.Is Lotus making bicycles?
C. Team Lotus Questions
   C1. How can I contact Team Lotus?
   C2. How well has Team Lotus done in Formula One?
   C3. Has Team Lotus won more Constructor's Cups than Ferrari?
   C4. What famous names are associated with Team Lotus?
   C5. Were Nigel Mansell and Mario Andretti ever teammates at Team Lotus?
   C6. Who have been major sponsors of the Team Lotus?
   C7. Who is currently sponsoring Team Lotus?
   C8. What is Classic Team Lotus?
D. Questions About Owning A Lotus
   D1. What should I pay for a Lotus/What is my Lotus worth?
   D2. Where can I get parts for my Lotus?
   D3. What problems might I expect from a Seven?
   D4. What problems might I expect from a Type 14 Elite?
   D5. What problems might I expect from an Elan?
   D6. What problems might I expect from a Plus 2?
   D7. What problems might I expect from a Renault-Europa?
   D8. What problems might I expect from a TwinCam-engined Europa?
   D9. What problems might I expect from a Elite/Eclat?
   D10.What problems might I expect from a Esprit S1/S2?
   D11.What problems might I expect from a Turbo Esprit?
   D12.What problems might I expect from a Excel?
   D13.What problems might I expect from a M100 Elan?
   D14.What Renault engines can be used in a Europa-Renault (S1/S2)?


B. Group Lotus/Lotus Cars Questions
===================================

B1. How can I contact Lotus Cars?

    Group Lotus
    Hethel, Norwich
    Norfolk NR14 8EZ
    England
    United Kingdom
    [phone]

    A good person to start with would be Patrick Peal, Head of
    Communications.


    Lotus Cars USA
    1655 Lakes Parkway
    Lawrenceville, GA 30243
    USA
    [phone]

    This is the U.S. distributor.

    If you wish to buy a new Lotus and you live outside of the US and
    you do not know where to buy one, please contact Lotus' Sales and
    Marketing Department at [phone] ([phone] (fax)).


B2. What does Group Lotus currently sell?

    According to Patrick Peal:

      Lotus Cars sells the Esprit S4 in virtually all major markets
      worldwide.  The Lotus Esprit Sport 300 is the ultra high-
      performance version from which the LeMans GT cars have been
      developed, and is on sale across Europe and the Pacific.  It is
      not on sale in the USA.  The Elan has just returned to production
      as the Elan S2, and only 800 will be built, over the next twelve
      months.  It too is not available in the USA.  When the 800 are
      finished, we will prepare to introduce the new small car (Type 111).

      Lotus Engineering sells mainly engineering contracts (which will
      include contract-specific hardware, e.g., prototype engines,
      suspension, styling models, etc.).  In addition, we offer certain
      software and hardware packages for the engineering community, e.g.:

           Lotus Data Collection and Analysis System
           Lotus Instrumented Steering Wheel (for vehicle handling analysis)
           Lotus Active Valve Train (fully computer-controlled inlet/
             exhaust valve actuating system, which dispenses with camshafts
             completely, for research purposes)

      And, of course, we sell bits for Esprit race cars... right up to
      fully built race cars.

    In addition, the Esprit S4S was introduced at the 1994 Birmingham
    Auto Show.

    Specifications of the Elan S2, Esprit S4 and Esprit S4S are available
    in the Lotus Cars Mailing List anonymous FTP area.


B3. What kind of Lotus might I see on the street?

    Seven (Types 7, 60)
      1953 - 1973
    Elite (Type 14)
      1958 - 1964
    Elan (Types 26, 36, 45)
      S1 1962 - 1964
      S2 1964 - 1966
      S3 1965 - 1968
      S4 1968 - 1971
      Sprint 1971 - 1973
    Cortina (Type 28)
      Mk 1 1963 - 1966
    Europa (Types 46, 54, 65, 74)
      S1 1966 - 1967
      S1A 1967 - 1968
      S2 1968 - 1971
      S2 Fed 1969 - 1971
      Twin Cam 1971 - 1972
      Special 1972 - 1975
    Elan +2 (Type 50)
     +2 1967 - 1969
     +2S 1969 - 1974
    Elite (Type 75)
      1974 - 1982
    Eclat (Type 76)
      1975 - 1982
    Esprit (Types 79, 85)
      S1 1976 - 1978
      S2 1978 - 1981
      S2.2 1981
      S3 1981 - 1990
    Turbo Esprit (Type 82)
      1980 - current
    Excel (Type 89)
      1982 - 1992
    Elan (Type M100)
      1989 - 1992, 1994

    A complete list of Lotus cars (by Type or Mark) can be found in the
    Lotus Cars Mailing List FTP area.


B4. Why were Lotuses sold as kits?

    From John O'Connor ([e-mail]):

    In the UK, for most of the post war years, one of the main forms of
    tax used by the government was purchase tax. This was a sales tax
    levied at various percentages on a wide range of goods.

    In this environment, cars were considered to be a luxury item and
    thus a high level of purchase tax was levied against them. For some
    reason, along with food, childrens clothing and books, kit cars
    were not taxed with the purchase tax.  Thus, in the UK, kit cars
    were a lot cheaper than fully assembled cars and the market
    flourished.

    In the early 1970s, the UK joined what was then called the European
    Economic Community (now known as the European Union). One membership
    condition of the EEC was the imposition of a tax known as Value
    Added Tax or VAT. This is another sales tax and is used by the EEC/EU
    as a revenue gathering instrument for it's own purpose. To gain
    equity across the organisation, each country must levy a similar
    rate of VAT on a similar range of items and a proportion of that tax
    is then taken by the EEC/EU to fund its activities.

    One thing that happened in this process was the the tax rate on kit
    cars was made the same as the tax rate on assembled cars. Thus,
    assembled cars cost less and kits cost more, narrowing the price gap
    between them. This had a major impact on the sales of kit cars in the
    UK. many kit car manufacturers disappeared at this time.


B5. Is the DeLorean a Lotus?

    The DeLorean (also known as the DMC-12) was designed by DeLorean.  John
    DeLorean contracted with a specialist U.S. subcontractor to design and
    build a prototype based on some ideas that he had.  He then contracted
    Lotus to develop and certify the production car and set up the
    manufacturing system.  The final chassis design looks very much like
    the Esprit chassis.  The cars were actually built at the DeLorean
    factory in Dunmurry, south of Belfast, Northern Ireland.

    If you chose to believe the British Government and others, John
    DeLorean, Colin Chapman and Fred Bushell (Chapman's financial man)
    took the British Government for a lot of money in loans and assistance
    that were given because the DeLorean was built in Northern Ireland.


B6. Is the Jensen-Healey a Lotus?

    The Jensen-Healey was the first production car to use the Lotus 907
    engine (developed by Lotus and later used in the Esprit, Elite, Eclat
    and Excel).  Some say that Lotus used Jensen-Healey to pay for the
    engineering costs of the 907 engine and to work the problems out of the
    engine before using it in their own cars.


B7. Is the first-generation Toyota MR2 a Lotus?

    The first-generation MR2 was introduced during a period of close
    cooperation between Lotus and Toyota.  The Lotus Eclat was reworked
    with some Toyota parts to make the Excel during this period.  Toyota
    was also involved in design and specifcation of the M90/X100 prototype.

    There are two rumors about Lotus' involvement with the MR2.  The
    "official" rumor is that the MR2 was designed "in-house" at Toyota by
    Lotus suspension engineer Roger Becker.  The other rumor is that the
    MR2 was an abandoned Lotus design (possibly the M90/X100).

    According to Doc Bundy, Lotusport Esprit driver, the MR2 is the X100.


B8. Is the Corvette ZR-1 a Lotus?

    Lotus designed the LT5 engine used in the Corvette ZR-1 in cooperation
    with engineers at Chevrolet and Mercury Marine (a manufacturer of
    marine (boat) engines).  Lotus still has "ongoing design responsibilities"
    for the engine.

    According to Patrick Peal at Group Lotus, Lotus Engineering did not
    do any suspension work on the Corvette.


B9. Is the [insert car name here] a Lotus?

    Many people have asked about a variety of other cars that Lotus may
    have done some work on, including, for example, the Saturn.

    The official statement from Lotus on this subject is:

    "Lotus Engineering operates a policy of total client confidentiality,
     and does not discuss its client base.  It is the client's prerogative
     to disclose its links with Lotus Engineering if it so wishes."

    Do I really need to explain the implications here?


B10.Is Lotus making bicycles?

    Lotus is responsible for the LotusSport Olympic Pursuit bicycle
    that Chris Boardman rode to win the Gold medal in the Individual
    Pursuit at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.  Also,
    he went on to set two world records (4000m and 5000m).  This
    bicycle was assigned Lotus Type 108.

    The Lotus Type 110 is a road-going production bicycle from
    LotusSport featuring an aerodynamic carbon-fiber monocoque
    frame.




--
Alan F. Perry
Internet Lotus Cars Mailing List
[e-mail]