Lotus: The Complete Story

Johnny Tipler

Jan 2022 · The Crowood Press

About this ebook

From the Mark 1 in 1948 to the World's most powerful electric hypercar – the Evija – in 2021, the story of the Lotus marque encompasses ongoing technical innovation on road and track. With seventy-four F1 Grand Prix wins, six Drivers' and seven Constructors' F1 World Championships chalked up over seven hectic decades, Lotus consolidated its reputation in racing while at the same time creating some of the World's most stylish and desirable sportscars and Grand Tourers, in-house as well as for global automotive clients via its Lotus Engineering consultancy. With over 380 photographs, this book includes: the origins of the business, creating Austin 7-based competition cars; the metamorphosis from sports-racing cars to F1 – and seven World titles; factory relocations, from Hornsey to Cheshunt to Hethel; the road cars: the Elite, Elan, Europa, Excel, Esprit, Elise, Exige and Evora; how sponsorship transformed traditional British Racing Green into Gold Leaf and JPS livery. There are also interviews with key Lotus personnel and drivers.

About the author

Johnny Tipler is a motoring writer and historian, with more than forty books published on a variety of automotive topics, ranging from F1 racing cars and motorcycles to trucks and heavy equipment, plus driver biographies and legendary race histories. He writes regularly for a number of specialist car magazines, reviewing products old and new, interviewing famous drivers and industry figures, and reporting on international historic races and long-distance rallies. He also has a penchant for Lotus cars, a fascination evident in this history of the marque.