Lotus

Lotus is a car company that was owned by GM for a while and sold, but was originally founded in the UK. Over their long history they have made well over 100 different models of vehicles and have been building racing cars and performance cars since its foundation. Having been founded in 1952 by local legend and engineer Colin Chapman its reputation grew quickly and it was seen as one of the better performance brands early on, however Chapman had a heart attack in 82 and unfortunately passed away, being only 54 years old.

Chapman had seen before his death, the company rise, and build nearly a hundred thousand vehicles that went on and competed in many different races and events. Four years after his unexpected death the Lotus Company and brand, along with patents and models, was bought by GM, and then, just a few years later in 1993 they sold Lotus to a company called ACBM for a reported thirty million dollars. This company was owned by Romano Artioli, who was also the owner of Bugatti.

The current company is not limited to just cars, as they also have their hands in engineering development and consulting along with suspension development and research. In addition to that they provide these services to other car builders and manufacturers; their power train department that has been the source of innovation for years has also been the main party responsible for the development and design of the 4 cyl motor found in most of GM’s Vauxhall, Saab, and Opel vehicles, and sometimes every now and again a Saturn. Although somewhat rare – as Saturn usually relies on other sources for its engines.

Currently Lotus has several models on the market, with the Lotus Elise being the premier of them, as it has many innovations and marvels for a car – and has spawned a few racing vehicles of its own. Other models include the Lotus Exige, which is an Elise with a redesigned design that adds more downward push at higher speeds for greater stability, the Lotuse Exige S which is basically an Exige with a bigger engine, the Lotus Europa S, a new design with two seats and much more luxury based. Also to be released is a Lotus Espirit replacement that has not been named.