Lotus Trivia Thread

[WayneB]

Who did engine designer Tony Rudd work for before joining Lotus in 1969?:huh:
Here is is showing Prince Philip some of his fine work!
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f355/WayneBarr/2litreinduction-1.jpg

[Brian Skeoch]

Jensen

[TWO OLD ELANS]

...grey matter only here? I've just reread this whole thread and if we all rely on grey matter only I'd rename this thread "Rewriting Lotus Trivia History".
My recent answer is from a book I'm currently reading, feebly attempting to add information to grey matter... am I cheating?

[Autocross7]

Nope... just changing the condition of the game so that the out come is more favorible to a factual win.

I think it was Captian Kirk that said this?

Hahaha....
Cameron

[clockwork]

I think Tony Rudd only worked for rolls and brm before lotus,his book was an excellent read and certainly made me laugh.Clockwork :)

[WayneB]

Thats right Mr. Clockwork, he did indeed work for those two companies prior to joining Lotus.:yes:

I havent got his book though, wasnt it called "Its been fun" or It was fun"?

I really must get a copy!

As for the book/google ban , I don't mind anyone using either, but It does give the old brainbox a better workout answering without!

http://www.carkeys.co.uk/columns/ross_finlay/51.asp

[Brian Skeoch]

okay. books are open now .

Brian

[WayneB]

Lotus started using the then new V8 Cosworth-Ford DFV engine in 1967, but what type and make of engine's were they using prior to them in the F1 car?

[eurosport]

BRM H16, having had a run of Coventry Climax 1.5 L V8's in the early 60's before that. :)

Now: Japanese concept, Detroit engine, Lotus connection?

:fence3d:

[WayneB]

Your question was a bit "loose" but this is my interpretation.

1989 Isuzu 4200R concept car.

The engine was touted as variant of the LT5 Chevrolet-Lotus, but I think it was an early prototype version of the Cadillac Northstar/Oldsmobile Aurora Powerplant. Lotus design did the styling , and Lotus Engineering built it.

http://files.conceptcarz.com/img/isuzu/isuzu4200r_1.jpg

http://files.conceptcarz.com/img/isuzu/4200motorshow_isuzu_02.jpg

Heres a nice photo of the 4200R from my collection.

Notice the small rear doors on this car, over 10 years before Saturn and Mazda used them in production.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f355/WayneBarr/Isuzu4200R-1.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f355/WayneBarr/Isuzu4200R1-1.jpg

[eurosport]

it had to be "loose" to at least get you to the end of your 1st cup of Tim Horton's before solving! :yes:

[WayneB]

I actually got it during the second cup!:001_smile:

What class of racing was the Lotus 70 used for, and what engine was it fitted with?:huh:

[Autocross7]

I think this is a re-peat, but it was a originally a Ford power plant for the 68/69 season, but later retained a Chevy for the 71 season. I am pretty sure this was an F5000 car.

Cameron

[WayneB]

Dead right Cameron, Formula 5000 (or A in North America), 302 Ford V8 initially, then a 302 DZ Chevrolet V8.

Not one of Lotus's prettier cars (but it was reasonably succesfull)

This was the one raced by George Wintersteen, for the Smothers Brothers.

http://www.oldracingcars.com/Images/corel/Lotus70-Wintersteen.jpg

[clockwork]

Another loose reply,staying with isuzu but a Piazza .Clockwork :)

[WayneB]

Suspension Calibration by Lotus.

Designed by Giugiaro.

Drivetrain used in the FWD Elan.

http://isuzupiazza.fc2web.com/uspiazza.jpg

[eurosport]

Piazza/Impulse, actually a pretty decent little car in turbo form, had an 85.5 which was when they added the turbo, "Handling by Lotus" didn't come about until '87 or so, I know because I upgraded mine with the pieces.:yes: Was actually a RWD Chevette platform. Only downfall was an all digital dash which fritzed on me within 6 mo. out of warranty, $1300 1989 dollars to fix :crying:, no fix but to replace the display as a whole, dealer had mercy and split the cost.

Only other trick was it had a stepper motor on the boost control which you could defeat by wiring it open getting all the boost at once.:mf_dribble:

Cheers!:wave:

[WayneB]

Heres a daft trivia question.

What Lotus car(s) do you get to see as part of the Universal Studios tour in Orlando, Florida?

They were actually used in a movie, and were looking quite ruined when I saw them 5 years ago.:crying:

[Autocross7]

Ooooo... that's good. But, I have not been there so now I am curious.

Cameron

[WayneB]

Actually, I saw them on the Disney Tour (sorry those places all blend together in my memory):ohmy:

The movie was "Honey I blew Up the Kid"

And there were 3 yellow M100 Elans Turbo's parked out on the back lot getting burnt to a crisp in the Florida sun.

http://www.imcdb.org/images/030/078.jpg

[Autocross7]

Got friends that work for Disney... so they have access to the areas that are "in back"... keeps us out of traffic when we go to Disney...

Wonder if anyone there would notice those Elans were to somehow make it to my house?


Cameron

[GregWO]

Disney would rather let them rot then let them go.... I hate disney! :mad:

[Autocross7]

I wasn't going to ask... :icon18:

Cameron

[TWO OLD ELANS]

Elan Schlman, name another front wheel drive Lotus.
I'm just sorry they copped that name for a two year re-run-
replicant, oops, sorry, forgot why I was posting....
I briefly owned a (real) Elan, 1969 S4 with Webers that appeared in the (hate 'em if you like) Disney movie "Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo?"
It was ugly Burnt Sand in color and a real screamer. . . I wish they'd saved the name Elan for a real sports car. Elan = Elise. ?

where were we...

[Autocross7]

Elan Schlman, name another front wheel drive Lotus.

...Well,I could be wrong as it did not touch our shores officially, but technically speaking, the Elise S1 had a Rover front drive set up... they just simply put it in the rear and "flipped" it!:)... well, not "simply"...


Cameron

[Brian Skeoch]

Prior to the 2005 entry at Daytona via Rapier Racing entry Lotus Esprit V 8, what was the last year a Lotus Esprit was entered for the famous Rolex 24 hr race at Daytona ?

the driver of this team currently lives in Santa Monia and is a vet from WW2 as a fighter pilot. the team disbanded later the same year and I believe it was due to money. they entered races but the car never showed up.

what was the year that this Esprit was entered in the 24 hr race ?

Brian

[Brian Skeoch]

who gave Lotus their last F 1 win ?

[Autocross7]

Senna in a Camel livery...

Cameron

[Brian Skeoch]

who were the names that made up the name Cosworth ?

[Al B]

Mike COStin and Keith DuckWORTH

[Brian Skeoch]

correct. your turn.

[Al B]

Q. What was the first Lotus production car to be sold, only as a complete car?

Bonus question, What month and year was it introduced?

[Brian Skeoch]

Elite ?

I will guess January.

[Al B]

Elite ?

I will guess January.

Close but no banana

[Brian Skeoch]

complete car ? as in not a kit ? the 6,7's and Elans could be purchased as a kit, so was the Europa the first complete car that could be purchased ?

[Al B]

The first "production" car sold, not in kit form, was the Model 50 Elan Plus 2S.
The car was introduced in October of 1968.
Note that the Elan plus 2 was offered from 67 to 74, but only in 68 was it offered as a non-kit version only.

Are you ready for another one?

[Brian Skeoch]

neat neat neat.. great question.

yes, please ask away..

[Al B]

Okay, back to the begining.....

Lotus Engineering Company was formed on Jan. 1, 1952 as a partnership between Colin Chapman and _______________.

Fill in the blank.

[WayneB]

Michael Allen

[USAndretti42]

Here's an easy one. The person responsible for designing the Lotus Twin-cam cylinder head, what was his full-time job at the time?

To follow on from that, what was his link with the engineer behind the 907 engine?

[WayneB]

Harry Mundy, he was technical editor for autocar magazine in England at the time.

He also previously worked with Tony Rudd at BRM which I presume is the connection you are looking for with the 907.

I remember Harry Mundy worked on the V12 engine design whilst at at Jaguar, did you meet/know him Trevor?

[Brian Skeoch]

Very cool tid bit Wayne..

I love this stuff.

[WayneB]

I'm pretty sure Trevor Knowles worked at the Jag in the engine development dept.

If we are lucky he may come back on and chat about it!

[USAndretti42]

The connection with Harry Mundy and the 907 engine engineer was that Ron Burr, the engineer behind the 907, left Lotus and went to work for Harry at Jaguar.

I did meet him when I was there. He pulled me up for using too many split infinitives in a report. I was working in a BL engine research lab at the back of the site so I didn't have much to do with him.

He had a neat car. It was a 6.4 l V12 with a 5-speed gearbox. Very quick. Had a neat, unobtrusive lip spoiler on the trunk lid and a small airdam at the front. Unfortunately, one night while on the way home from the his rugby club he lost control of his car and parked in a garage in Earlsdon, Coventry. He did this by driving it through the main window into the shop. He legged it off to his house. The police traced the car's user through the security staff at the Jag and went to his house. When he answered the door to them, they asked him if he had been drinking. He waved the glass of whiskey he had in his hand and said, "Yes. Do you want one?" I think he may have been done for leaving the scene of an accident and failing to report it but not for drink driving.

Geting back to Lotus trivia, which former director now in his retirement flies a single-engined plane that he built himself from a kit?

[WayneB]

Haven"t got the foggiest idea.:huh:

I will have to monitor the amount of split infinitives being used on the forum.:ohmy:

[USAndretti42]

C'mon, Wayne. You know the answer. It's easy when you think about which Lotus directors had pilots' licenses.

As it's the weekend, I'll give you a clue. He was part owner of Colin's first plane.

[WayneB]

You will have to excuse me , its been a rough week here.:crying:

Mike Costin?

[Brian Skeoch]

man, these trivia questions are getting tough.

[WayneB]

Arent they just!:ohmy:

I did know what type of plane it was once, but I cant remember ATM.

I do know the first plane Colin Chapman bought by himself was a Piper
Comanche though.

http://www.howardaircraft.com/N5649P-ext3.jpg

[WayneB]

Just came to me, it was a Miles Messenger .

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/20/Mess4a.jpg/783px-Mess4a.jpg

[USAndretti42]

Correct! It was a Miles Messenger.

After retiring from Cosworth, Mike bought himself a Europa kit and put it together in his garage. Has since flown it all over the place.

http://home.primus.com.au/jeplayer/Europa2.jpg

[Brian Skeoch]

Is Mike still with us ?

[WayneB]

Mike is , but Keith Duckworth passed away in 2005.

[Brian Skeoch]

dumb question here but Lotus related.

who were the drivers of the Brumos Porsche cars that were the Lotu Sport enemy back in the super car seirs of 1992.

Brumos entered a couple Porsche 911's under the tutilage of Bob Snodgrass.

who were the drivers of Brumos that gave Lotu Sport such fits in 1992 ?

Brian

[USAndretti42]

Darn it! I went to the condo that the owner of the Brumos team has at the Atlanta Speedway the weekend of the NASCAR race there last October. Should have pair more attention to his memoribilia.

I remember Hurley Haywood being mentioned but that sounds too old. I think Hans Stuck Jr was also on some of the stuff.

[Brian Skeoch]

Trev, you are correct sir.

Murry won in the # 14 X180 R at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 92. Doc tore the chin spoiler off his X180 R but kept David up front. Murry ende dup winning by a nice margin.

great stuff.

Hans and Hurley made a great team.. even tho they had " special " motors flown in via Luftansa ... a special agreement was made ..

Brian

[Autocross7]

Got me on this one! I do not recall Lotus in a race after IMSA 1991? I remember a Lotus 110 Bycicle in the 1992 tour de France...



Cameron

[USAndretti42]

Here's a question that could fit here and on the Racing Trivia thread.

Who was the first person to drive the Lotus-Ford type 49.

By the way, it wasn't Graham Hill.

[WayneB]

John Miles?

[Brian Skeoch]

I would have guessed Jon Miles too.

[WayneB]

John Miles still works in the motor industry, for Multimatic in Toronto.

I have always wanted to meet him, he would have some interesting insights into Lotus I bet.

[Brian Skeoch]

Wayne, a friend of mine works with John at Multimatic in Canada. My friends name is Brian Willis.

they did something with the A arms on the Ford GT.

[Brian Skeoch]

Lotus trivia question here. forgive me if I went out of tuen but I will forget this wuestion if I dont ask it now.

in 1969, Mario stuffed the Lotus all wheel drive car at the speedway. The team didnt have a back up Lotus so the crew chief / engineer Clint Brawner drug out a Hawk ( Lola spin off ) chassis. they painted the car in STP colors, slung all sorts of oil coolers off the back to keep the lump from burning up, and put the car in the field.

because they couldnt put in the Lotus AWD system into the Hawk they had to use another power plant.

what was the motor they used ?

Brian

[WayneB]

Turbocharged version of the Ford Cammer V8 Indy engine wasn't it?

http://www.museumofamericanspeed.com/Collections/Engines/600pix/IMG6775.JPG

[Brian Skeoch]

You are correct sir. Art Pollard drove the sister car of the Brawner Hawk around Indianapolis for testing but it had a Plymouth V 8 in the back which showed little results. the team decided to run the Ford and not the Plymouth.

Great answer and picture Wayne.

Man, this is a FUN thread.

Wayne, your turn.

Brian

[WayneB]

What link does this car have to Lotus?

http://digiads.com.au/car-news/images/article_377-img_0.jpg

[eurosport]

OMG! That's the NEW ESPRIT!!:mf_dribble:

OK, maybe not.

Cadillac Cien

I'm guessing 908 > LT5 > Northstar > Northstar XV12 :001_unsure:

Cheers!
Eric

[WayneB]

Good guess Eric but no.

I always thought it would have made a great Esprit (with some changes to the front and rear fascias), you would almost think it was designed by someone who had the Esprit at the back of his mind!:001_smile:

[Al B]

I heard that Lotus was involved in the suspension design. Beyond that not sure.

[WayneB]

Ex. Lotus designer Simon Cox drew it up subcontract for GM design cheif Wayne Cherry at his base in Birmingham England.

It was for the longest time a foam showcar with a small Briggs and Stratton engine to propel it for moving shots.

Fantastic looking car IMO, still looks great 6 years on from its debut.:001_smile:

[eurosport]

I had a hunch Simon Cox had something to do with it, but couldn't trace him before GM's UK design studio, still think my engine link, though weak, is plausible...partial credit? :D
E.

[WayneB]

Sure!

you can ask the next question If you like.:001_smile:

[USAndretti42]

By the way, the first person to drive the Lotus-Ford Type 49 was not John Miles. It was Mike Costin at a shakedown at Snetterton.

Don't forget that Mike was a very capable race driver and outqualified Jim Clark at some races!

When the Sierra Cosworth was being developed, Mike was heard to say that he didn't like the anti-lock brakes because they meant that, when you were really braking hard, you couldn't lock the wheels to get the car into reverse.

[WayneB]

Go easy on me Trev, it was only a guess!:crying:

I guess you should ask another question then :yes:

[Al B]

If I can jump in I got one for the gang.

Who was Mario Andretti's team mate during the 1977 season, driving John Player Special Lotus type 78's?

[Brian Skeoch]

Peroni ?

[Al B]

Nope, try again.

[Autocross7]

1977... Gunnar(sp?) Nilsson.

Cameron

[WayneB]

Gunnar Nilsson

He was diagnosed with cancer half ways through the season and was replaced with Ronnie Peterson.

http://gfx.aftonbladet.se/multimedia/archive/00241/full_fart_241328w.jpg

[Brian Skeoch]

great answer to an even harder question.. man, this game is fun.

[Al B]

Good job Wayne! That is correct.

With that, here's another one;

What leading safety products vendor and ex racer challenged a competitor to prove the quality of their products by setting themselves on fire while wearing their gear?

Note that the competitor chickened out and did not show up on the designated challenge date but the gentleman in question set himself on fire anyways to prove the quality of his gear and came away unscathed.

Any takers?

[Brian Skeoch]

Bill Simpson.

[Al B]

Excellent, and pretty darn quick :thumbup:

[Brian Skeoch]

at Indy in 66, a driver known for sprint car racing was behind the wheel of a Lotus Indy car.

this driver never had much sucess at Indy but he was fortunate enough to be driving a Lotus in 66. Not too many guys can say this.

another neat thing about this guy is that he ran Indy from the mid 60's all the way to 1990. He never ran well there but was a winner in sprint and dirt cars.

this man, is now the Manager of Motorsports at AJ Foyt Racing.

he drove that Lotus in 66 but never really had much sucess behind his name.

he is a really good guy and if there is a twin to Foyt, this guy would be it in character.

who am I referring to ?

[Al B]

Along with Jimmy Clark in the #19 Lotus type 38 there was another gent from Miami by the name of Bobby Johns who finished 7th in the 1966 indy 500.

Is this the gent you are asking about?

[Brian Skeoch]

No, I was talking about George Snider.

[Brian Skeoch]

I am sorry, Snider was in the # 82 Sheretan Thompson Lotus but it wasnt a factory deal. I believe it was car out of the Foyt stables but it was a Lotus .

Brian

[USAndretti42]

Gunnar Nilsson

He was diagnosed with cancer half ways through the season and was replaced with Ronnie Peterson.

http://gfx.aftonbladet.se/multimedia/archive/00241/full_fart_241328w.jpg

Not exactly. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer after the end of the season, unfortunately too late to do too much about it, but he was already signed to drive for Arrows by then.

[Al B]

I am sorry, Snider was in the # 82 Sheretan Thompson Lotus but it wasnt a factory deal. I believe it was car out of the Foyt stables but it was a Lotus .

Brian

So is the one I mentioned correct or were you tslking about Snider? Just for clarification?

[Autocross7]

This is a pretty good tribute to Ronnie Peterson (who was buds with George Harrison who does the music in this one)...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QQh6JHXFSlc

Cameron

[Al B]

Most excellent! Thanks for the link.:yes::thumbup:

[WayneB]

Liked watching that alot, thanks Cameron.:001_smile:

This gives a good idea of what Ronnie sounded like and his sense of humour!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTUOD3TtfEQ&feature=related

[Brian Skeoch]

You were wrong. I was talking about old George Snider, who is pals with old Super Tex himself and is the Manager of Motorsports at AJ Foyt Racing.

Bobby Johns ran a factory Lotus which I believe is the one at the speedway museum painted in Clark colors. I think.

the correct answer was George Snider.

you can ask the next one tho because you were almost correct..

Brian

[WayneB]

Better get this thread going again.:yes:

What colour(s) was the very first Lotus Cortina pre-production prototype painted?:001_huh:

[Brian Skeoch]

hmm..

I am afraid the white color scheme is too easy so its probably not white ?

glad you got this thread going again Wayne.

[WayneB]

No its not white, sorry Brian.

It just reminded me of some other much later Lotus pre-production cars that were the same colour.

[eurosport]

blue! (OK, that's a WAG since the obvious white is out):mf_popcorn:

[WayneB]

Which part of the car was blue, and why?

[Brian Skeoch]

the roof because it was a French entry ?

[WayneB]

Yes the roof was blue, but not because it was anything to do with the French!

Ford supplied a silver Cortina 2 door to Lotus to do the Twin cam conversion on, and the mechanics decided to roll the car on its side (on some tyres) as they needed to weld some brackets for the A frame on the back axle, and didnt have a four post lift to put it on.

Whilst rolling the car , it got away from them and the roof got damaged, so to cover up the mess, they painted it blue with some paint they already had .

The car was shown to the management of Ford like that, and they gave approval for the car to go into production at Cheshunt.

All of the Lotus Carlton prototypes were silver, and I wondered if that was because of that Cortina!

[Martin]

Cool info. I guess you get to go again Wayne.

[WayneB]

Hmmm,

Did Colin Chapman ever smoke? :icon18:

What was the first country the Lotus 49 ran in Players Gold Leaf colours? :huh:

[Kimbers]

Colin smoked large cigars. He had a box of Cubans on his desk and one year, in lighting his cigar, at the Lotus Xmas Party, decided to see if the paper streamers throughout the restuarant. would light.

Needless to say.....they light extremely well and nearly burnt the whole place down!

[Autocross7]

A fellow pyro? :fire::fire:
I did not know that... Great stuff, great stuff...

Cameron

[WayneB]

Mr. Kimberley wins a coconut, he was never seen chuffing on the fags though.:thumbup:

You gets to ask a question, Tony:confused:

[Kimbers]

Hehe.....:001_unsure:Dammit, you've read most of my stuff Wayne!

It'll be in 4 parts:

1. What car was MJK first designing parts for?
2. What were the 3 parts in this car that MJK was instrumental in? (a hint, one was prob the most important bit).
3. What car was MJK in when it broke the land speed record and as section leader, did the vehicle dynamics on? (Wayne knows this so I need someone elses answer please).
4. Who's my godfather? (Wayne shhhhhh).

[WayneB]

I will keep me gob shut on this one.:biggrinangelA:

[USAndretti42]

Hmmm,

What was the first country the Lotus 49 ran in Players Gold Leaf colours? :huh:

Was it at the Tasman races?

[WayneB]

It was down in New Zealand alright!

Pukekohe, the race got going when they cleared all the sheep off the track (sorry Kylie, I couldn't resist):lol:

You going to ask a question, Trevor?:huh:

[Kylie]

Our sheep have feelings Wayne :sheep:

[Kimbers]

No one can answer my questions? Shame on you all!:no:

[WayneB]

I will answer 1 to get the ball rolling.:weight_lift:

The first car at Lotus that MJK was responsable for was the Europa Twin-Cam.:001_smile:

Here is one of the first that was given to Ronnie Peterson.

http://www.carlosghys.be/photographs/celebrity_deerstalker/ronnie_peterson_silv73_2_380x260.jpg

[Kimbers]

Ah yes but his first "Sole" project was a Jaguar.

[WayneB]

This is supposed to be Lotus trivia not Jaguar trivia!:lol:

Wasn't he running the Jaguar Etype works racing effort for a while and part of the "skunkworks" that built the XJ-13?:huh:

http://www.loades.com/eloades/rebuilt.jpg

I know your dad and your godfather met up at the Jag!

BTW I am going to pay the XJ-13 a visit this year, my Jag mad friend Don and I are doing the rounds (Jaguar Heritage, BMH at Gaydon, touring the Aston-Martin plant and getting drunk in the pub in my dads village.

[Autocross7]

The one on the right looks like the TVR Tasmin.......?

..or a second gen RX-7...


Cameron

[Brian Skeoch]

next question please ?

[GregWO]

BTW I am going to pay the XJ-13 a visit this year, my Jag mad friend Don and I are doing the rounds (Jaguar Heritage, BMH at Gaydon, touring the Aston-Martin plant and getting drunk in the pub in my dads village.

That sounds like fun Wayne.

[WayneB]

Anyone got any idea who's turn it is?:huh:

[USAndretti42]

In the absence of anyone else asking a question I'll dive in.

I Ian Smith's book "Lotus, the early years" he mentions that Colin Chapman and Mike Costin were working so many hours that they would take one pill to go to sleep and another to wake up. It goes on to say that Mike was driving the transporter once when he took the wrong pill.

What did he do?

[WayneB]

I have never read that book, so have no idea!:confused:

The only thing's that keep me awake when I'm knackered is :-

Coffee (lots)

Wanting to pee (see above)

Cold blast of air (from wound down window at 70 mph and or air con at full chill)

Pain (self inflicted slap to the face)

Very Loud music (especially from band I hate)

In any combination.

Never used any kind of drug in pill form to stay concious.

[S4Simon]

Our sheep have feelings Wayne

I'm not saying anything :innocent:

[BCST]

In the absence of anyone else asking a question I'll dive in.

I Ian Smith's book "Lotus, the early years" he mentions that Colin Chapman and Mike Costin were working so many hours that they would take one pill to go to sleep and another to wake up. It goes on to say that Mike was driving the transporter once when he took the wrong pill.

What did he do?

How do you take a pill to wake you up when you are already sleeping:confused:

[Autocross7]

I guess it is a bit like when something is "new AND improved"... which is it? New... or improved?

My personal favorite (and yes I got looked at hard for the reply) was a TSA guy asking me "If anyone had placed any objects into my bags without my knowledge?" when trying to board a plane....

Um.... how the hell should I know? If it was "without my knowledge" then I don't have a clue do I?


Cameron

[USAndretti42]

How do you take a pill to wake you up when you are already sleeping:confused:

I think what they meant that it woke you up when you were sleepy such as after an 18-hour day following an all-nighter for the third time that week.

Simple answer to the question was that Mike quickly took the wake-up pill before the sleeping pill took effect.

The book is definitely worth reading. The early days of Lotus were a bit manic. It seemed that every new model was finished late the day it had to leave for the race and then suffered some mishap on the way, sometimes as a result of dodging the police. What about competing at the Nurburgring and Brands Hatch on the same Bank Holiday weekend, with the same car?

[WayneB]

Heres a Lotus trivia question for you.:)

In the 70's and 80's Colin Chapman used to wear a black corduroy hat that he would famously toss into the air at the end of a GP If one of the Lotuses had won.

Where did the hats come from?:huh:

They are still made today by the same company, I have always been baffled why Lotus have never sold these iconic hats through there dealerships!

http://www.haynes.co.uk/Press/HaynesJackets/RGBhr_H844.jpg

[BCST]

I have no idea where the hats came from but it is a stylish hat!

[WayneB]

Jackie Stewart used to wear a similar style hat made by the same company, that was called surprisingly "The Jackie Stewart":)

Colin Chapmans was different though.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f355/WayneBarr/JYShat.jpg

[WayneB]

Colin Chapmans hats were supplied by Failsworth in England and are called Mariners Caps (or Greek Mariners hats).

http://www.failsworth-hats.co.uk/mensHats.php?fhsearch=mariner&start=0&point=0&gander=mens

At the end of alot of the GPs that Lotus had won, he would actually borrow (steal) Peter Warrs hat and throw that (as he had mislaid his own)

[Martin]

So one would think that those became souvenirs huh?
I'm scouring ebay right now. ;)

[WayneB]

Heres a Lotus trivia question.

For a while the Lotus Esprit and Eclat were assembled in another place besides Hethel, England.

Where and when?:confused:

[Autocross7]

Had to be between 76' and 83'... hmmm...


I got nothing.

[Brian Skeoch]

oh man.. thats a tough question.. I know in 91 they considered building the M100 in Kentucky which was the Saturn production line..


tough question Wayne.. good one tho but like Cam, I got nothing.

[WayneB]

Its an interesting part of Lotus history and not all that well known outside of the country it was done in, I think only a couple of people who still work at Lotus know about it.

Back in the 50's to the early 80's alot of countries had huge import tarriffs on imported goods (including cars) which encouraged manufacturers to set up sattelite factorys in those countries assembling cars that were delivered unnasembled (knocked down kit forms it was called), and assembled and finished using local labour.


The company that did the Lotus work also assembled other more expensive sports cars from a different manufacturer and country.

[Brian Skeoch]

anyone remember who scored the very last victory for Lotu Sport in the super car series ???

Brian

[Brian Skeoch]

for extra brownie points, can anyone name what the last Lotu Sport winner is doing these days ??

[WayneB]

Its an interesting part of Lotus history and not all that well known outside of the country it was done in, I think only a couple of people who still work at Lotus know about it.

Back in the 50's to the early 80's alot of countries had huge import tarriffs on imported goods (including cars) which encouraged manufacturers to set up sattelite factorys in those countries assembling cars that were delivered unnasembled (knocked down kit forms it was called), and assembled and finished using local labour.


The company that did the Lotus work also assembled other more expensive sports cars from a different manufacturer and country.

The company was called Intermotormakers of Cape Town , South Africa and they assembled Esprits and Eclats in the 70's.

Besides the Spanish Lotus 7 (and 1 Europa) and the Kia Korean Elan , these are the only Lotus cars assembled outside of the United Kingdom (barring other exoported kits)