Club Arnage

Ok as you do when at the pub,

we started talking about Lotus Cortina,  (http://www.paddock42.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Lotus-Cortina.jpg)

A joint venture between Ford & Lotus.

So the question, what other Lotus JV were there, main manufacture, model with lotus engine

What can u (http://thewisdompearls.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/you1.jpg) come up with

OK how about the The original Lotus Elan that had the same Ford 1600 Kent based power.

(http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02059/TV-Avengers_2059706i.jpg)

Same Lotus-Ford power was in Type 74 Europa Twin Cam (poor man's GT40) too, although earlier versions had Renault.

(http://thumbsnap.com/s/ffQbVZar.jpg)

One of my favourites is the Jensen Healey, with an early version of the Lotus 2 Litre engine.  It should have gone on to better things, but in those days 2 seater convertibles weren't popular, and it was let down by its Viva suspension :o

(http://www.historics.co.uk/media/67624/dsc_0123.jpg)

Had a go in a Jensen Healy in the 70's, for the time they didn't half shift.

Vauxhall Lotus Carlton.  Fastest Vauxhall ever until the Monaro and VXR8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Carlton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Carlton)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoCYrtcF3mg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoCYrtcF3mg)

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Lotus_Omega_Nr._460_%28schr%C3%A4g_vorne%29.JPG/800px-Lotus_Omega_Nr._460_%28schr%C3%A4g_vorne%29.JPG)

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Lotus_Carlton_engine_-_Flickr_-_exfordy.jpg/800px-Lotus_Carlton_engine_-_Flickr_-_exfordy.jpg)

Talbot Sunbeam Lotus. 2.2 litre 150 bhp (in standard tune) Lotus engine. Also Lotus did quite a bit with the suspension etc..

For completeness there was also the slightly less iconic Lotus Cortina Mk2

(http://www.virginmedia.com/images/Mk2-rallying-431x300.jpg)

Does the Vauxhall vx220 count as a lotus?

More lotus than opel Vauxhall think.

Does it count as a JV if GM was the parent company of both Vauxhall and Lotus at the time?

I shall have to go off at a slight tangent, as it was Chapman's mates at Renault (see Lotus 74 below, its predecessor the 47 had a Renault engine and gearbox) who provided the engine and gearbox for this one, with Lotus doing most of the chassis/body work.  Which could explain why it handled well, but was slow.  It is alleged that Chapman was paid twice for the work, as a duplicate payment was discovered, but by then Chapman was dead and De Lorean was on drugs charges

(http://www.wired.com/geekdad/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/delorean-1-660x480.jpg)

The original De Lorean concept was an ambitious one, and decades ahead of its time. Unfortunately the realities of what could be actually manufactured as a production car in that era meant that the car that ultimately rolled off the line was a buggers muddle of compromises and cost savings. That situation was made infinitely worse by the fact that much of the DMC workforce was drawn from the ranks of Belfast's unemployed, many of whom had never worked in motor car assembly (or ever had a job at all).

Did John DeLorean deliberately set out to fail DMC and to defraud the British taxpayer? I think probably not, but when the writing was on the wall and desperation set in, instead of calling it a day when failure was inevitable he decided to hide the true situation and try to offset the mounting losses by less than honest means.

Chapman on the other hand probably saw the venture as doomed from the outset but that he could still walk away with a profit if he played it right.

Although 9,000 DMCs were produced, there were parts for about 30,000.  The problem was that it didn't sell, its wasn't that quick and the stainless body wasn't and soon looked shabby and dented easily, plus it was American and didn't have a small block Chevy.

I have to add the Lotus 108.  The bicycle ridden by Chris Boardman to win a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, also known as the "LotusSport Pursuit Bicycle".

A very timely article I've just seen on PH

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=29669.htm (http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=29669.htm)

They also got into bed with LTI over Hydrogen fuel cell taxi's ? ( Note still hydrogen consumption not actual fuel cell ). Link below copy and paste into google.  :)


Lotus Engineering, TRW Conekt and London Taxis International (LTI), put forward a proposal to develop a hydrogen fuel cell taxi and approached the British Government

That bike is now in the museum at the albert dock, Liverpool