MOTORING EXTRA SEPTEMBER and LOTUS

LOTUS CARS LTD UPDATE

Following press speculation the Hethel based operation has in in the last week of August (2025) put out the following statement.
 
"We believe this is necessary in order to secure a sustainable future for the company in today's rapidly evolving automotive environment, which is seeing uncertainty with rapid changes in global policies including tariffs.

"The brand remains fully committed to the UK, and Norfolk will remain the home of the Lotus' sports car, motorsports and engineering consulting operations.

"It is actively exploring future growth opportunities to diversify Lotus Cars' business model, including through third-party manufacturing."

Lotus Heritage 

The guest at Club Lotus Avon in July was Chris Arnold, son of Lotus legendary Sales Director Graham Arnold. He briefed on the plans to save original Lotus sales room and factory in Hornsey.

The annual Lotus East Carleton Manor gathering has taken place, this time just for a single day. What Clive Chapman plans for 2026 we shall wait and see. And the future of Hazel Chapman's wonderful gardens. It has been likened to Elvis Presley’s Graceland and suggested as a home for Lotus Heritage and Clive’s Classic Team Lotus. A wonderful setting rather than the current cramped area within the race car workshop area.

By the time 1 October comes around and the final Travel News Update the future of George Loveridge (Member of the Guild of Motoring Writers) monthly review will hopefully be assured. In the meantime here is his website https://driving-around.yolasite.com

The 2025 Classic Team Lotus Garden Party

With an example of nearly every model given pride of place on the lawn of East Carleton Manor, the 2025 Classic Team Lotus Garden Party celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Paris launch of the Lotus Esprit.

The event saw a global guest list of people traveling from across the UK, Europe, the USA and even Australia. Special guests from the Esprit’s history included Giorgetto Giugiaro the original designer of the Esprit, who flew in from Italy with his son Fabrizio, Peter Stevens who was responsible for the 1988 re-design, Julian Thomson who did the same with the S4 in the mid-nineties and Russell Carr, current Design Director of Lotus Cars and who remodelled the car for the final time in 2002. Mike Kimberley, former CEO at Lotus Cars who had worked alongside Giorgetto Giugiaro and Colin Chapman, was also in attendance.

Lotus Cars were fully behind the event and brought along Theory 1, as well as a full selection of the current range including a stunning pearlescent purple/pink example of the Evija, the new Clark Emira and the current GT4 Emira race car. Head of Design at Lotus Cars, Ben Payne was there to tell us about current plans for Lotus.

With nearly every Esprit model represented, some iconic moments in the car’s history were represented by individual displays around the grounds of East Carleton Manor, with the standout being CTL's very own Bond submarine Esprit submerged in the pool.

A gold Series 2 sat proudly in front of the iconic image of Colin Chapman and his Cessna Chancellor.

An Olin Mk IV ski-laden Turbo Esprit helped to complete the Bond effect! Kit Lotus put on their usual fabulous display of scale models, including a built-up version of one of the new Agora 1:8-scale The spy Who Loved Me Esprit submarine kits.

As well as the Esprit anniversary celebrations which saw all the guests gathered together for the traditional group photo, the Garden Party saw a remarkable tribute to Team Lotus legend Jim Clark which brought together what is probably the most significant ever collection of his racing cars seen together in one place at one time.

The historic display marked 60 years since the great Scot won both the Indianapolis 500 and the Formula One World Championship, as well as the Tasman Series and the Formula 2 British and European Championships. 

As event-goers lined the tarmac to see them in action the Clark cars were driven up the driveway of East Carleton Manor by Clive (Type 25), Chris (Type 49), Arthur Chapman (Type 21), Andrew Beaumont (Type 18) and Joaquin Folch (Type 32B).

The remarkably original Type 33 Formula 1 car on display was making it's first public appearance after a painstaking restoration to by CTL over the past two years. There was also Clark’s Type 35 Formula 2 shown in its completely unrestored state, having been mothballed after its final outing in 1965. The Garden Party marked the first time its had been seen in public since 1970.

The Type 49 on display was flown in from the States to appear at the Garden Party and the Jim Clark weekend in Duns, after which it will be shipped back across the Atlantic for owner Chris MacAllister to display at the Lotus LOG40 event in Pittsburgh later in the summer.


Our thanks to Alan Morgan and Club Lotus for permission to use this article from Club Lotus News.  

www.clublotus.co.uk 

SEE ALSO MOTORING SEPTEMBER: KGM Musso

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