Lotus Intrigue

There are now two, completely separate, Lotus car companies. Read on for a story of intrigue, murder, moonlight beaches, Nazi overlords, nano-technology time-warps and secret Nordic cults. 

Ok, actually, it is just about cars... but it's still a good story:

Some of you know and love Lotus. They make fantastic cars. Lightweight cars which handle better than pretty much anything in the world. Cars which prove that 'simplifying and adding lightness' is really the best possible way that you can go with a car.

Let's keep it simple. They make these:

Mmmm... I want to lick it... 

Yeah, they are goddamn pretty. 

Now, Lotus back in the day was one of the most storied F1 teams, winning many races, especially with the famous John Player Special liveried cars of the 70's

Mmmm... I want to lick it... 

Now, back in the day Colin Chapman kept Lotus Group (the car builder) and Team Lotus as two separate but tied-at-the-hip companies... which sets up what happens later. 

The racing outfit came to an end in 1994, which is why such a big palava was made when, two years ago, Air Asia boss Tony Fernandes applied to Group Lotus (the car business owned by Proton) for licence to use the ‘Lotus' name in F1 (Lotus Racing).

Fernandes then bought the rights to use the name ‘Team Lotus' - the actual, real and historical Lotus F1 name - from David Hunt, brother of F1 champ James and owner of the name - in September this year. But Proton hit back, saying it would "support Group Lotus in taking all necessary steps to protect its rights in the ‘Lotus' name, including resisting any attempts by Mr. Fernandes or his companies, or any other unauthorised person, to use the ‘Lotus' name in the 2011 Formula 1 season."

And Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar reckons he's got the real Lotus. "We're well aware that there has been a lot of controversy around the usage of our brand in F1 and I'm delighted to be able to formally clarify our position: We are Lotus, and we are back." 

This got really awkward when both teams were going to field retro-liveried F1 cars which were nearly identical.. 

vs

Yeah.... and they both use "Renault" because they both used Renault engines... confusing. The end result is, of course, that they are currently suing the crap out of each other. 

It also turns out that neither of them really did that well in the season, but Team Lotus (the ones who licensed the name) did better than Lotus Group (the car company). 

But now, apparently trying to become more legitimately 'Lotus', Team Lotus is planning on buying Caterham. Now, Caterham is well know because they bought the rights to the classic Lotus 7 from Lotus after they stopped making the little British sports car, and so since 1973, Caterham has made and sold the 7 as road cars, race cars, and perhaps most well known, as kit cars (a car that you buy the parts and put together yourself - it is also the basis of the 'locost' racer). 

This is the 7:

Mmmm... I want to lick it... Orange....

  

It is a badass little racer which is immediately identified as a Lotus - though Caterham has been building them far longer than Lotus ever did, the car is quintessentially Colin Chapman. 

So yes, it boils down to this. 

There are two Lotuses. The old Lotus, the real Lotus, bought the Renault F1 team to get back into racing. The new Lotus bought the Team Lotus name, and is now buying the car company which makes the old Lotus so that the new Lotus will be thought of as Lotus, though there already is a Lotus making Lotuses for all of us Lotus lovers. Now, there is nothing I want more than lots of Lotuses in the world, but it gets pretty damn confusing when those Lotuses are built by different Lotuses, if you see what I mean.