Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Handling by Lotus

By Kamil Kaluski Nov 15, 2018


In addition to making sports cars, the Lotus brand also offers engineering and consulting services. Clients of those services vary from race teams to automakers. Some automakers handed the design of the suspension systems to Lotus, be it a design from the ground up or an improvement to what the automaker designed but lacks the experience in perfecting. Sometimes the Lotus badges worked as a marketing tool, too. And other times the automakers kept quiet about it, possibly being too embarrassed about not being able to design a proper suspension system themselves. 
Today we are looking for the cars that were improved by Lotus Engineering. Keep in mind that some wore the Lotus badges and some didn’t. 
The Caveats (there are always caveats):

  • Must not be a Lotus vehicle. 
  • One-offs, concept cars, and race cars, and other specials are fair game as long as they are not Lotus cars. 
  • Really, any non-Lotus vehicle with Lotus designed bits is a fair game. 
  • Bonus points for obscure stuff that you don’t find on the first fives pages of Google search. 

Difficulty: 6.5 out of 10, 11 out of 10 for stuff none of us ever heard of – do some homework. 

By Kamil Kaluski

East Coast Editor. Races crappy cars and has an unhealthy obsession with Eastern Bloc cars. Current fleet: Ford Bronco, Lexus GX 470, and a Buick Regal crapcan racecar.

82 thoughts on “Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Handling by Lotus”
  1. I can’t find anything on the Wikipedia page, but seem to remember that Škoda’s 120-130 series had a harsh welcome in the UK due to its “unpredictable” rear engine handling. Even though customers didn’t seem to care, a refresh in the early ’80s or so included a somewhat improved chassis for export models, that Lotus was said to have been involved in:
    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/%C5%A0koda_105_BJ_1978_%28Foto_Hilarmont%29_%281%29.JPG

        1. Wow. I’ve seen several Styluses (Styli?) here in Miami but never noticed the C-pillar arrangment before.

    1. Always thought these were a good-looking bit of 80s design, but somehow I never realized before just how much they look like the compact hatch that DeLorean never made.

      1. The first car on the US market with flush side windows. Beating the Ford Taurus and Audi 5000 by a few months.

          1. They came VERY close to coming to the US market in about 2009 with a SUV very similar to this: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Mahindra_Bilbao-_08_Marzo_30.jpg/220px-Mahindra_Bilbao-_08_Marzo_30.jpg
            I’m not sure what facelift version the red one is. The potential US importer was around the corner from my employer at the time, so I saw the test ones on the road all the time.
            Apparently their new plan is to enter the US market with one of their Chinese brands. I’m still not sure why they didn’t just use their Mahindra Tractor dealerships to sell the pickup and SUV here. They have a national distribution network in place and have a decent reputation here for a cheap tractor. It worked for International Harvester, sort of….

  2. This thread has sent me into reading up on Colin Chapman’s early work (when Lotus was still in its infancy); apparently — long before Lotus’ own Grand Prix cars — he contributed to the Vanwall:
    https://www.ultimatecarpage.com/images/car/2998/Vanwall-VW-Grand-Prix-22973.jpg
    “For 1956 more power was found in the engine while Colin Chapman who had built up a considerable reputation with his Lotus sports–racing cars was engaged to design a new stiffer chassis frame and revised rear suspension. At Chapman’s suggestion Frank Costin an experienced aerodynamicist, designed a new and distinctive low drag body which owed much to aircraft practice”
    It’s believed to have won the first race after Chapman/Costin modifications.

    1. My first AW11 wore “Handling By Lotus” badges, but I’m pretty sure a prior owner just snagged them from an Impulse.

    1. You mean alternately badged. They arrived in Hethel as Opel-built sedans, underwent crazy transmogrification and emerged wearing Lotus and either Opel or Vauxhall badges depending on where they were headed.
      I’m in a mood for pedantry and splitting hairs tonight.

    1. My vote for most obscure. Imagine Lotus politics + Citroen politics + language barrier + Citroen/Peugeot motorsport politics. No wonder there was just the one!

  3. The Lobini H1 ride was considered too harsh, the face-lifted model had the suspension tuned by Lotus to became better for road use. For those who don’t know, the Lobini H1 is a Brazilian mid-engine sports cars, equipped with a Volkswagen 1.8 20v turbocharged engine from the Golf GTI MK4. Initially it was supposed to use the Fiat 2.0 turbo five cylinder engine, bot Fiat didn’t agree to sell the engines
    http://i.wheelsage.org/pictures/l/lobini/h1/lobini_h1_5.jpeg

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 64 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop files here