lotus espirit
2009 Lotus Espirit
November 9th, 2006
Lotus has a checkered history apart from its seven Formula 1 World Championships. The road-car and engineering businesses have gone through periodic crises, and since Colin Chapman, the founder and inspiration of Lotus, died in 1982, the company has had three different owners.
Nowadays Lotus appears to be settling down in the experienced hands of Michael Kimberly. Kimberly, who joined Lotus in 1969 and was CEO from 1983 to 1991, returns as CEO after the departure of Kim Ogaard-Nielsen and promises to secure the future of Lotus through a comprehensive five-year plan that calls for new models including a replacement for the Esprit.