Lotus Celebrates 70 Years With An Exige, An Evora, And Plenty Of Tyres

While many manufacturers may lay claim to having a long, storied history and heritage (German brands come to mind), let's try to keep in mind that most pre-war exploits were very different from the automobiles we see today. While Lotus may be a little longer - not quite having hit the century mark as some manufacturers have - their 70 years of existence is nothing to sniff at, with plenty of motorsport exploits and notable models to date.

The last two decades has hardly seen a change at Lotus, partly due to finances limiting their development, but their current range of products has had plenty of time to mature and under the stewardship of a more experienced CEO, the small British sports-car company has adapted quickly to the most current consumer expectations. With Geely taking a large stake in the company and plenty of funding on the horizon, Lotus is likely to benefit from the Midas touch that has transformed once-struggling brands like Volvo.

To celebrate their 70th birthday, Lotus took to their Hethel test track with an Exige Sport 410 and Evora GT410 Sport, leaving a 70-theme skidmark on the test track's skidpan courtesy of many tyres. Piloted by Gavan Kershaw and Daniel Peck, two engineers at Lotus, the pair of cars lay rubber down across the giant circle to form the 70 motif, a reminder of the day Colin Chapman built his first competition car in his garage. Just 4 years later he formed Lotus Engineering and the rest is, as they say, history.