Lotus (Lotus Engineering Ltd.) was formed in 1952 by Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman. Chapman, a designer, inventor, and builder of all things automotive, established the direction of the company which is to build light sports cars.
The first Lotus produced by the company was the Lotus 6. The extremely light but fast car would help establish the company's reputation among sports car racing and enthusiasts. Other Lotus sports cars include the Seven (currently owned by Caterham Cars), the Lotus Twelve, and the now well-known Elite, Elan, and, of course, the Elise.
Financial difficulties in the 70's and early 80 led to the company's purchase by General Motors. Later, GM would sell Lotus to Bugatti. Malaysian automaker Proton currently owns Lotus.
Last year, Lotus announced it would bring a supercharged version of the Exige, the Exige S, to the U.S. market. The automaker has also entered the "green" segment with its ethanol-powered Exige 265E and the Lotus ZAP APX concept which it developed with electric car company ZAP.
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