One of the few success stories of low volume car makers in Britain in recent years, Lotus looks back on 60 years of innovation this year.

Colin Chapman built his first trials special, based on an Austin Seven, in 1948 and despite its mundane nature, it showed several of his trademark pioneering qualities he didnt care what everyone else was doing, he did his own thing, he made everything as light as possible, to the limit of structural integrity; and he did it with flair, calling his one-off Special Lotus when anyone else would have made do with Chapman Special.

Despite the well-publicised De Lorean fiasco and Chapmans untimely death, Lotus has continued to thrive after the loss of this maverick but brilliant engineer, and the company is currently more than ever driving forward the technology of car making with innovations that would have gladdened Chapmans heart. Lotus Engineering recently opened a new research and development group solely for electric and hybrid vehicles. Another recent announcement is an intriguing project to prove that its possible to make petrol engines with significantly greater power output AND reduced CO2 emissions: tested in an Opel Astra, the Lotus-developed 1.5-litre 3-cylinder engine produced torque and power figures youd expect from a 2.5-litre with 15% lower CO2 than youd expect from a standard 1.8-litre: 149g/km CO2 with torque of 177lb ft and power of 158bhp. Tricks used include high pressure injection and cam profile switching, together with a trick exhaust manifold and centrally-mounted injectors.

Keep up the good work, Lotus!

Malcolm McKay, Motorbase News Editor