Chapman

[Guest ANTIQUES]

Without the great C chapman we would have no lotus to enjoy.Sme as enzo for ferrari.as ferrari have named one of their rarest cars after enzo out of respect.why dont lotus now think of naming the new esprit the lotus esprit chapman.it retained the usual e start for the name of lotus cars,but also shows respect for the founder of lotus in this new era.i hiope someone at lotus sees this ,in fact i might email them about it .INTERESTED TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK,JAMES /ANTIQUES PS SORRY FOR SOME GRAMMAR MISTAKES

[JPL76]

Or perhaps the 'Lotus Esprit - Colin'

[Jonathan]

Technically - he's got his name on all the cars anyways, as will as this forum !

[Kimbers]

There can be, and are, 2 schools of thought on this (In my opinion).

Before I mention them I think it very important to point out (as many know from here who met up with MJK at several events over the last 2 years) that Lotus have instigated a more history based profile recently. It was recognised that Lotus's racing pedigree and history should be promoted. It's resulted in not only pictures of Colin going up at Lotus, but racing cars shown at reception, pictures of old models up on he walls etc. It's also resulted in the company going back to it's core values, performance through light weight resulting in smaller more efficient engines, innovative thinking and designs and getting back in touch with it's core customers (including the owners clubs). The new 2+2 will bring back those people lost when the Excel and Elite went out of production and the Esprit will bring us back into the fold, either now or in the future when they become available second hand.

Back to the original question.

The first school of though can be "it's great to remember where we came from and how the company came about". This can include calling the 2+2 Elite or Excel and the new Mid engined 2 seater the Esprit.

The second thought is that maybe the company needs to move away from the Lots of Trouble Usually Serious moniker that these names, totally wrongly, bring to mind. We all know that maintained properly, the Excel and Esprits can be very reliable for a sports car. Likewise, no matter how historic the previous car, do you want to call an all new car by the same name?

The classic example of this is one of the nicest cars to drive, around at present. The new Ford Mondeo. I was talking to one of the most important people in the Automotive industry the other day (I won't name drop here) and he asked me about what I thought of the new Mondeo. I replied that I thought it was a great car to drive and it was a shame it was a Ford. He nodded his head and said "Exactly! The only problem with the new Mondeo is it's name...Mondeo!" As an explanation he told me that he thought it a bad decision as the car should be competing with the likes of Honda, VW, BMW and Audi and because of the name competes with Vauxhall, Toyota and Skoda. A cars name brings with it alot of baggage, not the least of which is depreciation, image and badge perception.

Both he and I agreed that the new Mondeo was good enough to rival any of the quality brands but can't partly because it's name, Mondeo.

These all have to be taken into account when naming a vehicle. Maybe a special edition Chapman at some point would be cool!

[Hippo]

How about rebranding Lotus as CLN like Trevor/TVR?

[lotustt]

A special car or edition "Chapman" would be cool. But it is true ACBC is displayed on every car Lotus produces these days.

[Mario]

I am for the first school of thought we want new Elite Excel Esprit!!!

[Guest ANTIQUES]

Kimbers excelent well thought out reply.Momentarily i forgot that Colin Chapmans initials are on the front of my Elite.This is obviously showing respect for the founder ,but an Bsprit chapman would still be worthy of the legend which is the late colin,JAMES/ANTIQUES

[esprit350]

ducks for cover ,

if he was still alive would not Colin Chapman be in prison for helping to defraud the UK goverment along with the other delorean crooks...

[Loose Cannon]

By dying young he not only evaded the Government's witch hunt (because after all unlike sending the flower of your youth to die on foreign battlefields, stealing from Governments is THE most HEINOUS crime ever committed to mankind) he also avoided modern life, which is frankly shit.

If he was alive now, he'd be out like that dickhead Lord Brocket with a best selling ghost-written glossed over biography, and would have appeared in Celebrity Dragon's Jungle Ballroom shouting "You're Fired" or something.

[mayevora]

appeared in Celebrity Dragon's Jungle Ballroom shouting "You're Fired" or something.

[Jonathan]

Has to be quote of the year so far