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Chapman died in 1982, leaving behind the messy financial scandal of the De Lorean project, for which it is likely he would have been convicted.
In 1986 the company was bought by General Motors. On August 27, 1993, GM sold the company for £30 million to ACBN Holdings S.A. of Luxembourg, a company controlled by Italian businessman Romano ArtioliItalian entrepreneur and one time owner of Bugatti and Lotus. Under Artoli's stewardship Bugatti went bust and Lotus flirted with insolvency before being sold to Proton. The Lotus Elise was named after Artoli's granddaughter. who also owned Bugatti Automobili SpA. In 19961996 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty''. Events January January 5 Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone Jan a majority share in Lotus was sold to Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd ( ProtonProton short for Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional (National Car Project), is a Malaysian car manufacturer initiated in 1983 by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The main plant is located in Shah Alam. Based on technology and parts from Mitsubishi, production o), the state-owned MalaysiaThe Federation of Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. It consists of two geographical regions divided by the South China Sea: Peninsular Malaysia on the Malay Peninsula is bordered to the north by Thailand and to the south by Singapore; East Malaysian car company.
The company also acts as an engineeringEngineering is the application of science to the needs of humanity. This is accomplished through knowledge, mathematics, and practical experience applied to the design of useful objects or processes. Professional practitioners of engineering are called en consultancy, performing development, particularly of suspensionSuspension is the term given to the system of shock absorbers and other supports which connect a vehicle to its wheels. Suspension systems serve a dual purpose keeping a car's wheels on the ground where they can provide traction, and keeping vehicle occup, for other car manufacturers.
The company encouraged its customers to race its cars, and itself entered Formula One as a team in 1958Events January January 1 Treaty of Rome founding the EU is implemented January 4 Sputnik 1 falls to Earth from its orbit (launched on October 4 1957) January 8 14 year old Bobby Fischer wins the United States Chess Championship January 18 Armed Lumbee Nat. Major success came in 1963 with the Lotus 25 , which - with Jim Clark driving - won Lotus its first World Championship. Clark's early death - he crashed driving a Formula Two Lotus 48 in March 1968 - was a severe blow to the team and to Formula One. He was the dominant driver in the dominant car, and remains inseparable from Lotus's early years. That year's championship was won by Clark's team-mate, Graham Hill.
Several drivers were to perish in Lotus cars, partially due to Chapmans concept of the perfect race car being one which fell to pieces immediately after crossing the finishing line. Light weight was the be all and end all, earning Chapman the nickname of Chunky - his design genius was such that he would see a drawing of a part, and note that 'we could have a chunk out here, and a chunk out there', in order to save an extra pound or two.
Until the mid- 1980s, Lotus was still a major player in Formula One. Ayrton Senna drove for the Lotus team from 1985 to 1987, winning twice in each year and achieving 17 pole positions. By the company's last Formula One race in 1994 the cars were very uncompetitive. Lotus won a total of 79 Grand Prix races.
Formula One driver's world championships: