After the death of founder Colin Chapman in 1982, Lotus was in dire straits financially. Thankfully for all us petrolheads, it was saved by British Car Auctions chief David Wickens.
He quickly recruited more investors and, with Hethel veteran Mike Kimberley remaining as CEO, Lotus returned to profit in 1984. However, the bosses recognised that they couldn’t muster the resources to rejuvenate Lotus’s ageing road car range and so sought a richer buyer.
The buyer they snared could hardly have been richer. Following 10 days of negotiations in January 1986, General Motors paid £22.75 million for 58% of the shares – just one day’s cashflow for what was the world’s biggest car company.
In essence, the Americans wanted to use Hethel as a cheap and rapid R&D and engineering facility – but, to widespread relief, Lotus would remain independent, rather than be absorbed into the mass.
“For perhaps the first time in its 30-year history, Lotus can look forward to an assured future,” said Autocar, but Kimberley urged caution: “We have got to prove ourselves to GM’s main board.
Yes, it will make life easier, but we have got to stand on our own two feet. We have a very, very secure future and the staff is over the moon about it. There are no job uncertainties and no problems over resources, so long as we can justify them.”
A three-point, 10-year strategy was agreed. The main goal was a return of the affordable roadster – a project begun under Chapman in 1981. Codenamed M90, then X100, then M100, the car was scheduled to go on sale as a reborn Elan in early 1989, following “a major restyle and technical rethink”.
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