: Great moments in Lotus Cars history Lotus Elise R Whether it's rumours, financial woes at parent company Proton or rambling, aggressive press releases, it seems times are troubled at Lotus. But just to prove that we haven't all lost the faith, we've rounded up 25 of the company's greatest achievements. From Formula One victories and engineering innovations to James Bond and some astonishing road cars, it's worth remembering just what makes this British brand so remarkable. Read on... James Bond That moment in The Spy Who Loved Me, when Roger Moore's 007 drives his Esprit into the water and it turns into a submarine, has secured Lotus a place in cinema history forever. Presumably this was a key influence for the Elise-based Rinsped Squba of 2008, which can apparently do it for real. Lotus Carlton The Lotus Carlton still sends shivers down the spines of Daily Mail readers. With a twin-turbocharged 3.6-litre V6 it offered 377hp back in 1990, blitzed (0-62mph), 0-99kph in 5.2 seconds and could hit (177mph), 284kph flat out. And it looks every inch the brute. A modern classic. Lotus Elise The Elise represents Lotus at its very best. Whether you pick the first- or second-generation model, these cars combine innovative lightweight engineering with outstanding dynamics and pretty looks. Just don't expect to get the roof on in a hurry. Lotus Seven The Lotus that spawned, well, countless replicas. What is there to say about the Lotus Seven that hasn't been said already? This archetypal example of Colin Chapman's lightweight philosophy still commands immense respect today. Pure brilliance. Lotus Cortina The Lotus Cortina is a strong candidate for the world's first super saloon. It married the populist platform of Ford's everyman Cortina with a Lotus engine and chassis modifications to create a highly desirable road car and a highly successful racing machine. It's still great to drive today. Lotus Elan The original 1962 Elan is a masterpiece - a beautiful, lightweight (just 680kg), gorgeous-to-drive sports car debuting the backbone chassis design that became a Lotus mainstay. The 1989 'M100' Elan, meanwhile, is still regarded as one of the best handling front-wheel drive cars ever. Talbot Sunbeam Lotus The Talbot Sunbeam Lotus was one of the most potent hot hatches of its day - rear-wheel drive with a Lotus-developed chassis and 2.2-litre engine producing 150hp. But that was in road car trim. The Sunbeam Lotus also went rallying, where it had 250hp and took the 1981 world championship. Jim Clarke wins the Indy 500 Jim Clarke and Lotus achieved great things together. In 1965 he became the first person to win the Formula One World Championship and the famous Indianapolis 500 in the same year - and he was at the wheel of a Lotus on both occasions. The Lotus Type 38's victory at Indy was also the first for a mid-engined racer. Formula One innovations Lotus has been greatly innovative in Formula One. The Lotus 49, for example, was the first Formula One car to feature down force-creating wings. This car gave the legendary Cosworth DFV engine its first victory. The Lotus 79 pioneered 'ground effects', while the 99T had an amazing active chassis - technology so clever it was eventually banned. Scorpion Tank Lotus continued to pursue active chassis technology, however. The experimental Structure Isolation Dynamics ('SID') research vehicle wowed journalists in the early 1990s, while a development of the Scorpion tank used Lotus' active suspension technology to go faster over rough ground. Tri-fuel technology Back in 2008 we were already getting concerned about rising fuel prices, and so it was interesting to drive Lotus' alternative take on the future of liquid performance. The Exige 270E runs on ethanol and methanol as well as petrol - and offers 270hp to boot. Lotus Elite The original Lotus Elite, aside from being a petite and pretty two-seater sports car, was also the first car to use a glass fibre monocoque. All the way back in 1957. It was amazingly aerodynamic, too - in fact, far more so than many modern machines can manage. Hybrid Range Extenders Lotus has been instrumental in the development of hybrid range extenders. Not only has it built its own version - the Evora 414E - but it's also helped realise working prototypes for Jaguar and (soon) Infiniti. Have no doubt, range extenders are an important part of our motoring future. The Five-Year Plan Is this the beginning of the end? At the 2010 Paris Motor Show Lotus blew everyone away with a surprise, star-spangled announcement of a five-year plan that would see it build five brand-new cars. An exceptionally exciting prospect - if it ever happens. Active noise Lotus has been experimenting with noise for decades. This includes active noise cancelling - just like those fancy headphones - but also noise substitution. The most recent example of this is the Evora 414E Hybrid range extender. Silence or a synthetic V8 at the touch of a button. Lotus Esprit The Lotus Esprit has everything going for it. From the incredible style of the Giugiaro-penned original to the huge power and performance of the later Turbo and V8 models, this is a true supercar. It has brilliant handling, too. It remained in production for nearly three decades. DeLorean DMC-12 You'd probably be best to avoid the politics and fraud here. Instead we'll just focus on how Lotus helped engineer the DeLorean DMC-12 - which remains one of the coolest cars on the planet. Even borrowing heavily from the Esprit couldn't completely resolve the rear-engined handling issues, though. Sinclair C5 Does the Sinclair C5 count as a greatest moment? Much of that will depend on how this bizarre little electric vehicle is looked upon in the future - it could still prove the harbinger of an electric car revolution. Lotus was involved in taking the C5 from concept to reality. Lotus 340R The radical 340R is an Elise with a single-piece bodyshell, no roof and no doors. With 177hp and significantly less weight than the regular Elise, performance is sensational - 0-62mph, for example, takes just 4.4 seconds. Only 340 were made. Lotus 2-Eleven is a similar follow-up. | 
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