If the name of the game is to flash something recognizeable to the Asian public, I wonder which more classics could be recycled, Gold Leaf Team Lotus perhaps? BRM should be a no brainer and how about Brabham, who owns that moniker, MrE I guess?feynman wrote:That could very well happen I don't disagree ... but I think the Lotus brand, and its generally more widely known history, is clearly valuable enough for Fernandes to try to keep a hold off if he can. Even trivial stuff like KAR 120 C which features in the brochure today, is clearly more part of the worldwide Lotus, not Caterham, public recognition factor.
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Ah, but part of the irony of heritage is that those who most seek it often did not live it first time round. In the UK (particularly the south) there is a great desire for old properties with period features. People like the idea of the past but only because they didn't have to endure it. That nice old fireplace is lovely when you have central heating at the flick of a switch - it wouldn't have been so "charming" when it was the only source of warmth in a cold, damp, draughty house...xpensive wrote:For an old geezer like me, Ronnie Peterson in a Lotus 72 is as much of a heritage as you can ask for, but I doubt if those years rings much of a bell to those born post-1980? It even seems that Senna in a 97T is forgotten, anyone still remembering the man seems to place him in a red and white car, no?
As for Lotus street cars, kit-cars with doubtful reliability comes to mind. In 1992 I ditched my Porsche 944 turbo for a turbo Esprit, a trade I regret to this day, but I was completely taken by the image. Useless piece of crap outside the parking lot.
It did serve me well in the mistress department though, far better pay-off than with the Porsche I admit.
Ummm, Vanwall are still very much alive and probably not for sale.xpensive wrote:why not dig up Cooper and Vanwall from the grave when at it, surely at least Cooper built a street car or two way back when?
Sacrament et Tabarnac gibells, you got it right there! Why didn't I see that, it's all in the name and nothing else, so obvious?gibells wrote:I did some Google research the other day- 'Google research' is one heck of a lot easier than having to go into the library and flick through those darned papery woody things- I think they used to call them Encyclopedias. Anyway, turns out Lotus in the east is a lot more symbolic than Colin Chapman's racing team ever was. A Lotus flower is, it seems, a divine symbol of purity of the mind body spirit something something something.
Could this be one of the reasons why it is being so hotly contested.
Im half Portuguese, Feynmanfeynman wrote:Ricardo Teixeira, not Tony.
Teixeira is a common Portuguese language name.
Born in South Africa too! Now you're talking =D> and even more fun to race .marcush. wrote:nevertheless the 7 is fun ,no question.
looks like Fernandes is a huge Chapman fans......bot6 wrote:The more I read about this whole Team Lotus - Caterham setup, the more I like what Fernandes is building here. He is riding Chapman's legacy, but he does it with respect, keeping true to the "less is more" spirit.
Makes me want to buy a 7 kit, paint it green and go racing.
EDIT: But then again, I've been wanting to do that for ages. Anybody have an extra 20K pounds?
