The First Lotus in China

With Geely being the new majority shareholder of Lotus, this would be a good time to talk about the first Lotus that touched Chinese soil.

It has been known for years that Proton has tried to penetrate the Chinese market since the late 90s. There were a few hundreds of Wiras that were sent to China under a government exchange program in the mid-90s. However, things got really serious as the new Millennium was rushing in.

China had a very strict policy on imported cars and their numbers were heavily regulated. Proton was actively looking for a local manufacturing partner as only a Foreign-Sino JV company will be granted a manufacturing license. At the same time, the Central Government had to be convinced that Proton had the technical know-how and was required to set up a local Research and Development center.

Enter Lotus. To those of us who are car lovers and fanatics, this brand needs no introduction. Their cars dominated F1 in the 60s and 70s and pioneered some of the technologies still in use today. Many famous World Champions like Stirling Moss, Jim Clarke, Graham Hill, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, etc have driven for Team Lotus.

And who could forget the Esprit S1 that transformed into a submarine in The Spy Who Loved Me featuring Roger Moore as James Bond in 1977? Or in Pretty Woman with Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in 1990? Lotus has become a pop culture icon.

Lotus Engineering helped engineered a racing bicycle called the Lotus 108 which featured a carbon fibre monocoque body. It went on to set a new world record of 4 minutes 24.496 seconds in the 4000m pursuit at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. And these are just the only examples known to the public. The brand is clearly known for their engineering finesse.  

In 2000, Proton believed the time was ripe to begin a PR campaign to improve their chances for a nod from the Central Government, and the Beijing International Motor Show was the right place to do so. The first Lotus in China almost did not happen until the writer put in a strong request to the management. It was thankfully approved as when the car arrived in Beijing, things were about to get a lot tougher.

One of the exhibitors supplying parts and components with a spot in the middle of the hall have decided to construct a Great Wall that was so wide and tall that the Proton stand behind them was completely blocked from the view of any visitors walking along the main route. And yes, this was clearly forbidden but said exhibitor clearly believed that rules are meant to be broken.

The display plan of the cars was quickly reconfigured and the lone RHD MK1 Elise in Mustard Yellow was placed on a special inclined pedestal at the far corner pointing out towards the main walk path. We then crossed our fingers, took a breath, and prayed hard.

If anyone of you here reading this were there in 2000, you would know what happened next. The strategy paid off. As China was still at the early stages of opening up to the world, the Lotus Elise was nothing they have ever seen before. It was so insanely popular that after the first day, 4 team members had to be stationed at all 4 corners of the car at all time to prevent visitors from literally climbing all over it (we discovered a small dent on the aluminum engine cover at the back). When it was explained that the car was glued and riveted together, there was widespread disbelief that such a technology existed. The Proton stand quickly ran out of brochures.

On the sohu.com website, Proton was voted Dark Horse of the show and the writer was interviewed by a few local TV stations. A gentleman demanded that the car be sold to him after the show and had to be patiently explained to that the unit was a RHD and the Chinese government will not allow it to be registered. He finally relented and gave his business card and said: “Call me when you’re here!”  It was quite safe to say that Proton had achieved what it had set out to do then.

Fast forward to 17 years later, China is now the world’s largest car market and the world’s latest cars are now launched here instead of their home country. Lotus will soon be part of the Geely Group. Suffice to say, like Lamborghini, it is hoped that with the new owner, the Lotus brand will fly high again. And yes the writer knows you are more interested in looking at the models. The ones in gold.

A toast to Sir Colin Chapman and his contribution to the automotive industry.