"A. Sta. Maria" wrote:
>
> A year ago Rod and I corresponded on the origin of the name "Lotus" -- a
> topic that apparently recurs at least once a year. I hope that means there
> are always new enthusiasts in the fold.
> >From: rebean@CCGATE.HAC.COM [SMTP:rebean@CCGATE.HAC.COM]
> >
> >Ah yes, Andres, I'd much rather believe this one (but can't help thinking
> > that, had it been true, it wouldn't have remained so mysterious all
> > these years).
Chapman himself wrote in 1954:
The first car was basically an Austin 7 chassis and engine, it was
called a Lotus too but I am not going to tell you why. I have been
asked many times the origin of the name of my cars but that cannot
be divulged for several years. It is one of those things, rather
like the chap who will never tell you why his friends call him
"Stinker".
This is from a 4 part article entitled "The Lotus story", published in
the magazine Motor Racing from Nov 1954 to Feb 1955.
OK, so we know from this that it's something embarrassing to Chapman,
but not so bad that he was never going to reveal it. One possibility
is the theory that I don't think made the Lotus FAQ, and that is that
one of Chunky's favourite phrases was "Us lot", and that this was
reversed to make the name of the car.
One day maybe someone will fill Hazel with gin and find out.....
Mike
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