GGLC UK Lotus Tours 2016

2016 GGLC UK-Lotus Tours
By Kiyoshi

In 2016 the GGLC put together two UK-Lotus Tours. The first was in June and the second in September. Here then is the story of the June Tour.

The 2016 Spring GGLC UK-Lotus Tour was a trip of a lifetime and another tick-box on the bucket list!

Let's start with HUGE thanks to our personal tour guide, van driver extraordinaire, Lotus Historian, and entertainer, Richard Parramint.

The four plus days with Richard were completely full. The only real minus was we experienced a "real" east English summer! Yup, temps in the high 40s to mid-50s. Misty, gray and WINDY! The light jacket I had didn't stand a chance. I resorted to layering with 2 socks, multiple shirts and wishing I had brought those gloves I left at home. On the upside, it never really rained, just a dribbles and drabs.

So, with that background here's a day by day semi-diary of four incredibly memorable days!

Monday, May 30 - Arrive at Heathrow
We met up at Heathrow in the late morning. Ed had just flown-in from the states and we and Carneys where brought in from London. There we met up with a big white passenger van driven by Richard Parramint and riding shot gun was Bob Dance of Classic Team Lotus!

Bob Dance should need no introduction to any Formula 1 aficionado, for it was Bob who's hands and wrenches help build and maintain Jim Clark's Championship winning Lotus 25 and 49 and Clark's Lotus 29 and Lotus 38 Indy cars. He was the chief mechanic for Andretti and Senna. Yes, that Bob Dance was there sitting in our van. Bob worked for Lotus and Team Lotus from 1960-1969 and then again from 1977-1994.

A stop at the Lotus store in London.		GGLC, Richard, Bob and the Bus! June GGLC UK Tour
GGLC in the Bus! June GGLC UK Tour		GGLC in the Bus! September GGLC UK Tour

After a few attempted calls and text we managed to get a hold of Ed Hunter who was at a different terminal. A quick drive across the airport and baggage in the van and we were off on the M25 for our first stop, the site of the first Lotus workshop and factory in Hornsey.

The building has been given Historic Preservation status and looks much the same except it says "Jewson", a DIY hardware and building supply stop. Still standing next door is the building that once contained Stan Chapman's (Colin's father) pub.

The Jewson staff was quite friendly. They were aware of the historic status and plaque on the building's exterior, "Colin Chapman, 1928-1982, Founded Lotus Engineering Co., Ltd on this site in January 1953."

But, with little actual knowledge of Chapman and Lotus the Jewson staff was eager and happy to meet Bob Dance who explained he interviewed with Chapman for a job in that very same building in 1956 (he didn't get the job).

The staff shared that the beams were the originals and could not be touched and then they said the original desk and safe were still upstairs in Chapman's old office. We were led up to the 2nd floor and there was Chapman's desk and wall safe, still unopened in over 60 years!

The site of the 1st Lotus Factory.		Now a designated Historic Place
Bob Dance & Jewson's staff		Bob Dance and Colin Chapman's desk!

Back in the van and we were off to Cheshunt, where Lotus moved in 1957 and remained until they moved to the current site in Hethel in 1967.

The site in Cheshunt consists of 2 buildings, still owned by the Chapman family. The main building was where Chapman's office was on the second floor. We walked to the rear of the property between the buildings and up a concrete ramp coming down from the 2nd floor. Richard explained how Ford shipped fully built Cortinas to Lotus and they were hoisted to the 2nd floor about in the middle of the building. The cars were then completely torn down and then the Lotus components were added. The Twin Cam engines were built at the rear of the other building and the Type 28 Lotus Cortinas rolled off the "assembly" line and down the ramp.

Bob Dance joined us and shared how the later Type 14 Elites and Series 1 and 2 Elans were built on the 1st floor of the building. On the opposite side of the building the "built" cars and body shells were stored. This gave Bob an opportunity to share how Fred Bushell, then Lotus Finance Manager duped the banks in loaning the company money by taking a photo of the lot full of semi-built cars and body shells and telling the bank that they were all complete and ready to be sold!

The adjacent building is now the home of a gym. But, back in the day one side was the home of Team Lotus, the other side was Lotus Components and the loft was the assembly line for Series 1 and 2 Lotus Sevens!

We were standing where Bob once worked and built the Lotus 25, 29, 33, 38, 43 and 49. Driver's like Clark, Hill, Ireland, Rindt and others spent time under this roof.

On a personal note, my S2 Elan would have been built in the main building and my Seven would have been built in the loft and my Lotus 41 would have been built by Lotus Components alongside Lotus 23s in the second building.

The ex-Lotus Factory in Cheshunt		Bob explaining how Lotus Cortinas rolled down the ramp.
Bob telling us stories!		Team Lotus lived here!

Back into the van.

Did I mention it was gray, with an occasional mist and windy and in the low 50s?

Next stop, the workshop of Malcolm Ricketts. Malcolm is a long time historic racer with car of choice, Lotus Elan. Malcolm has retired from the behind the wheel but he and his chief mechanic, Tom, operate a restoration and race prep shop. There was no lack of history at their shop located in some farm buildings. Outside were parked a Lotus Mk9 and a drop dead gorgeous Type 14 Lotus Elite. Inside was one of the Ian Walker Gold Bug 26R Elans.

On a lift was a Lotus Eleven and a couple more 26Rs along with a half dozen or so race prepped Twin Cam engines. Tom shared how the cost of a race prepped Twin Cam had sky rocketed to $40K USD! Yikes!!!

In the attached building were Clive Chapman's very own Lotus 18 with an Alfa engine and his Lotus 58. Then in the back of the yard was a barn find totally complete Type 14 Elite that Malcom had recently purchased and was planning to restore for road use.

And, in the building in the back next to the horse pasture were a Lotus 47, a Seven, a Lotus Cortina and several interesting cars like a Mazda Cozmos!

Talking shop with Bob Dance.

Malcolm and Eleven

Back into the van… and we finally arrived at the Maids Head Hotel in downtown Norwich and met up with Ed's wife and daughter, Marie and Amaya and Dave and Sue Ellis.

A quick word about the Maids Head. It is a hotel that is comfortable, yet drafty in spots (rooms are fine & comfortable), certainly well maintained and clean. But more than that it is the OLDEST hotel in all of the UK going back to 1472 (before Columbus to us Yanks). There are claims the place has ghosts, but we never spotted any.

Our Hotel in Norwich

Sights of Norwich, Blickling Hall

Tuesday, May 31
Slight change in schedule for Tuesday. Clive Chapman of Classic Team Lotus had business travel the remainder of the week, yet wanted to meet with us. So, it was off for CTL to see Clive.

After a brief stop at a local Tesco (like a super Safeway) and seeing a large display of Gallo wine, we pulled up at CTL and entered Clive's office (which he shares with a couple of other CTL staff). On his desk was an empty bottle of Champagne from CTL's recent win at the Monaco Historic F1 Races. We chatted briefly about CTL's start and what they were now doing. A mention about GGLCer, Chris Locke and his ex-Andretti Lotus 77 which was still at CTL before heading back to California for the Monterey Reunion in August. Clive asked about the GGLC and was surprised to learn of our size and activity. Speaking of activity, CTL has some 26 events on their 2016 calendar! It will take them all across Europe to the states.

Oh, I forgot to explain… the reason for the Tesco stop was so Richard could pick-up a couple of boxes of Cream Cakes for the lads at CTL. Seems it was Richard's birthday and the tradition at CTL is that birthday person is required to supply Cream Cakes on their anointed day!

Back into the van…

Next stop, Blickling Estate and house, a National Trust site north of Aylsham.

The Blickling Estate covers 4,777 acres of wood, park and farm lands. The home was built in the 15th century by Sir John Fastolf of Caister and later the home and lands were in the possession of the Boleyn family, whose daughter Anne was born around 1507. Eventually the Estate was owned by Philip Kerr and at his death the Estate was passed into the care of the National Trust.

We toured the home (slight extra cost, but well worth it). No sign of Anne Boley's headless ghost which is said to visit Blickling in a carriage on the anniversary of her exectution.

Back in the van… Now hungry, Richard took us to Hyfords in Holt for some very English fare.

Did I mention it was gray, with an occasional mist and windy and in the high 40s?

Then it was off to the sea side village of Sheringham. Remember I said it was misty, windy and cold? Multiply that by 10 fold when we were standing on the sea wall in Sheringham with 15-20 waves crashing onto the sea break! It didn't take much convincing that it was time to get back in the van!

Next stop was Felbrigg Hall near Cromer. This home is also a part of the National Trust and was built in the late 1400s. Beautiful grounds and gardens and a castle-like enormous mansion.

Back in the van…

And returned to the Maids Head before heading to a celebratory dinner, remember it was Richard's birthday, so we were joined by Richard's wife, Julie, son, Jonathan and daughter Rebecca and her significant other, Steve at the Recruiting Sergeant just north of Norwich. We even got to sing happy birthday and watch Richard blow out a single candle.

Wednesday, June 1

This was a busy day that started with pulling into the security gate at Group Lotus. Richard had arranged for our visit and personalized badges were awaiting us. We were reminded that photo and video taking were not allowed once past the gates.

We headed to a 2 story building that once was the control tower for the air field. It now houses the Lotus Drivers Academy. Our tour guide met us and off we went to the various factory buildings. In production were Evora 400s and Exige and Elise. We were told the US Evora 400s would go into production toward the end of June (which means cars will hit our shores in September or October).

The Lotus Factory in Hethel		FAST rides in the Evora 400!
Still standing after thrilling rides!		We were at the FACTORY!

The tour followed the production steps starting with the engines and transmissions as they arrived in whole from Toyota. Then to chassis assembly. Explained was the extruded aluminum technology that Lotus pioneered in the Elise. Body panels were prepped in the same building. This was one of the original buildings where Europas, S3 and S4 Elans, Elites, Eclats, Sprints and all Esprits were built. You could almost feel those cars oozing from the rafters, or maybe we were smelling the fresh unpainted body panels.

We crossed the entry road to two of the new buildings where the bodies were painted and the chassis started to come together and mated with engine and transmission. Wiring harness, steering, dash, roll bars and such were added before the main body panels were adhered to the chassis. What stood out was the total lack of robots, the entire process was done by workers with torque wrenches and other hand tools and jigs. Yes, every Lotus is pains takenly hand built, bolt by bolt and nut by nut.

As the factory ended we headed back to the old Control Tower to get demo rides on the Hethel Test Track with head of the Lotus Driver's Academy, Danny Hartgrove. Helmets on, Danny gave us a "ride" around the wet track in an Evora 400. Thrilling and impressive!

A few photos of the group and then off to lunch at the Bird in Hand where out of the blue Bob Dance shows up. It seems Bob passionate about the history of WWII Air Bases and in conversation Bob learned that Dave's father was stationed at a nearby US Air Base. Bob came to lunch loaded with questions and information about the base that he and Dave shared!

After lunch, it was back to Group Lotus and to the gift shop. Yes, we loaded up!

Next stop Ketteringham Hall, the longtime home of Team Lotus.

Ketteringham Hall is still owned by the Chapman family. Now occupied by various businesses. Richard led us into the building and pointed out where Team Lotus displayed their trophies, Chapman's office and a great story about Richard's encounter with Chapman. We then went around the building to where the Team Lotus shops were. You could almost envision the Lotus 72s, 77s, 78s, 79s, 80s, 86s, 88s and 97s lined up in the courtyard.

Ketteringham Hall, long time home of Team Lotus

The Hall of Champions in Ketteringham Hall.

We opted for a relaxed evening and visited a local restaurant for dinner and then early to bed!

Thursday, June 2
We had run out of time to visit Classic Team Lotus on Wednesday, so it became our first stop. CTL is dripping in Lotus history. Entering the building you could close your eyes and almost hear the voices of Ronnie Peterson, Elio deAnglis and a young Ayrton Senna. But, their Grand Prix winning cars were there to see and touch.

The Team was still unpacking from their recent event at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix. The Lotus 77 of GGLCer Chris Locke was awaiting transportation back to California. In the same bay was an ex-Andretti Lotus 79.

Then there were 3 drawing cabinets with drawers marked, "21", "22", "23", "25", "29", "33", "38", "43", "49", etc. Yes, these cabinets contained the original priceless engineering drawings of these amazing cars. WOW!!!

Classic Team Lotus!		Where Lotus F1 History LIVES.
Original drawings!		Team Lotus lives on!

Back into the van…

We were now headed to the Chapman home, East Carlton Manor to see Hazel Chapman's gardens. We didn't know what to expect, but when we walked through the door into the "backyard", let's just say it was jaw dropping. There's a huge pond surrounded by a large variety of mature trees, an expansive lawn and flowers everywhere. It takes 3 fulltime gardeners to maintain the property. There are fountains and even a sunken garden, a tennis court and an indoor swimming pool.

A stop to pay respects to "The Old Man". A visit to Chapman's grave, a time for quiet reflection. His ethos is still with us.

Sunken Garden at East Carlton Manor.

RIP Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman.

Back into the van… Did I mention it was gray, with an occasional mist and windy and in the low 50s?

Next stop, Zenos Cars where we were greeted by Mark Windle, Operations Director. Zenos has about 5,000 sq ft of assembly space. They have 4 build bays where the cars are assembled starting with the chassis that features a very large extruded aluminum beam that makes up the center backbone. Lotus owners will recognize the design. To the central backbone is mounted the rear subframe that carries the engine and drive train. The passenger/driver cockpit is constructed of a carbon honeycomb that is strong, stiff and light. A cage is then mounted to give the cockpit side intrusion and roll over protection. The finished car is eye-catching, light and cost friendly.

The entire Zenos operation is a great reminder that such small niche car manufacturers still have a place in England. Zenos is what Lotus was 60 years ago when Chapman and team were in Hornsey.

The Zenos Factory

The Zenos Factory

Back into the van…

Richard took us to a few more sights around Norwich, Wymondham Abby, Pulls Ferry in Norwich and Smallest Pub in England or at least in Norwich before returning the Maids Head.

We had a dinner planned for our last night together and Richard and I had invited a few friends. Over the years the GGLC has had the opportunity to work with and meet a number of Lotus folks. Most of these gentlemen are no longer associated with Lotus but their contribution to the company is legendary. Thus, Dinner with Legends of Lotus that included:

Morris Dowton - Morris joined Lotus in 1965 when Lotus was at Cheshunt. Morris was the Supervisor of the Elan and Europa production. He then joined the Lotus management team in 1974 and became the head of all vehicle manufacturing from 1980 until the start of the Bahar era.

Tony Shute - Tony joined Lotus in 1986 and he too left Lotus at the start of the Bahar era. Tony started in the engineering group under Roger Becker and then moved to Product Engineering and became Project Manager for the Esprit Sport 300, the Lotus Carlton, M100 Elan, Series 1 Elise, the Series 2 Elise, the US Federal Elise, the 2-Eleven and the Evora. Tony went to Caterham in 2012 and is now consulting.

Roger Becker - Roger joined Lotus at Cheshunt in 1966. Then he joined the Lotus Vehicle Engineering team in 1967 and grew into his role as Chief Development Engineer to Head of Test, Development and Certification Engineering. EVERY Lotus was tested and tuned by Roger. Roger is responsible for every making sure every Lotus felt and drove like a Lotus. Roger also did the stunt driving in the Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me", doubling for the other Roger! Roger was retired by Bahar in 2010.

Patrick Peal - Patrick joined Lotus as an engineer in 1976 and eventually lent his talent to the marketing side and was the longtime Head of Corporate Communications. Patrick left Lotus in 1996. During Patrick's tenure at Lotus he had the opportunity to fly a Lotus microlight plane and was a part of the British Olympic bicycle team. Patrick was once husband to Jane Chapman!

Nick Adam - Nick worked with Roger and Lotus Engineering in vehicle development. Nick recently left Lotus. Nick is probably best known for his drifting exploits in "Car" magazines Sideways Contest.

Mike Kimberley - Often called "Mr. Lotus". Mike joined Lotus as an engineer in the late 60s. His first project was the redo of the Europa with the Twin Cam engine. Mike became the head of Group Lotus after Chapman's passing, a position he held through the GM ownership. He left Lotus to work for GM Southeast Asia and later became the head of Lamborghini. He rejoined Lotus as Chairman in 2006 and remained until Bahar arrived.

These 6 gentlemen represented nearly 200 years of Lotus!!!

It should be noted that September Tour dinner had many of these same gentleman as well as Bob Dance.

These 6 gentlemen designed and built EVERY Lotus car designed and built from 1970 to 2012. This list includes the Twin Cam Europa, Esprit, Esprit Turbo, Elite, Eclat/Sprint/Excel, the M100 Elan, the Series 1 Elise, the Series 2 Elise, the US Federal Elise and the Evora, a car they designed and developed for a mere 38 million dollars, a fraction of what most car manufacturers spend to develop a new vehicle. And, this doesn't include the work they did for other companies as Lotus Engineering.

These 6 gentlemen are Legends and we were sitting at the same table with them breaking bread, hearing their stories and soaking in their knowledge. It was humbling, amazing and a once in a lifetime event. And a more than fitting end to the GGLC's Spring UK Lotus Tour.

The Legends of Lotus Dinner!		Morris Dowton, Tony Shute & Roger Becker
Roger Becker telling us stories!		Dave Ellis with Tony Shute & Roger Becker
Mike Kimberley & Bob Dance!		The Legends of Lotus & GGLC together!

On a personal note the dinner was absolute icing on an incredible trip. So, sit with, to share stories and get to know these gentlemen on a personal level was like living a dream. These were the minds and hands that designed, built, marketed and poured their blood, sweat and love into every Lotus car built from the late 60's all the way through the Evora. They embody Lotus, they ARE Lotus.

In Closing
Between the Spring and Fall tours more 24 GGLCers got the FULL Lotus emersion experience. It's trips like this that cement the love of the marque and reinforces the notion that the cars are but an excuse, it's the people that make it worthwhile. Oh, and Richard's chiseled good looks!