Lotus Cars celebrates 60 years of trade in Hethel
The sports car maker marks its close ties with the village and raises money for a hospice charity.
Lotus Cars marks 60 years of trading in Hethel
The Lotus Type 88, with its twin chassis, is a Formula 1 car that never actually raced
Lotus Cars opened its manufacturing site to the public as it marked 60 years of the brand being based in a village.
The company said about 1,600 people attended its event on Saturday at its site in Hethel, Norfolk, with all ticket proceeds going to the Priscilla Bacon Hospice Charity.
The sports car company, founded in the 1950s and moved to Norfolk in the 1960s, supplied James Bond’s underwater car in the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me.
Clive Chapman, whose father Colin Chapman founded Lotus, said: "To open up the factory site, which really is a centre of modern engineering excellence to so many people today, is just terrific."
He added: "The guys at Classic Team Lotus have prepared 16, Formula 1 cars. As you can imagine, that is a bit of a challenge."
Clive Chapman said it was "terrific" to see so many people at the factory site
Among those at the event were 250 Lotus car owners, along with "a lot of people from Norfolk, which is exactly what we were aiming for", Champman said.
"Together they just seem to like the idea of looking around the production line, looking at the F1 cars, there's a lovely restaurant and all these things and lots of displays here and there," said Chapman.
Many former Hethel employees also came along for the celebration.
"Lotus and Hethel really is a global brand and really appreciated for innovation, teamwork, getting the job done," said Chapman.
"I think that's a really good Norfolk Lotus characteristic and it really is in strong evidence here today," he added.
Classic racing cars from every decade were on display at the Hethel open day
Speaking about the company’s shift to electric vehicles, Champman said: "Lots of people say, 'oh, you know, if it's got a battery engine, it's not a Lotus'.
"Well, I disagree with that completely. And I'm just delighted that Lotus really is at the forefront, because traditionally that's what Lotus always has been, and it still is today."
Chapman added that they hoped to raise £60,000 for the charity to match the company’s 60 years in the car business.
He said they had chosen to support the "really great bunch of people" who run Priscilla Bacon Lodge, after he developed links with the charity when it helped care for his sister, Sarah.
Fearn Hambling of Priscilla Bacon Hospice Charity says the money raised would allow the organisation to expand its community work
Fearn Hambling, chief executive of Priscilla Bacon Hospice Charity, said the money would be "a huge kick-start" to help the organisation grow its work supporting more people to receive end-of-life care in their homes.
The charity currently supports about 350 people in this way, but Hambling said around 3,500 people were receiving care at home and it wanted to do more to help communities provide this service.
"It's just about supporting people more at home, avoiding hospital admissions, supporting not just the person in palliative care, but also their families and loved ones," said Hambling.
The Mark VI is Lotus’ founder Colin Chapman’s first production car