Origin of the LOTUS name

[LotusElan+217]

I have read many theories and suppositions of why Lotus became LOTUS in the first place, the most compelling is that Colin's wife Hazel was an admirer of flowers and in particular the Lotus blossom.

As I was browsing through the autojumble area of the Enfield Pageant of Motoring last weekend (25 May 2012) I was wearing my Club Lotus T shirt and a little old lady approached me and asked if I owned a Lotus, I replied that I did and had been a Lotus owner and enthusiast for the last 35 years.

She then asked if I knew how the LOTUS name originated, I gave her the above theory, she said not quite but close. She said that she was Hazel's best friend when Hazel first met Colin and that Colin used to borrow tools from her father to work on his Austin 7 in his lock up garage (whether he ever got the tools back is another matter!!).

The enigma of the LOTUS name is simple, during netball games Hazel's nickname was Lotus, quite why she didn't elaborate but I wish I had asked her now. Colin simply adopted the name from Hazel's nickname and the legend of LOTUS started.

When I bought my first Elan +2 in 1977 I had just got married and lived in a flat in Hornsey, after a couple of years I was going to move to a house in Cheshunt just round the corner from Delaware Road. I recognised that name and looked at the numerous Lotus books and mags I had accumulated and sure enough it was where the Lotus factory stood, I then learned that I had previously lived 200 yards from the original Lotus lock up garage behind the Railway Hotel in Hornsey.

Apparantly the little old lady, sadly I didn't get her name, is writing a book about her friendship with Hazel so look out for that being published.

David

[john.p.clegg]

David

Did she mention why the models all start with the letter E...?

John

[LotusElan+217]

John

It was only a five minute conversation so it didn't get around to that, I suspect that was Colin's decision but Hazel may have had a part to play in the naming of the individual models, perhaps it might be in her book.

I have read somewhere the reason for the E connection but can't for the life of me remember what it was, bound to be in print somewhere, I also recall asking the late Graham Arnold and he confirmed what I had read but that was a good 30 years ago, it may come back to me (or not).

David

[RogerFrench]

I have read that Colin liked the elision of "LotusEleven" and decided thereafter that "LotusElite" etc. sounded good for road cars.