Lotus Cars celebrates 60 years of trade in Hethel

5 hours ago

Mariam Issimdarand

Jenny Kirk,Hethel

News image — The Lotus Type 88 with its twin chassis is a Formula 1 car that never actually raced

Jenny Kirk/BBC Three black racing cars are end-to-end with some men looking at them. They have gleaming bodywork and Classix Team Lotus is displayed on the front car's back fin. — The Lotus Type 88 with its twin chassis is a Formula 1 car that never actually raced

Lotus Cars has opened the doors of its manufacturing site to the public as it celebrated 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 at Hethel, Norfolk, with all ticket proceeds going to the Priscilla Bacon Hospice Charity.

The sports car firm, which was founded in the 1950s and moved to Norfolk in the 1960s, provided James Bond's underwater car in The Spy Who Loved Me 1977 film.

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."

Jenny Kirk/BBC Clive Chapman wears a green jacket with Lotus branding in yellow. He stands in a marquee with cars behind him. A couple of men are there too. — Clive Chapman said it was "terrific" to see so many people at the factory site

The event's attendees included 250 Lotus car owners, as well as "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 turned out for the celebration event.

"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.

Jenny Kirk/BBC Classix racing car with large wide wheels and red body. Several cars line up along a pathway. Many people are examining the cars. — Classic racing cars from every decade were on show at the Hethel open day

When speaking about the company's move to producing 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 they hoped to raise £60,000 for the charity to reflect the company's 60 years in the car business.

He explained they had chosen to donate to the "really great bunch of people" that run Priscilla Bacon Lodge, as he had forged links with the charity after it helped care for his sister, Sarah.

Jenny Kirk/BBC Fearn Hambling wears a colourful scarf and stands in a large indoor arena with several red sports cars around and behind her. Members of the public are in the background also. — Fearn Hambling of Priscilla Bacon Hospice Charity says the money raised would allow the organisation to expand its community work

Fearn Hambling, the chief executive of Priscilla Bacon Hospice Charity, said the cash would serve as "a huge kick-start" to help the organisation expand its work to support more people to receive end-of-life care in their homes.

The charity currently supports about 350 people to do this, but Hambling said there were about 3,500 people receiving care at home and it wanted to do more to help communities deliver 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.