The first words....

Hello again, just in time for your Christmas shopping (I hope) I am showing you some new Lotus miniatures.  And, just to show you something different, I have collected some images showing you drivers figures. Also some nice Lotus paintings from an artist I did not mention before in my newsletter. And of course Lotus related news that I have found for you during the past few weeks. Something you will appreciate is the ProActive magazine that is issued by Lotus Engineering, this e-zine always has interesting articles for us Lotus enthusiasts! Have a look on my website. Please enjoy reading this newsletter en do not hesitate to give me your comments. Have a Merry Christmas! Ronald Ringma

Lotus at 2013 Guangzhou motorshow

Lotus showcased the jewels from its product line-up at the 2013 Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition, further asserting its presence in the Chinese market as its popularity grows amongst China’s fashion-conscious elite.

Chinese trend-setters looking for the ultimate in exclusivity and style, are warmly invited to the Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition, where from 21 November, the iconic British sports car brand Lotus, affirms its commitment to the Chinese sports car fan. This follows the recent strategic acquisition by Lotus’ parent company DRB-HICOM, of the importer and distributor of Lotus cars in China.

Read more here

 

Formula One: Lotus F1 Team update

2013 USA Grand Prix

Romain Grosjean produced a superbly controlled drive to take second place in the United States Grand Prix from third on the
grid, whilst a difficult afternoon for Heikki Kovalainen saw the Finn drop to fifteenth from his eighth place grid slot.

A lightning start from Romain saw the Frenchman leapfrog Mark Webber for second place at the first corner, with Heikki
dropping to twelfth as the safety car emerged for an incident involving Adrian Sutil. Both drivers maintained position at
the restart; remaining as such until the first round of pit stops.

Read more here

2013 Brazilian Grand Prix

A disappointing end to the 2013 Formula 1 season for Lotus F1 Team yielded the Enstone squad’s first point-less weekend of the year at the final round in Brazil; Heikki Kovalainen dropping three positions from his eleventh placed grid slot whilst team-mate Romain Grosjean retired with an early engine failure having started sixth.

In stark contrast to the first two days of track action at Interlagos, dry conditions remained for the majority of the race; interrupted only by light showers during the closing stages. A tricky start for both drivers saw Romain drop two positions and Heikki four on the opening lap; completing the first tour in eighth and fifteenth respectively.

Read more here

Lotus F1 team driver line-up announcement

Lotus F1 Team has announced that Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado will join the Enstone squad alongside Frenchman Romain Grosjean for the 2014 Formula 1 season.

Pastor – a veteran of 58 Grand Prix starts, including pole position and victory at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix – has driven for Williams F1 Team since entering the sport at the start of the 2011 season.

Romain has raced for Lotus F1 Team since the start of the 2012 season, having previously driven for the Enstone outfit in its former guise of Renault F1 Team during the final seven races of the 2009 season, in addition to serving as third driver for the team in 2011.

Read more here.

 

Multi Million pound boost for Lotus

Lotus has secured a £10 million government grant which will see the firm create more than 300 new jobs.

The Regional Growth Fund (RGF) has awarded the automotive firm £10.44 million, which will be used for research and development of products, along with staff training. In addition Lotus is expected to create 313 new full time jobs to support production over the coming years.

Business Secretary, Vince Cable MP visited Lotus’ Norfolk headquarters, where he toured the engineering and factory facilities and formally announced the grant to Lotus management.

Read more here

 

Ulis Racing Legends

Just by coincidence I found the website of Uli Ehret, a German painter who has created quite a few Lotus paintings and, in my humble opinion, is doing a great job. Have a look and form your opinion. The nice thing is that one can obtain a framed print for a very reasonable price. Christmas is coming....

Uli Ehret was born 1965. He lives and works since in Weinheim, near Heidelberg in Southern Germany. The love to motorsports
was in his roots because of Hockenheim, which was near and easy to visit. His second hobby was painting - mostly in water colour.

From 1986 to 1990 he studied graphic design in Mannheim and leads his own advertising agency since today. But with the combination of his two hobbies: racing and water colour art, he began a second life in 2005: his first exhibition at the Le Mans 24 hours.

Today, Uli Ehret exhibits at the major European GT racing and historic F1 events like Goodwood or Le Mans and Silverstone Classic and paints for companies like AMG, Porsche, Shell, Aston Martin and Volkswagen.

My Christmas gift for you: if you order a print or painting from Uli, just mention "LDG" and you will get a 10% discount!

Look here for more information

 

Michele Conti - Lotus Mk XI model

At Christmas time it is nice to be able to share something special with you, like these 1:10th scale Lotus Mk XI models that are created by Mr. Michele Conti.

Michele Conti is a famous name in the world of fine scale miniature models, or better, exact scale replicas of these cars.

Michele Conti's creations, the majority of which were to 1/10th scale, are faithful recreations of the original cars, with both an uncannily realistic and artistic quality. Often when looking at a photograph of one of Mr. Conti's creations it is difficult to tell it from the full scale automobile.

So close to the real thing; a Conti model combines the perfection in the art of steel, aluminium and brass panel beating and welding in miniature, with the detailing in fine leather, wood, rubber and chrome work.. and so much harder than working on the real thing.

Michele Conti’s models cross the divide between models and sculpture, breathtakingly offering the client both at the same time and as a consequence raising the Conti model to the level of a work of art of fine museum quality and this is reflected in the value even the most basic Conti’s achieve at auction or private sale.
 

Lotus Mk XI 1956, 1:10th model created in 1958

His models appeared in the New York Museum of Modern Art, at Ferrari headquarters and General Motors, as well as featured in museum and show exhibits, car showrooms. The word is that Enzo Ferrari, a hard man to please, ordered a model and was so amazed at its perfection that he wrote personally to Conti to lavish praise. But, there is no evidance of this story.

It is said that Michele would spend up to a year painstakingly working to create one of his cars; it is assumed that he would be working on several cars in different stages during that time. It is hard to determine just how many of these miniature cars he produced during his 40 year plus career, but a good estimate would be around 250.

After Michele's death in 1996, his son Maurizio, having worked alongside his father for many years, officially carried on the Conti name. He is also a true master craftsman of the automobile in miniature.

Lotus Mk XI 1960, 1:10th model created in 1960

Images and information courtesy of Don Malatesta

 

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