ORIGIN OF THE NAME "LOTUS" Part II
Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 3:27 pm
Back in July 1999 the following exchange took place on the forum and I fancied bumping it back to 2011. Unfortunately there is no 'Reply' available at the end of the listing, so you can either read it in full here, elan-archive-f16/origin-the-name-lotus-t2459.html or read by precis below:
"I seem to remember seeing a film about Chapman which proposed that the name came from Lotus, a ladies shoes manufacturing company, which Hazel happened to take an interest in when out window shopping. It was suggested that as the name was not original, and in any case associated with ladies shoes, Chapman was reluctant to explain the origin. How did Lotus software get the name subsequently ?
Sean Murray
Wexford
A year ago Rod and I corresponded on the origin of the name "Lotus" -- a topic that apparently recurs at least once a year. I hope that means there are always new enthusiasts in the fold. Anyway, my small contribution to the long list of theories follows:
I was reading my first issues of Historic Lotus Register (definitely wonderful reading) and learn that, on the dashboard of a Lotus VI (Jon Derisley's 35-SNK 6, to be exact) in 1954, a plaque read:
"Time driveth onwards fast."
The quotation of course is from Tennyson in his work "The Lotus Eaters." The source of the Lotus name? Perhaps,. perhaps not. But certainly a more romantic explanation than brands of shoes or bicycles.
Andres
Manila
Lotus 23 and 45
Ah yes, Andres, I'd much rather believe this one (but can't help thinking that, had it been true, it wouldn't have remained so mysterious all these years). Yes, I choose to believe it. In a couple of decades, it will be the only plausible version left.
Rod
Chapman himself wrote in 1954:
The first car was basically an Austin 7 chassis and engine, it was called a Lotus too but I am not going to tell you why. I have been asked many times the origin of the name of my cars but that cannot be divulged for several years. It is one of those things, rather like the chap who will never tell you why his friends call him "Stinker".
This is from a 4 part article entitled "The Lotus story", published in the magazine Motor Racing from Nov 1954 to Feb 1955.
OK, so we know from this that it's something embarrassing to Chapman, but not so bad that he was never going to reveal it. One possibility is the theory that I don't think made the Lotus FAQ, and that is that one of Chunky's favourite phrases was "Us lot", and that this was reversed to make the name of the car.
One day maybe someone will fill Hazel with gin and find out.....
Mike
Lotus were written up a lot in the 50s motoring/racing magazines and only the long features have made it to Brooklands reprints series. I would guess it had a lot to do with most motoring journalists of the time having an engineering background and Chapman certainly supplied them with things to write about. One autojumble find had a photo and mini-article about a diff oil cooler fitted to UPE 6 (Chapman's IX). Apparently it came off a few weeks later because it didn't work. (I'd happily scan what I have, but I don't have a scanner and we just moved, so the magazines are *somewhere*.)
Also, Chapman's genius must have been very attractive to an engineering oriented journalist. I owned a VI for a few years and never ceased to be amazed at how sophisticated the result was from its humble origins, especially when we pulled up to a Ford Pop at a stop light. No comparison!
With his kind of mind at work, who could have resisted writing about the cars?
Which reminds me of an anecdote a former 50s racer told me. Staring at the VI he said, 'Colin was always lying on the grass in that checked shirt of his with his head propped on one hand, and you'd say 'What are you doing?' and he would reply, 'Oh...thinking..."
John
Good engineers do that. That's what I tell my wife I'm doing when my she asks me to take out the garbage. There is no doubt that Chapman was an engineer's engineer, which answers a lot of questions about his personality quirks.
Paul
Yes, absolutely. I hope there is always room in the world for engineers like that. These days, there seem to be different priorities focused on near term quick results at the expense of long-term excellence. I'm sure everyone knows what I mean.
Chapman was a rare bird and we can all feel lucky to be able to drive something he had a hand in.
Rod
Absolutely!
One wonders if he would still be involved in F1, were he alive. At the time of his death he was making noises about how it had become too bureaucratic and rule oriented..."
So care to add your theory? Heard in a pub, read in a club newsletter, overhead at Donington, whatever. I especially like the Tennyson quote theory.
Tim
"I seem to remember seeing a film about Chapman which proposed that the name came from Lotus, a ladies shoes manufacturing company, which Hazel happened to take an interest in when out window shopping. It was suggested that as the name was not original, and in any case associated with ladies shoes, Chapman was reluctant to explain the origin. How did Lotus software get the name subsequently ?
Sean Murray
Wexford
A year ago Rod and I corresponded on the origin of the name "Lotus" -- a topic that apparently recurs at least once a year. I hope that means there are always new enthusiasts in the fold. Anyway, my small contribution to the long list of theories follows:
I was reading my first issues of Historic Lotus Register (definitely wonderful reading) and learn that, on the dashboard of a Lotus VI (Jon Derisley's 35-SNK 6, to be exact) in 1954, a plaque read:
"Time driveth onwards fast."
The quotation of course is from Tennyson in his work "The Lotus Eaters." The source of the Lotus name? Perhaps,. perhaps not. But certainly a more romantic explanation than brands of shoes or bicycles.
Andres
Manila
Lotus 23 and 45
Ah yes, Andres, I'd much rather believe this one (but can't help thinking that, had it been true, it wouldn't have remained so mysterious all these years). Yes, I choose to believe it. In a couple of decades, it will be the only plausible version left.
Rod
Chapman himself wrote in 1954:
The first car was basically an Austin 7 chassis and engine, it was called a Lotus too but I am not going to tell you why. I have been asked many times the origin of the name of my cars but that cannot be divulged for several years. It is one of those things, rather like the chap who will never tell you why his friends call him "Stinker".
This is from a 4 part article entitled "The Lotus story", published in the magazine Motor Racing from Nov 1954 to Feb 1955.
OK, so we know from this that it's something embarrassing to Chapman, but not so bad that he was never going to reveal it. One possibility is the theory that I don't think made the Lotus FAQ, and that is that one of Chunky's favourite phrases was "Us lot", and that this was reversed to make the name of the car.
One day maybe someone will fill Hazel with gin and find out.....
Mike
Lotus were written up a lot in the 50s motoring/racing magazines and only the long features have made it to Brooklands reprints series. I would guess it had a lot to do with most motoring journalists of the time having an engineering background and Chapman certainly supplied them with things to write about. One autojumble find had a photo and mini-article about a diff oil cooler fitted to UPE 6 (Chapman's IX). Apparently it came off a few weeks later because it didn't work. (I'd happily scan what I have, but I don't have a scanner and we just moved, so the magazines are *somewhere*.)
Also, Chapman's genius must have been very attractive to an engineering oriented journalist. I owned a VI for a few years and never ceased to be amazed at how sophisticated the result was from its humble origins, especially when we pulled up to a Ford Pop at a stop light. No comparison!
With his kind of mind at work, who could have resisted writing about the cars?
Which reminds me of an anecdote a former 50s racer told me. Staring at the VI he said, 'Colin was always lying on the grass in that checked shirt of his with his head propped on one hand, and you'd say 'What are you doing?' and he would reply, 'Oh...thinking..."
John
Good engineers do that. That's what I tell my wife I'm doing when my she asks me to take out the garbage. There is no doubt that Chapman was an engineer's engineer, which answers a lot of questions about his personality quirks.
Paul
Yes, absolutely. I hope there is always room in the world for engineers like that. These days, there seem to be different priorities focused on near term quick results at the expense of long-term excellence. I'm sure everyone knows what I mean.
Chapman was a rare bird and we can all feel lucky to be able to drive something he had a hand in.
Rod
Absolutely!
One wonders if he would still be involved in F1, were he alive. At the time of his death he was making noises about how it had become too bureaucratic and rule oriented..."
So care to add your theory? Heard in a pub, read in a club newsletter, overhead at Donington, whatever. I especially like the Tennyson quote theory.
Tim