Lotus

1948: Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (1928-1982) started racing the Austin 7 based 'Lotus Mk1'.
1952: 'Lotus Engineering' was founded by Colin Chapman.
1954: 'Team Lotus' created.
1957: Lotus Seven minimalist sports car. It was even available as a "kit car". (From 1973, Caterham Seven.)
1957: Lotus Elite (type 14) was shown at the Earls Court Motor Show.
1958: Team Lotus entered F1 with the Lotus 12.
1960 May 29: "Sir Stirling Moss drove his Lotus [18] for almost three hours of punishing racing, battling through the rain on the streets of Monte Carlo to win the Monaco Grand Prix. It was the first victory in a Formula 1 (F1) world championship race for Lotus." — Lotus.
1962-1973: Lotus Elan sports car (Lotus 26, 36 (1965), 45 (1966), 50 +2 (1967)).
Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) drove a Lotus Elan in the TV series 'The Avengers'.
1962: The type 25 F1 car featured a stressed monocoque chassis.
1963: Jim Clark won the F1 drivers' world championship driving a Lotus 25 (#R4), and again in 1965 driving a Lotus 33.
Also, Graham Hill 1968 (L.49), Jochen Rindt 1970 (L.72) posthumously, Emerson Fitipaldi 1972 (L.72), and Mario Andretti 1978 (L.78 & 79).
1965: Jim Clark won the Indianapolis 500 driving a Lotus 38.
1966: Lotus moved to a new factory at Hethel, Norfolk.
1966: The rear (mid) engined Lotus Europa (type 46) sports car.
1968: The wedge-shaped Lotus 56, powered by a rear-mounted Pratt and Whitney gas-turbine, and with four wheel drive (4WD), ran well at Indianapolis before retiring.
1969: Lotus dabbled with 4WD in F1, while 4WD was allowed, with the Lotus 63.
1974: Lotus Elite (type 75) 2+2 sports car.
1975: The Lotus Esprit (type 79) was officially launched at the Paris Motor Show. (Esprit Turbo 1980, Esprit Turbo SE 1989, 3.5 V8 1996, end 2003.)
1975: Lotus Eclat 2+2 (type 76) shown in London.
1981: In response to the FIA ban on moveable ground-effect "skirts", the Lotus 88 "twin chassis" F1 car featured a stiffly-mounted bodywork chassis doing only the aerodynamic ground-effect work, and a separate inner chassis carrying the driver and mechanicals. It practised at some races but was soon banned.
1982: Lotus Excel 2+2 (type 89) was launched, replacing the Eclat.
1982, December 16: Colin Chapman (54) died.
1983: "At the request of Lotus, Toyota acquired a 16.5% stake in Lotus, [later] 21.5%" — Lotus.
yellow
a 1984 Excel
 
1986: GM bought Lotus, selling it in 1993.
1989: The new front wheel drive Lotus Elan (type 100) was launched at the London Motorfair - interesting but not popular.
1993: "Bugatti International of Italy ... formed in 1990, bought Group Lotus from General Motors. This company had only the name in common with the original Bugatti company." — Lotus.
1994: Team Lotus last competed in F1 (but see 2010).
 
1995: The rear (mid) engined Lotus Elise was unveiled at the Frankfurt Auto Show.
1996: A V8 version of the Esprit.
1996: Lotus Cars was taken over by Proton (.my).
grey
↑ a 1999 Esprit
blue
↑ a 2001 Elise
2002: "Proton acquired the remaining shares from ACBN Holdings and so become 100% shareholders in Lotus Group International Ltd." — Lotus.
2008 July 22: Lotus Evora (project Eagle) prototype debut at the British Motor Show, London, 2+2, 1350kg, mid-engined, 3.5-litre V6 206kW@6400rpm, 342Nm@4700rpm, 6-speed manual, tyres 225/40 ZR18 (f) / 255/35 ZR19 (r), fuel consumption 7.8 l/100km, 205gm CO2/km. On sale May 2009, £50K (3/2010).
And the Evora S, 257kW, 400Nm, supercharged 3.5-litre DOHC V6, was unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show (£60.5K 11/2011).
2008: Lotus's 60th Anniversary, with an Open Day at the Hethel HQ on Sun., Sept. 14.
2010: The Lotus name, as 'Lotus F1 Team', returned to F1 racing with the T127, led by Tony Fernandes (.my) and backed by Proton. In September, Lotus bought 'Team Lotus Ventures Ltd' (under David Hunt since Lotus left F1 in 1994) in order to get back the name 'Team Lotus' for the 2011 season.
2010, October: At the Paris Motor Show, Lotus showed protypes of a new Elan for 2013, much revised Elise for 2015, new Elite 2+2, with a front-mid mounted 5-litre V8 and KERS, intended for 2014, reborn Esprit for 2013 with a supercharged V8, and new Eterne 4-door for 2016.
2011: The lawyers were happy when 'Team Lotus' (see 2010) and 'Group Lotus', the latter now attached to the 2010 Renault team, both competed in F1 and squabbled in the courts about naming rights. This was resolved late in 2011 when Team Lotus settled on Caterham F1 Team for 2012.
2012, January: DRB-HICOM (.my) bought Proton and thus Group Lotus.
2012, June 7: Lotus chief executive Dany Bahar was dismissed.
2017, September 29: "Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Geely Holding) completed the ... purchase [of] a majority stake in ... Lotus. Geely Holding now owns a majority stake of 51% in Lotus Advance Technologies Sdn Bhd (Lotus) with a minority 49% being held by Etika Automotive (Etika), a Malaysian automotive group." - Lotus.
2019, July 16: Lotus revealed details of the electric Evija (the type 130), claiming 1470kW (2000ps, 1972bhp), 70kWh, one electric motor per wheel, 1680kg, 200+mph, and 400 km (250 mile) range, with production to start in 2020.
2021, July 7: Lotus showed its new type 131, the Emira, mid-engined 3.5 L supercharged V6, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (FoS). The Emira will be Lotus's last car to be powered by an ICE. 'First edition' from £75,995 (.uk), €95,995 (.de). "An entry level Emira – priced from £59,995 – will be available during 2023" — L[14/10/'21].
2022, March 16: The 'First edition' 4-cylinder Emira can be order from 8 April, 8-speed DCT, £71,995. An entry-level 4-cyl will cost £59,995. — L [16/3/'22].
2023, September 7: "Emeya is the new electric grand tourer (GT) from Lotus ... Production is slated to begin in 2024. ... four-door ..." — Lotus.