[banditorfv]

I agree. Looks hideous.


The Lotus name would be nowhere without Fernandes' team right now.

I think it has gotten a little juice from Tesla.
Other than that crumb I'm in total agreement.

[OrefZorremn]

When I first saw the livery, I was watching hard to be sure that this isn't green instead of black. In all other motorsport series Group Lotus has recently entered, they have used their own "classical" green and yellow. But now...

Perhaps Fernandes should now announce that despite all actually his team will continue using the same colours they had this season - wonder, how would Bahar react.

Two Lotuses on the grid next year would be unusual, but then again we also have two Red Bull teams with only slightly different liveries, so perhaps we can get used to it...

[Joircarm]

I am so confused by all the variants of Lotus this and Lotus that. But I admit I haven't kept close track of it either. Can someone kindly point me to a flowchart, family tree or time line of the various incarnations including the racing as well as commercial/passenger car variants of the name since Colin started it up?

Gary

[tipokotap]

I am so confused by all the variants of Lotus this and Lotus that. But I admit I haven't kept close track of it either. Can someone kindly point me to a flowchart, family tree or time line of the various incarnations including the racing as well as commercial/passenger car variants of the name since Colin started it up?

Gary

You are not the only one!

But I think probably the most important fact in all this is that Lotus cars was sold to GM (I think) when Team Lotus was still very much alive and kicking. In my eyes that confirms that David Hunt, as the owner of Team Lotus, has every right to sell the rights to Tony F.

[Narkeere]

But that's the odd thing about all of this...it's only the right to use a name it doesn't make automatically it "Lotus" in any way shape or form as Fernandes and co seem to think. They haven't bought Lotus F1 team they've been allowed to use a name, no more, no less.

So to then say the Lotus company shouldn't use the name of their company to now compete in F1 is not only dumb it's also counterproductive. Even more so with all the name calling and childishness presented by Mike Gascoyne via Twitter thinking they somehow have a moral high ground in all of this - no one is coming out of this with any credit whatsoever - on either side.

I find the Renault-Lotus tie up interesting esp with the stake Lotus has now bought in the F1 team but that's getting lost in all of this.

[Belindanan]

I don't think I've ever seen a prospective F1 entrant (if you can call group lotus that) act so ridiculously. Clearly, Dany Bahr and his motly crew have been as green as Lotus Racing's cars with envy over the last year, and now they want a slice of the 'Lotus In F1' pie. Copying Team Lotus' future livery really doesn't help either. Quite frankly It all looks pathetic.

One of the two parties will fail, and I can imagine Group Lotus ending up with egg on their face. Team Lotus should stick with their current livery, and not sink to group lotus' levels. I still think Team Lotus will be the moral victors however it ends up.

[mashabox]

The Renault's livery does look good though the red end plates need to be scrapped. I think they should have gone for an all yellow livery to mimic the Camel livery Lotus had, it would also more suit a car that is still a Renault.
I hope Team Lotus sticks to its guns and goes with the black and gold livery.

[DialOne]

Hmph, am pretty annoyed about this. I was actually becoming a bit of a 1Malaysia fan, but won't losing the Lotus name seriously damage their sponsorship chances? And aren't the actual Lotus group still running at a loss? I hope that Renault aren't putting too much reliance on them!

Still, we now have another court case to keep us all entertained in the off-season...

[Buildityrit]

Two companies arguing over the rights to a name neither have any right to be associated with as far as I am concerned. I've enjoyed the name Lotus coming back but I don't link it with Lotus in its original form. We saw this season Ferrari getting criticized for using its barcode as a subliminal message to promote tobacco and now we have two teams calling themselves Lotus and mimicking the John Player Special brand?? If they are allowed to use these liveries, what sort of message does that send out??

[onelovemp]

Just to remind everyone: the name of the car unveiled today is Renault, not Lotus Renault, according to the current official FIA entry list. Calling them Lotus Renault would be the equivalent of calling Jenson Button's car a Vodafone McLaren. There is only one Lotus Renault, entered by Team Lotus. Of course, this all could change but that is the situation today.

Umm, it is a Vodafone McLaren. It's a Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes to be precise.

So calling the Renault a Lotus Renault is appropriate when referring to the full name of the team. Lotus are sponsoring Renault and the sponsor name comes first. It used to be ING Renault for example.

So even though there will be a car called a Renault and a car called a Lotus-Renault there will team called Lotus Renault and another team called (insert sponsor here) Lotus-Renault.

Clear as mud really.

[Fertassa]

Umm, it is a Vodafone McLaren. It's a Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes to be precise.

So calling the Renault a Lotus Renault is appropriate when referring to the full name of the team. Lotus are sponsoring Renault and the sponsor name comes first. It used to be ING Renault for example.

So even though there will be a car called a Renault and a car called a Lotus-Renault there will team called Lotus Renault and another team called (insert sponsor here) Lotus-Renault.

Clear as mud really.

The point being that no one refers to the sponsor of the team, just the team name. Fernandes' Team Lotus seems to have the biggest claim to the name, and the whole thing is just making Proton look increasingly stupid.

[mashabox]

Of course in the Constructors' Championship there would only be just one Lotus listed, Fernandez's one.

[Raj_Copi_Jin]

I'm not sure why everyone is up in arms about this.

Lotus Renault GP are surely the more legitimate team due to the fact that they are partly owned by Lotus Cars (Proton) and Genii, where as Team Lotus just bought the rights to use the name from David Hunt who had bought the rights in the 90's.

To me the new Lotus Renault is the true Lotus team.

[Apparpsmose]

I'm not sure why everyone is up in arms about this.

Lotus Renault GP are surely the more legitimate team due to the fact that they are partly owned by Lotus Cars (Proton) and Genii, where as Team Lotus just bought the rights to use the name from David Hunt who had bought the rights in the 90's.

To me the new Lotus Renault is the true Lotus team.

how can that be so when Lotus Cars was also bought from Hunt ?

[Raj_Copi_Jin]

how can that be so when Lotus Cars was also bought from Hunt ?

It was?

I thought they bought Lotus Cars from [strike]GM[/strike] Bugatti, however Proton did give approval for the Lotus name to be used which they have now withdrawn.

[tipokotap]

It was?

I thought they bought Lotus Cars from [strike]GM[/strike] Bugatti, however Proton did give approval for the Lotus name to be used which they have now withdrawn.

Yes you are correct. GM bought Lotus cars some time after Chapmans death and sold it too Bugatti who promptly went bankrupt. Proton then stepped in.

Team Lotus was bought by David hunt at the back end of '94 before appearing on the Pacific's in '95

[ebonytipchik]

I love the Lotus-Renault livery, but i still think they are a bunch of cocks.

What was wrong with Renault as a brand? Arguably a better one given they won titles only 4 years ago, and races as recently as 2008...

[kennyguitar]

What was wrong with Renault as a brand? nothing, except that Renault no longer OWNS the Enstone based racing team. Genii Captal and Lotus Cars now owns the Enstone team, which will continue to be powered by what are essentially customer Renault Engines, as the original Lotus team also did for several years, It is now Lotus, not Renault. Renault no longer owns a F1 racing team. They could just as well call the team Toleman or Benetton, and in reality, could be powered by Ferrari or Mercedes or Cosworth engines in the future.

I still don't feel The IP Fernandes owns is worth a snip. Group Lotus has been participating via sponsorship in Indycar this past season as Team Lotus, in the same Team Lotus BRG and yellow as Fernandes F1 team did and will be (if all goes as planned) participating as a manufacturer in 2012.They also presented cars in black and gold and all yellow liveries similar to other former lotus F1 team colors. Fernandes has a nice race team that will be buying the same Renault customer racing engines.

The difference between the two is one group actually owns a car company called LOTUS, and the other owns a racing team officially known to the FIA and F1 as "Lotus Racing".

Proton/Group lotus are behaving like a bunch of ninnies, but IMHO, they should have the right to race under their company name as a true automobile manufacturer.

[Apparpsmose]

http://paultan.org/2010/12/09/team-l...ult-formation/
1/2 of what you read is bull and the other 1/2 is s**t
Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar isn’t wishing for his opponents to fade away. He told BBC Radio Norfolk: “Not at all (a problem) – for me, four (cars on the grid) are better than two. The controversy, that is something that has mainly been pushed up by media I would say, has been dealt with directly by our shareholders in Malaysia and with the owners of the 1Malaysia Racing Team and doesn’t really touch us.
“However, my personal opinion is that four Lotus brands out there is better than two. I have nothing against that.”

[enteltcheft]

Lotus Renault GP are surely the more legitimate team due to the fact that they are partly owned by Lotus Cars (Proton) and Genii, where as Team Lotus just bought the rights to use the name from David Hunt who had bought the rights in the 90's.

Colin Chapman ran Lotus Cars and Team Lotus seperately but they were under the umbrella of a company he owned.

Team Lotus shut its doors in 1994 but David Hunt became the owner of what was left, which essentially was debt and a name.

Lotus Cars has been owned by a number of different companies.

All that remains of the team that Chapman started is the name. There is no team. What the two parties are arguing about is a brand not an F1 racing team.