THE LOTUS POSITION

NO TEAM TRANSFORMED FORMULA 1 MORE THAN LOTUS.

- TRAVIS OKULSKI

LOTUS HASN'T COMPETED in Formula 1 since 1994, yet Colin Chapman's team sits fifth in all-time F1 constructors' championships and sixth in all-time wins. But the company's F1 cars didn't merely win; they transformed the sport. The team's innovative engineering and relentless push past convention cemented Lotus's legacy. One glance down a row of Hethel's best makes their contributions to the sport clear.

Classic Team Lotus, owned and run by Colin's son, Clive, serves as the brand's unofficial museum and archive. It's now housed in a thoroughly modern facility, having relocated from a bunker-like building, but the Lotus spirit is unchanged. The vehicles aren't on display, per se. The storage area is more a parking garage than a museum, with every car with a pan underneath, keeping oil off the concrete. And there's a revolutionary F1 car in every corner.