Oliver Winterbottom – August Bulletin

BOOK BULLETIN AUGUST 2019

2 August  I agree to give Club Lotus Avon a talk on 7 April 2020. Now I have to work on
the subject, as this will be my third or fourth evening with them. “People Wot I Knew” is the theme I am researching, including Sir William Lyons of Jaguar and Colin Chapman of Lotus.

5 August  A copy of Lotus reMarque, the magazine for the Lotus Ltd Club in the USA, arrives through my letterbox. Kindly sent by William Taylor (Coterie Press) it features a superb article by Tom Smith, the owner of the Lotus M90 / X100 prototype. It describes the restoration of this unique vehicle and generously mentions my book. I particularly liked the comments on the exterior mirrors which are totally realistic, although made of wood, as we could not tool up for just one car! Supported by lavish photographs, Tom has done it and me proud - thank you Tom.

The opening page of the reMarque article.

6 August  Amazon UK appear to have sold two more books recently. Every one counts!

7 August  This is the big day! I leave Wymondham to drive to Kent, to see the JCL Mamba boat I designed in 1976. This visit was postponed from 31 July and I reached the meeting place, a few minutes early, for our 11:30 rendezvous. Once parked by the railway station, I managed to fail to download my text messages, so, as there was no Kevin off the train, I called him. He was so apologetic. Upon reaching Victoria Station in London to travel to meet me, a fire at the station had closed it. He was so apologetic but it was outside his control. I returned to Norfolk in time for a late lunch. We will try and arrange attempt Number 3.

8 August  We arrange a new date to go and see the Mamba boat I designed in 1976. Third time lucky, hopefully, on 22 August!

9 August  I am absolutely amazed to read that the Assistant Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police collided with an oncoming car because she had strayed to the wrong side of the road when trying to find the Bluetooth telephone control in her car. Hardly hands-free, then. She was awarded £1,460 in fines and costs, and had seven points added to her licence. When will people understand that mobile phones are not compatible with driving. Why not telephone BEFORE driving off? Yes, I know I am old fashioned!

13 August  Following my supplying details of the talk I will give to the Bourne Motor Racing Club, I now have the overnight accommodation reserved at the Angel. Bourne, Lincolnshire has family connections through my mother's family and was the home of a distant cousin, Raymond Mays, who was behind the ERA and BRM racing cars. The talk is to be presented on Thursday 10 October.

15 August  Amazon UK appear to have run out of stock with more due in 3 or 4 days. That's good news for me.

17 August  I visit Malcolm Ricketts' race workshop open day annual charity barbecue at Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire. Malcolm has been a long time racing driver of Lotus cars. After a good drive down from Norfolk, I arrive at 11:30. There are a large number of interesting cars, with at least eight 1970s Lotus Elite type. Malcolm was very complimentary on my designs and was tireless  in organising the event. A superbly restored Lotus 38 race car dominated the cars on show, and after lunch was started up after Malcolm had received the OK from the local residents.

The Lotus 38 was the first rear-engined car to win the Indianapolis 500, in 1965, driven by Jim Clark. It was run by Lotus at Indianapolis from 1965 to 1967; a total of 8 were built, most for use by Lotus, but several were sold for use by other drivers. I met a number of people including Mike Hamlin, onetime pilot of the Lotus aircraft, Richard Woollaston, champion of the Lotus Elite, and various other interesting people. There was just about every Lotus road car-type represented and all done as
a sociable event. Hopefully the tickets raised plenty of charity money from this delightful event.

 General view of the Malcolm Ricketts' event, there were many more Lotus of all types around the venue.

22 August  I drive down to Kent to be reunited with a project I last saw in January 1977. The JCL Mamba was a design I did in 1976. I had never seen a production boat, as I left the company after the prototype was built. I'd been contacted by Kevin, the current owner, on 27 June and this visit is the third attempt to meet up, following various postponements. The vessel has been neglected for about 15 years but in general looks better than one would have expected. Kevin and I discussed what he would like to do and I hope I gave him some tips on what could, or could not, be technically feasible. This design was about half the weight of similar sized boats, achieved by utilising the furniture and bulkheads as a unitary structure. The two diesel engines are totally corroded and the cost of restoring them is prohibitive.

Myself with the Mamba!

We discussed various opportunities to get her back in the water and I am currently thinking these through! We repaired to good local pub and had a pleasant lunch before I volunteered to join the massive queue for the privilege of using the Dartford River Crossing and the return home. Interestingly, Kevin has yet to buy my book – but plans to do so immediately!

 Mamba needs a bit of a clean after 15 years of neglect.

25 August  A friend brings a copy of my book to the pub. Expecting a signature request I find its a Norfolk Library copy. I am very grateful the library holds a copy. We discussed various aspects of my story in it.

26 August  I am driving on the B1108 Norwich to Watton Road and when I reach Kimberley I find the railway crossing gates closed. Very slowly, the huge steam locomotive Union of South Africa crosses hauling a Mid Norfolk Railway train. One of six surviving Gresley A4 engines built in 1937; I was amazed and excited by this huge piece of superb engineering.

27 August  I am delighted that Club Lotus and the Lotus Elite/Eclat/Excel Clubs post information on the Hinckley Classic Car Show, on 15 September, to their websites. It is possibly the biggest town centre show in the country. I will attend and have copies of my book available.

Oliver Winterbottom – May Bulletin

1 May I arrive at PJS Sports Cars workshops near Burton upon Trent, at 2:30pm. I get the chance to inspect the impressive photo album recording many of their high quality Lotus restorations. After being shown around the impressive business and meeting the employees, I go down to Tatenhill Village Hall. Paul Shipley, the Lotus dealer principal is busy preparing for the evening. He has brought in Edd Stanton of Scorpion Event Solutions to set up fully professional audio-visual equipment for the evening. He soon loads my memory stick of slides for my talk. PJS have set up an interesting display of Lotus outside, so with everything running smoothly, I drive into Burton and check-in to the Premier Inn. I then return to await the start of the evening. 

As 7:00pm approaches, the car park is filling with Lotuses and the Hall is filling up. Everyone has a seat at a table laden with sandwiches and snacks. I believe at least three or four attendees are Lotus and TVR owners. A superb red Elite was an early arrival and a very nice TVR was parked nearby.  

I was provided with a table, chair and microphone to give my talk. Edd projected the slides on a huge screen, and I think it went well! A question and answer session brought some interesting questions – I cannot speak for the answers! (I am the little white head sticking up on the left of the screen). 

I then went to sign copies of my book. An amazing 17 or so were bought on the night and at least 4 beforehand. There was plenty of chat and it was a really superb event. The proceeds of the evening £262.50 went to the Midlands Air Ambulance, a very worthy cause.

  Paul Shipley and PJS Sports Cars did me proud - thank you Paul and your team very much.

3 May I arrive at Donington race circuit around 9:45am, for the first day of the three-day HSCC Historic race meeting. Richard Woollaston of the Lotus Elite/Eclat/Excel Club has kindly arranged a pass that allows me to park closely to the classic car exhibits. Friday is practicing and qualifying for the weekend racing. The crowd and classic vehicles are in short supply as it is a working day. There are four Lotuses displayed which outnumbered many clubs who had zero or a couple of cars. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the release of the Lotus Elite, and Richard kindly gave me a commemorative mug. 

As lunchtime approached Richard invited me to accompany him on a test lap of the track. It had been a long time since I sat in a Lotus Elite, and it was a first for me to see Donington from the track. The weather was a little uncooperative, as the photograph below may show! 

In the afternoon, various interesting people called by, and I supplied a couple of books which was a bonus! I also left some bookmarks for the weekend.

The organisers had suggested they may interview me but no one came by the time I departed. Never mind.

I understand that over the weekend there were not as many classic cars on display as normally expected. As it hailed and rained with a freezing wind, sadly I guess that many stayed at home.

In the afternoon, various interesting people called by and I supplied a couple of books, which was a bonus! Here, I am 'caught' by a paparazzi camera man (thank you Roger Kemp of the Jaguar Drivers Club) talking with two nice ladies from Stone, Staffordshire and Ian Hissey to owner of the pre -production Lotus Eclat on display.

5 May Amazon UK who had run out of stock of my book at the beginning of the month now have three available. By 8 May their stock is up to five available.

7 May I receive for approval (given) the article on Colin Chapman and his weight saving views written for a new 'in house' magazine titled Us Lot for Lotus staff. I am delighted that my book gets a mention!I quote: "I retired in 2009 and recently put together a talk entitled Lotus DNA – Views on Colin Chapman' Philosophies to promote my book A Life in Car Design; Jaguar, Lotus, TVR (Veloce Publishing)."

10 May Embarrassingly, I have to advise various folk including Steve Cropley Editor-in-Chief, Autocar that the 40th anniversary of the announcement of the Lotus Type 75 Elite is 15th May, and not the 17th. This is due to old age and the worn condition of my copy of the contemporary local newspaper.

13 May Amazon UK appear to have sold another book since 8 May, so now they have four in stock.

14 May Club Lotus ask if they can publish my story on the first three days in May. The talk and book signing at Tatenhill Village Hall for PJS Sports Cars, and the Historic meeting at Donington Park with the Lotus Elite Eclat Excel Club. I am delighted to approve for the July edition of Club Lotus News

15 May 45th Anniversary of the announcement of the Lotus Elite. Richard Woollaston circulates a birthday card.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOTUS ELITE

Meanwhile I pose for a photograph with my sisters “Mini” asking “Which is the Mini?” 

I think it is the one on the right!

16 May I visit the RAF Museum at Cosford near Wolverhampton, for the Annual Jaguar Ex-Apprentices lunch. There were about 45 of us ranging from about 70 years of age upwards! The museum is definitely recommended as it has a large number of unique experimental aircraft as well as superb examples of the more common varieties. I distributed a number of the book marks.

18 May I assist Mike Kimberley with some Lotus event dates for a magazine article about the Lotus activities in the 1970s. It gets harder to remember all the correct dates and details as time goes by.

26 May I return from a few days with the family to find an email from ERA driver Paddins Dowling with a picture of the pair of us at Silverstone  13 April when he bought a copy of my book.  

26 May I receive a forwarded letter from Veloce sent by a past colleague. Doug Mellor was a Senior Buyer at Lotus 1982-84 and was a great help on the M90 prototype build project. He related a particularly over ambitious day,  when we thought we could visit Llanelli in Wales from Norwich and return after doing business all in one day – we couldn’t! I was delighted he said he had enjoyed my book so much. Thanks, Douglas.

27 May Delighted to meet another happy reader of my book in the Barnham Broom Bell. It's good to hear that people enjoy reading it.

31 May Amazon UK now have 8 books in stock, this is four more than on May 13. Either they have sold a lot or they are buying a lot - I hope it is selling them in vast quantities and then restocking.

Oliver Winterbottom Monthly Bulletin - April 2019

1 April I write up description of the contents of my book for the Amazon Author Central Team in the USA. It explains the 'inside the business' nature of the story, and the changes from design with pencil and paper to design with computer.

2 April Tom Smith, who owns the Lotus M90 / X100 prototype in Texas, has requested permission to write an article for the USA Lotus Ltd Club magazine. I am happy to permit it! It may assist the publicity for the book.

3 April I send a copy of my book contents description for Amazon USA to Paul Shipley. He says he will use it in the next advertising for the May 1st event near Burton-upon-Trent.

4 April I complete the presentation for the PJS Sports evening on May 1st.

8 April I finally manage to access the PJS Sports Cars website. It doesn’t like Apple computers! The event is as shown below:

PJS Sports Cars Presents - An Evening with Oliver Winterbottom

A talk, questions and answers session and book signing by Lotus, Jaguar and TVR designer Oliver Winterbottom.

Ticket price (£10) includes tea, coffee and sandwiches. 

Ticket profits go to the Midlands Air Ambulance.

Book available on the night at £37.50 or in advance at £35.00 (see ticket options)

1 May, 19:00 – 22:00

Tatenhill Village Hall, Main St, Tatenhill, Burton-on-Trent DE13 9SD, UK

9 April Receive a message from Richard Woollaston, who is organising the Lotus Elite/Eclat/Excel Club display at the Donington Historic race meeting, to say the organisers are arranging for me to drive to the display. I plan to attend on Friday 3 May. In return, I agree to be interviewed by the commentator which could help publicise the book. 

Lotus Excel website states: Update – Oliver Winterbottom will be joining us at Donington on Friday 3 May, so a good opportunity to meet him and talk about the cars if you haven't done so already!

It looks like he'll also be giving an interview at the event.

Cheers, Richard.

                45 years since the launch of the Lotus Elite

10 April I circulate comments on an Autocar Opinion article, criticising the low profile tyres and dreadful ride of many current cars. My talk on The Lotus DNA had 2 slides explaining the traditional Lotus approach which gave a suburb ride as well as premier handling.

I am asked if I would give a talk to Club Lotus Cambridge which I would be happy to do. I sent my “no go” diary dates and await their response.

11 April  I get a message to say that Venisse Thibault is no longer involved with Club Lotus France. He allowed an English Lotus Excel to park on the club display at Dijon Prenois historic races. I signed a copy of my book for him two years ago. I am attempting to find a new contact. I succeed! Serge Audigier to be contacted by Tony Poll who would like to park his Excel with them.

13 April Arrive at Silverstone for the VSCC Historic races and have to talk my way into parking inside the circuit. I meet up with Paddins Dowling who runs the 1935 ERA R10B (ERA racing cars were created by my cousin, Raymond Mays.) Paddins lives in the USA but keeps the car in Britain. He kindly purchased a book, which I happily signed. He said he planned to read it on the flight home.

15 April I travel up to Yorkshire to visit a recently widowed friend. I was delighted to sign her copy of my book.

18 April I am contacted by Lotus Cars' PR Dept asking if I would be prepared to be interviewed for their new in-house magazine for their staff. Cleverly titled Us Lot (I am sure you can work that out) I am delighted to co-operate. I await a suitable diary date.

Diary date is in; just two hours later! A telephone interview with George Chapman, a London journalist. He will write up on the back page. I discuss my talk, entitled Lotus DNA: Some Views on Colin Chapman’s Philosophies. George was most interested in the comment that Colin was more interested in design efficiency than weight. He did however once utter “simplicate*, and add lightness.” I had wondered what simplicate meant for many years, so had looked it up. It was first used by W. S. Stout, an American who designed a car and an aircraft.
*Simplicate: to make something simpler through a process that initially seems daunting or complicated.

20 April A 1:43 scale model Lotus Elite arrives in the mail from Grand Prix Models. It joins my collection of cars that I had a hand in. Looks nice alongside a TVR Tasmin Coupe – although I say it myself. A nice Easter present.

The model Lotus Elite

23 April An old friend, John Ashley, joins me for a trip to Lincolnshire. We visit the superb Newark Air Museum and whilst there, fall into conversation with a volunteer guide. He has a Clan Crusader, a sports car built by ex-Lotus engineers in the early 1970s. I mention my book to him at least three times!

24 April I arrive at the Blyton Park track for the annual BRM Association Track Day. This brings together BRM and associated racing cars for demonstrations on the track. There is no racing but some of the most exciting cars can be seen.

I was keeping an eye out for Dick Salmon, who is another Veloce published author, ex-BRM V16 mechanic, ex-Lotus Quality Manager in the early 1970s a former customer of the Wicklewood Cherry Tree! His superb book, BRM A Mechanics Tale, is still selling, now as a reprint. 

Dick Salmon and a wonderful BRM V16 which he worked upon

Another pleasant meeting was with Malcolm Kenwood of the Bourne Motor Racing Club. We had a brief chat about my forthcoming talk to the club on the 10 October.

Howden Ganley, who drove the BRM P180 competitively in the early 1970s was present and I was delighted to talk to him at the event. His book, The Road to Monaco: My Life in Motor Racing, was on display at the BRM Association kiosk, alongside mine. I suggested that if he bought mine, I would buy his! He declined, as his book was actually a donated raffle prize. I bought a few tickets and asked Dick Salmon, who was to draw the winner, how much a bribe would cost... It proved unnecessary as I won a prize anyway, yes, it was Howden Ganley’s book – and it's signed! Despite the generous offer to display my book, none were sold.

26 April Tom Smith, current owner of the prototype Lotus M90/X100 in Texas, sends me his final copy of an article he has written for the Lotus Ltd. Club in the USA. It traces the restoration of the car which is now as good as new. The story will appear in the club magazine Remarque. He has kindly mentioned: “Oliver told many interesting stories about the X100’s development and his dealings with Chapman, most of which he later documented in his book, A Life in Car Design (A good read for any Lotus aficionado, by the way.)” Many thanks, Tom.

My copy of Club Lotus News magazine arrives. Inside it is my letter, concerning the aerodynamic stability of the 1974 Lotus Elite. The final sentence: “For more information, may I recommend my book, A Life in Car Design, which attempts to describe the birth of the Lotus Elite as I remember it.” 

I am delighted that my car pass for the Donington Historic races for Friday 3 May has arrived. I am due to meet up with the Lotus Elite/Eclat/Excel Club and possibly give a public interview.

30 April All packed and ready to leave for the Midlands. PJS Sports Cars evening talk tomorrow and Donington Historic race meeting and interview on Friday 3 May.

It's Christmas Eve, and we continue our look at Oliver Winterbottom's diary. Here, we catch up with Oliver's exploits from the end of October to the beginning of December …

October

28 October – Efforts to have a re-union of 6 of us retired, ex-Lotus senior staff has allowed me to circulate a copy of the Veloce “flyer” to advise them of the book's existence. Mike Kimberley already has it but the others may be less informed.

One recipient of the ex-Lotus staff message has responded positively already. Well done! Shortly afterwards, another says he will get it for Christmas.

November

1 November – Amazon UK has 8 left in stock – that's 4 gone since 25 October – hooray!

3 November – “Esmeralda” (B B Bell) has received her copy of the book. I sign it for her 6-year old son, Joseph. He already draws well and could possibly become a designer when grown up. It was interesting that, because of Joseph's age, he did not realise my layout drawings were done with a pencil, by hand. He thought they were computer-generated. (Of course they stand up well against the electronic machine!)

4 November – Matthew Vale in contact over his book on the Lotus Europa. Always glad to help a fellow author. It's hard work as the events were nearly 50 years ago!

5 November – I get a message from Charlotte Walker at Veloce. She has received a message from a Californian engineer who is restoring a 1979 Lotus Eclat. He would like a signature from me and I am most happy to do so. He tells us: “I've always loved the wedge shape of the Elite/Eclat, and it would mean a lot to have the signature of the man who designed it”.

6 November – Today is the funeral of Paul Mickleborough, so I learned last evening. Paul and I attempted to start a sports car company named The Leading Edge back in the early 2000s. A number of business supports eventually let us down. 

Amazon UK now has 11 books in stock – more on the way.

10 November – I visit the Lancaster Classic Car Show at the NEC, Birmingham as a guest of the Lotus Elite Eclat Excel Owners Club. I am joined by Mike Kimberley (we go back to working together at Jaguar in the 1960s). Mike held senior positions at Lotus for many years.

Mike Kimberley, left, and me at the NEC Classic Car Show.

              

19 November – I ordered a new Citroën Cactus for delivery in the new year.

11 December – I am due to join retired Lotus personnel Mike Kimberley (ex-CEO), Roger Putnam (ex-Sales Director), Richard Morley (ex-Managing Director) and Mike Hamlin (Lotus Company pilot) for lunch at Galvins, at the Centurion Club St Albans.


I plan to spend Christmas at my sister's, just like last year! Plans for a Christmas gathering of my daughter's family are still being formulated. 

I wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year for 2019.

Oliver