We live in an era of highly developed science and technology, and people have long been accustomed to the convenient life brought by intelligent technology.
However, few people care about how these smart technologies come to us.
If you trace back to the roots, based on the classical physics system established by Newton, modern intelligent communication equipment and transportation such as computers, mobile phones, airplanes, high-speed railways, and automobiles all originate from the discovery of those great scientists in a casual moment, or the sparks generated by the collision of various particles thousands of times in the laboratory.
Science is the source of human scientific and technological progress.
However, from the laboratory to the aerospace, military, and then to the commercial field, the transformation of scientific research results is not smooth. While money and platforms are important, they are more important to those who have a forward-looking vision and a keen sense of business smell, and such people are often very personal.
01 Don't be crazy, don't live
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to John F. Kennedy. Three scientists, B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Wettingham, and Akira Yoshino, recognize their major breakthroughs in new materials for chemical batteries.
These three scientists have also become the familiar "father of lithium batteries".
However, even the best scientific research results will lose their significance if they cannot serve the public.
In 1991, based on the research of three scientists, Sony's Nishimisu developed an 18650 lithium battery based on the research of three scientists and developed an 18650 lithium battery, which was first used in Sony handheld cameras.
This invention directly changed the face of consumer electronics and even automobiles around the world. Thanks to this, Sony became the world's most successful consumer electronics company from the 1980s to the first decade of the new century.
There are people in the automotive circle who do similar things.
In 1954, Lotus founder Colin Chapman, with the help of his friend Frank Kostin, created a mobile car with a lightweight pipe pile frame called the Mark 8.
In order to study the direction of the vehicle when driving at high speed, when the wind flows through the hull, the two paste the fluff on the body, and Frank himself, let people tie themselves to the front hood, observe the direction of the fluff at 160km/h, and frantically and hardcore complete what may be the first ever car wind tunnel experiment.
Remember that the Mark 8 weighs only 500 kilograms, the engine is only 85 horsepower, but the speed is as high as 200km/h. This makes the Mark 8 a symbol of Lotus's history.
Previously, aerodynamics, as a cutting-edge scientific research direction, was only used for the design of military fighters.
Chapman studied engineering and later served in the RAF. Two resumes exposed him to the frontiers of materials science and aerodynamics at the time, and he was keenly aware that aerodynamics would have a huge revolutionary impact on automotive design.
So, in order to explore the mysteries of automobile aerodynamics, Chapman studied the Nuberley equation of fluid mechanics and studied the radiators that could generate lift on Mosquito fighters during World War II, and wrote a 27-page paper entitled "How to generate downforce without increasing wind resistance."
The car maniac injected aerodynamic design into Lotus's DNA in a scientific and rigorous way. Since the Mark 8, in addition to lightweighting, Lotus has pioneered a new genre of automotive technology. Incidentally, in 1958, mark 8 beat the Porsche 550 Spyder in a competition.
As the grandmaster of aerodynamic design, Lotus influenced almost all car brands.
02 Build a car that strikes the soul
The obsessive exploration of technology is only the outer edge of Lotus. Inside the brand, it's a kernel of unusual fanaticism about competition and victory.
Such a brand spirit not only won lotus respect, but also laid its lofty position in the history of automobile development.
If the BBA is the crown of the automotive industry. Then, Lotus, which is called the world's three major sports car brands together with Ferrari and Porsche, is the jewel in the crown.
Why does Lotus have such a high status?
When it comes to Lotus, we have to mention sports cars. When it comes to sports cars, we have to mention F1. As we all know, F1 is a top car race, but also a money-burning sport. All the brands that have succeeded in this event have left their mark on the history of the development of the automobile industry. Among them, Lotus has won the championship seven times and is ranked in F1 "President's Hill".
The results are not enough to fully reflect Lotus's character. Especially compared to Ferrari, which was also successful in F1, Lotus is more aggressive.
For example, if Ferrari is LV, then Lotus is the TOD'S that specializes in shoes; if Ferrari is equivalent to a Rolex, then Lotus is a Panerai who only makes military watches.
In other words, Ferrari burns money to play F1, but will also launch some sports cars that cater to the fun of the rich. Lotus's original intention in building a sports car was to create a car that could legitimately be put on the road.
Enzo Ferrari was dismissive of Lotus, saying that Lotus could not build an engine before studying aerodynamics. But Lotus regarded the words of the "Emperor of Sports Cars" as the wind in his ears and still went his own way.
In 1968, Lotus placed two "wings" upside down on the front and rear of the Type 49B, putting enormous downforce on the high-speed racing car, pinning it firmly to the ground. Today's F1 cars have huge tail wings at the rear, a design that was inherited from Lotus;
In 1978, Lotus dug two more aisles for the type 79's side covers, allowing the car to pass through both lanes as the car drove at high speed, leaving the car glued to the ground. This is the famous "Venturi Tunnel". Today's F1 cars also continue this design.
After repeatedly beating Ferrari in F1, Enzo Ferrari finally convinced Lotus. He said heartily: "Lotus is doing a real automotive research work. ”
Thanks to Lotus's research, almost all the sports cars we can buy now have "Venturi Tunnels"; many sports cars and even SUVs are equipped with tail wings of different sizes and shapes.
I have to sigh that because of lotus's contribution, the car has become faster and faster, driving more and more stable, and the fuel consumption is getting lower and lower. But Lotus has not blindly followed the needs of the public, it has never been an all-encompassing brand, and its bones are only for the sake of pleasing oneself.
In the commercial world, this personality may make Lotus less successful than Ferrari and Porsche, but like directors such as Martin Scorsese and Wong Kar-wai, Lotus's car can have the same effect as some great films: it hits the depths of the soul.
The world needs such a brand.
03 The future belongs to the strong personality
In general cognition, if a person has a strong personality, it is easy to be incompatible with the world, and the road is easy to narrow.
It cannot be denied that before 2017, Lotus did walk on a not very wide road. Because of its strong brand personality, Lotus has been on the verge of bankruptcy several times. But on the other hand, every time Lotus can turn the tide, is it not precisely because this brand contains great value and potential.
Therefore, even if Lotus has a strong personality, he does not have to worry about his future development prospects.
Not to mention that with the full support of the new owner, Geely Holding Group, Lotus will obtain unprecedented huge resources and a vast Chinese market, just to say that all car brands have to face the electrification transformation, Lotus has a unique advantage.
For Ferrari and Porsche, the electrification transformation means cutting with the glorious era of the internal combustion engine. In other words, they all know that the future must belong to electric vehicles, but now they are still making money for fuel vehicles, and the selection process is extremely painful.
As everyone knows, when the times really want to abandon you, they will not say goodbye to you. Lotus barely had this annoyance.
The comedy star with the strongest box office appeal in China at present is Shen Teng. However, people familiar with Shen Teng's acting path know that a few years ago, he was only "Hao Jian" who was active on the sketch stage.
From the stage to the big screen, Shen Teng's transformation path is smooth. This is because Shen Teng's core competitiveness has never changed. Compared with some stars who have changed from singers to actors, Shen Teng has achieved role conversion with great ease with his super comedic talent.
The same goes for Lotus.
On the Evija, the brand's first electric supercar launched in 2019, we can still see the "Venturi Tunnel" running through both sides of the body, the big tail wing that can be lifted and lowered with a sci-fi flavor, and the one-piece carbon fiber monocoque shell structure chassis composed of multiple carbon fiber layers.
The Evija has a maximum power of up to 2000 horsepower and can break the hundred in 3 seconds. What's even more incredible is that while achieving super performance, the Evija body weight is only 1680 kg, which is lighter than the same performance of the fuel sports car.
Evija is a benchmark for Lotus for electric supercars. At the same time, this product will bring new enlightenment to the outside world: in the era when any car company can easily obtain a high-quality three-electric system, it will be aerodynamic and lightweight body structure design that determines the value of an electric vehicle.
Electrification seems to have a weaker taste for Lotus, because Lotus's housekeeping skills can just cross the times and become the winner and loser of product differentiation in the future.
On the Emira, Lotus's last fuel sports car, while inheriting the same spirit, you can also see Lotus's exploration and determination to reinvent himself.
Emira's interior says goodbye to "simplicity" and becomes simple and textured. At the same time, the addition of a series of intelligent technologies, including smart cars and machines, has also brought Lotus closer to daily life.
Of course, the premise for achieving this is that the Emira body weight is only 1260 kg.
The consistent brand spirit makes the upcoming Lotus's first electric SUV, the Type 132, even more exciting.
We look forward to how Lotus brings extreme aerodynamics and lightweight design to an SUV, and how Lotus naturally integrates driving pleasure into everyday life."
Because in the eyes of the heart, in the era of electrification that generally emphasizes space and comfort, we believe that Lotus is one of the few brands that can inject different colors into cars.