AUGUST 1983 TOYOTA ANNOUNCES THAT IT has bought Lotus. The two companies have been co-operating for over a year, with Lotus getting Toyota parts for the Excel and Toyota getting Lotus engineering know-how for the Supra, but few expected this buy-out. Pundits are intrigued, purists are aghast, the entire car industry has just entered a new era. Over the next two decades every other car company will wither and die in the face of a partnership that can provide two simple yet desirable things: Toyotas that drive like Lotuses and Lotuses that work like Toyotas.
Ford is first to falter, wrong-footed by the world-beating manners of the '89 Starlet, which makes the Mk3 Fiesta of the same year feel flat-footed and useless. Toyota got Giugiaro's number from Lotus years ago, so when the '91 model-year Corolla and Camry arrive in stunning Italian tailored shells covering keen Lotus chassis, they're ready to crush the hopeless Mk4 Escort and unimaginative '92 Taurus, turning Uncle Henry to toast. GM goes the same year, its American market share decimated by Toyota's brilliant everyday sedans, while its flagship Corvette is humiliated by the Italstyled, Lotus V8-powered Supra IV.
Bu hikaye Evo UK dergisinin July 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Evo UK dergisinin July 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
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