Roger Becker, Lotus’ director of vehicle engineering, one of the leading lights behind the development of such vehicles as the Europa Twin Cam and the legendary Esprit, Excel, Elan, Elise, Exige models is retiring from the group after 44 years.
Becker, 64, joined Lotus in 1966, working on the Elan assembly line at Cheshunt, but his driving and engineering skills came to the attention of Lotus founder Colin Chapman and he was quickly moved to the vehicle development team where he worked directly with Mike Kimberley (former Lotus CEO) on the Europa Twin Cam, his first car development project with the firm.
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Most recently Becker worked on the development of the new critically acclaimed Evora. He has steadfastly maintained the philosophies laid down by Colin Chapman and he also has imparted his chassis engineering knowledge and development skills to many of the world’s major automotive manufacturers in support of the automaker’s consultancy engineering business.
Becker said, “I have had a dream career at Lotus, with the honour of not only working directly for Colin Chapman but also working with some of the finest people in the motor industry. With the Evora successfully entering the market with unprecedented global adulation, and at 64 years of age, I feel now is the natural time to retire.
“The Evora has given me my finest hour at Lotus and I leave knowing it will be the foundation of all our next generation cars. The product engineering team will build on this to develop many more award-winning products and I wish them every success for what promises to be a very exciting future for the cars and brand.”
