In a statement shortly after, team boss Eric Boullier confirmed Petrov’s contract had been terminated and that he would not be in line for the team’s test and reserve driver role (presumably linked to his recent outbursts against the team).

And that just leaves Senna looking for a seat. So it seems ironic that on the very same day as the Grosjean announcement, Senna should appear modelling the new Lotus ORIGINALS collection. When he pictured himself sitting in for Lotus in 2012, I doubt he envisaged it being a lounge chair..

Bruno Senna and Lotus CEO Dany Bahar open the new Lotus ORIGINALS retail store in Hethel

Is this the price to be paid for waiting in the wings?

For what it’s worth, I remember enjoying Bruno’s drives in GP2, where he would comprehensively out-drive Vitaly Petrov and battle on equal terms with Romain Grosjean, so apart from his variable performance at times, I can see little justification in replacing him with Grosjean apart from the obvious financial ones (Grosjean is managed by team boss Eric Boullier and French oil giant TOTAL will be a team sponsor in 2012).

Lotus describe their new retail concept as “..a clear sign of their new brand identity and befitting the current and future collection of cars planned for 2013 and beyond.”

The first step in this process is opening the brand’s first retail store at Group Lotus HQ near Hethel.

In fact, if you’re in the area it might be worth popping in and taking a look, because in addition to the latest range of apparel and accessories, the retail store is also showcasing the new look customers can expect from Lotus dealerships in the future.

The new Lotus ORIGINALS retail store in Hethel

The dealership environment has a modern look and feel with an inviting lounge area where customers can browse the Lotus library or leisurely spec their new Lotus car. Lotus’ latest models will be on display in the store, with full paint and trim swatches to complete the Lotus shopping experience.

Commenting on the launch Group Lotus Director of Licensing and Merchandise Wiebke Bauer said: “It’s a very proud day for us today, it’s more than a simple store opening. One of the biggest challenges we have as a business, outside of selling cars, is to make the Lotus brand as accessible as possible. We have many fans out there in the world who aren’t necessarily in a position to buy one of our cars but they still want to be part of the Lotus world and this means a lot to us.”

Opening hours are 8.30am until 5pm (Monday to Thursday) and 8.30am until midday on Fridays. Hopefully you won’t find Bruno serving from behind the counter, but within the broadly defined contract he seems to be under with Lotus, you never know.

Let’s hope we see him in a race suit and off the cat-walk soon.

The terms of the settlement are confidential but the deal sees the “LOTUS” brand reunited under the sole ownership of Group Lotus. This includes the rights to the “LOTUS” and “TEAM LOTUS” names in Formula 1 motor racing.

1MRT will race in the 2012 Formula 1 season under the name “CATERHAM F1 TEAM” and will use a “CATERHAM” chassis.

The deal also sees a working relationship established between the parties and they will work together on future projects in the automotive field.

Group Lotus Chief Executive Officer Dany Bahar: “On behalf of Group Lotus and Proton I would like to express how pleased we are that this matter is finally closed and we can now focus on looking forward to the future.

“We understand that this has been a very difficult and confusing time for the fans of the sport and the Lotus brand so we are glad to have reached a clear resolution on this important matter – I would like to take this opportunity to thank our fans for their continued support, it means everything to us.”

Riad Asmat, Group CEO: “We are proud of what we have achieved by bringing the Team Lotus name back to Formula One when many tried and although we are sad to say goodbye to Team Lotus we are excited about owning our own future and being in control of our own destiny. Now we have no one to be compared to. We make our own history and we will remain green and yellow.

“Now we look forward to an exciting future racing under our new team name of Caterham F1 Team. Please continue to support our very special spirit of never say die and support us on the track as we move up the field and demonstrate that the good do win.”

The programme will be owned by a new standalone engineering business, Caterham Technology and Innovation Limited (CTI), which will be responsible for the development of a completely new line of accessible and affordable sportscars. Inspired by the lightweight, minimalist philosophy of the Seven and drawing on the advanced technologies and materials from the Group’s Team Lotus Formula One and Caterham Team AirAsia GP2 motorsport operations, CTI will also undertake advanced projects for external companies operating within the automotive and aerospace sectors.

“The new shareholders are committed to investing in an exciting range of global products over the next 10 years,” says Mark Edwards, CTI’s Chief Executive. “Tony Fernandes has been very clear from the start that Caterham needed a sustainable research and development business model in order to meet the plans the management have for the road car business.

“By establishing unique operating principles for CTI, we have managed to attract a world-class team of niche vehicle engineers eager to build on the ethos of Caterham and the DNA of the Seven.”

Among the first in a series of respected industry figures to join the new operation will be Tony Shute. Joining as Head of Road Cars for the new business and, as an avid motorsport competitor in his own right, Shute is credited with bringing the ground-breaking Series 1 Lotus Elise to market.

“When the opportunity to be involved with creating the next iconic Caterham arose, I couldn’t turn it down,” says Shute. “The core principles and ambitions of CTI have enabled us to attract some of the brightest and most respected talents in their fields.”

Further announcements will be made in due course.

The new business will focus on unique vehicle architectures, high performance engines, advanced materials and manufacturing technologies in association with the Formula One and GP2 race teams.

He adds: “I feel very confident that our customers will be very pleased with the products I have challenged CTI to deliver, in addition to supporting the Seven and I look forward to revealing our plans in more detail soon.”

Caterham has announced that its new CTI operation will be based in Norfolk near the Group’s motorsport operations, and within spitting distance of Lotus Car’s headquarters in Hethel.

Following a 12 year stint in F1 from 1989 to 2001, Alesi moved onto DTM racing and then last year made his most recent competitive race appearance in the Le Mans Series. In January 2011 he joined Group Lotus as a brand ambassador and development consultant on the F1 customer race car, the T125. Although never straying far from the race track, the Indy 500 and oval racing represent completely new challenges for Jean.

Commenting on the announcement Jean Alesi said: “I’m thrilled that Lotus has given me the opportunity to compete in such a world famous race. It’s going to be a very special experience for me but I also know that I have a lot of hard work ahead. I’m very focused on the task I’m facing – I’m taking my training very seriously, I have some amazing support on this front from a ‘comeback’ expert and of course I will be testing extensively. I’m really excited about the race.”

Jean’s development role with Group Lotus will stand him in good stead as he prepares for his new challenge as he will be competing in a Lotus powered by the new Lotus IndyCar engine. Development of the 2.2-litre twin turbocharged V6 is going to schedule with the first engine fire-up set for mid October and track testing planned to commence in December.

Group Lotus Director of Corporate Operations Gino Rosato said: “IndyCar racing represents a really important element of our overall motorsport program. The Indy 500 is the highlight of the race calendar, the atmosphere is always incredible and having Jean racing for us there will make it extra special.”

Knowing how sensitive the information could be, the first thing I did was speak to Caterham’s CEO, Ansar Ali to understand the impact of the changes and to ensure that whatever we published would not undermine the swift conclusion of any negotiations.

You see in the game of chess that’s been playing between Fernandes and Group Lotus, the winning move was always perceived to be control of the Lotus brand, of which Team Lotus is just a part (implicitly if not legally). Good chess strategy suggests that your King’s safety is crucial, so Group Lotus focused on protecting their good name and keeping it out of Fernandes’ hands.

Despite Fernandes’ audacious moves with Team Lotus, Dany Bahar – Group Lotus CEO – knew he could play the long-game and win the battle as long as he reinforced his strongholds and raised the profile of his brand (hence the high-profile PR announcements we’ve been seeing). So, as of January 2011 the game was approaching stalemate (if not checkmate) and the acrimony between each side was settling in for the long-run.

So, I hear you asking – what’s changed?

Tony Shute joins Caterham

Tony Shute who until recently was Head of Product at Lotus Cars; responsible for engineering the Evora, Exige and Elise and a 20-year veteran of the company, resigned from Lotus and joined Caterham a few months ago. Shute has been joined at Caterham by several other Lotus employees and is now hard at work on Caterham’s next generation of road cars.

Ansar was keen to point out that Caterham did not poach Tony or any other personnel from Lotus, they made this choice themselves, but clearly Caterham will now benefit from the infusion of Tony’s knowledge and experience in developing a more mainstream road car.

Tony Shute, ex-Head of Product at Lotus Cars, who has now joined Caterham.

Proton sanctions the sale of the Elise and Exige platforms to Caterham?

We were originally led to believe that a deal had been done to sell the Exige and Elise platforms to Caterham, but I now understand this to be untrue – perhaps because Caterham have acquired a team with first-hand experience of developing these models. Proton still appear to be keen on selling the S1 Elise Platform, but interestingly, not the S2 (as demonstrated by the new Exige S and Exige R-GT launched in Frankfurt this week).

Nevertheless its quite telling, since the source of this information was a Kuala Lumpur based insider. Clearly Lotus’ Malaysian owners have become tired of the public spat with Fernandes and would like to see Lotus focus on achieving their 5-year plan – and help pay back the $270M syndicated loan borrowed in April to finance the development of Lotus’ new models and subsequent restructuring costs.

Proton have recently taken a beating on the Bursa Malaysia (previously known as Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange), plunging to a 2-year low after concerns over its latest earnings results. The national car maker posted a 94.6% year-on-year drop in net profit to RM4.55mil for its first quarter ended June 30, 2011, compared with a net profit of RM84.68mil a year earlier, which was attributed to higher expenses incurred by Lotus Group International Ltd.

In turn the Malaysian group has been criticised for its “costly foray into the sports car market”, with Analysts arguing that Proton should instead invest in improving its product offerings, in particular its core models, or focus its efforts in collaborating with a strategic partner.

It’s worth noting that in the 10 years under Proton ownership, Lotus has yet to become profitable and continues to require significant investment from Proton – this has become even less palatable during the global economic downturn, since Proton’s major shareholders comprise government-linked companies (Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the Employees Provident Fund and Petroliam Nasional Bhd). Up to 50% of the total group capital expenditure (capex) for the next 12 months has been allocated to Lotus, with the remaining 50% going to Proton, so you can see why the market is taking news of Proton’s latest results so badly.

Team Lotus becomes Caterham Team Air Asia in F1

You will no doubt have already heard the rumour that Tony Fernandes is to relinquish the Team Lotus name and rebrand his team as Caterham Team Air Asia for the 2012 F1 season. Caterham will remain liveried in Green & Yellow whilst Lotus will be coloured in whatever design Swizz Beatz can dream-up, or perhaps just remain Black & Gold.

Caterham Team Air Asia will move to Northants (taking over the old Super Aguri factory), leaving Hingham available for Caterham Cars and some F1 fabrication, and of course, modestly close enough to Lotus HQ in Hethel.

This is the win-win Fernandes has long been talking about and has paved the way for a resolution with Group Lotus.

However, given the pressure upon Proton (and therefore Group Lotus) we understand Lotus’ investment plans are being trimmed back to the essentials, hence the Lotus Renault F1 team will now become a Renault sponsored by Lotus, rather than a Lotus powered by Renault – although of course the powerplant will remain Renault.

We also understand Lotus’ product development plans will be trimmed back, so that the Evora becomes the entry-level model (i.e. the Elise will not be replaced), with emphasis being placed on selling premium models with the highest net margins. Proton apparently don’t want cross-over product (and sparring) between Lotus and Caterham, as this (quite obviously) wastes money and opens them up to further criticism by the analysts.

So what does this mean for Caterham?

You’d have to admit that Caterham are sitting very pretty amidst all these moves. Ansar has long been trying to acquire blueprints for the Series 1 Elise from Lotus, but with Tony Shute on board he perhaps doesn’t need them any more (although they would certainly save a lot of money in homologating a future Caterham for the US markets).

Ansar Ali, CEO of Caterham Cars.

Product wise, in addition to the Caterham 7 (which will live on) there is the SP/300.R, which seems to have experienced delays but should begin customer testing soon. The SP/300.R is due to participate on the F3/GT package but Caterham will need full grids – however Ansar sees it as providing a staircase for talent to migrate up from the numerous Caterham 7 series, both here in the UK and internationally.

So that leaves the way clear for Caterham to build a new range of affordable sports cars, filling the space left by the Elise and Exige, and designed from the outset to become a global product.

Ansar tells me that since news of Caterham’s acquisition he has been inundated with new opportunities, mostly it has to be said from overseas. That’s the other big change you’ll see from Caterham. Even before the sale to TLE, Caterham were selling more than half their cars outside the UK, and this will increase in future especially with access to Air Asia’s logistics and distribution network.

Fernandes has already said that he’d like to see Caterham cars being sold wherever his airlines fly to, which makes North America and APAC countries a no-brainer, and with a population of more than 4 billion people I could already sense that Ansar was wondering if he’d bitten off more than he could chew. But Fernandes is a pragmatic businessman and just as he’s done with his F1 racing team, he’ll be keen to see Caterham grow organically and sustainably.

There’s clearly much to do, Caterham are not yet geared up to operate as a global business, so Ansar will need to build new sales and distribution processes, new systems, establish a more outwardly-facing culture and learn how to scale Caterham’s DNA without diluting its very essence.

So the journey for Caterham has just begun, but there’s plenty for enthusiasts and British industry to feel optimistic about. Having long been a minnow of the car industry, the boys from Dartford just got teeth. I for one, can’t wait to see what happens next.

The remit of the Advisory Council includes providing strategic input into the product, technology, quality, brand, marketing and distribution plans of Group Lotus.

Murray was Chief Designer for the Brabham team in F1, working directly for its boss Bernie Ecclestone, before joining McLaren where he designed the McLaren F1 road car. During his time in F1, Gordon was responsible for designing many Grand Prix winning cars and introducing many of the most pioneering new technologies.

More recently Gordon established Gordon Murray Design to develop an innovative and disruptive automotive manufacturing technology trademarked iStream®. The design and prototyping of their T.25 Petrol and T.27 Electric Ultra Compact City Cars has been central to both the development and validation of this process.

Commenting on his appointment Gordon Murray said: “For years I’ve been a huge admirer of Lotus, I have great respect for the legacy that Colin Chapman created and I think what Dany and the team are doing is a really good thing for the brand. He’s taking the strength from Chapman’s principals and taking the business to the next level whilst still keeping the general ethos – not an easy task! I’m really looking forward to contributing to Group Lotus during this exciting time.”

So what has all this got to do with cars? Well simply, a very real-life version of “the Den” appears to be being playing-out at Loftus Road, home of Queens Park Rangers, with Tony Fernandes right in the heart of the action.

Anyone who has followed the fortunes of this proud club will be aware that they’ve had their fair share of turmoil in recent years, both in terms of ownership and team management. When Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone took control in 2007, joined soon after by Lakshmi Mittal, Hoops fans could have been forgiven for thinking that they’d soon be challenging neighbours Chelsea for both domestic and European honours.

However, despite gaining promotion to the Premier League for this season, little has been done to strengthen the squad or improve the grounds. As the situation currently stands, QPR are up for sale and Tony Fernandes is the man on the spot who has made it quite clear that he is their “deliverer”.

I like Fernandes; and apart from the fact that he professes to be a life-long West Ham fan, I can’t really fault him! Well actually I can because I don’t believe that he’s taking the most professional and responsible approach to the feud with Dany Bahar and Group Lotus. That aside, what concerns me is that taking on a Premier League football club is going to be a whole different ball game to the type of operation that both he and his Tune Group are used to. Ironically, only a few months ago in an attack on rivals Singapore Airlines, he famously quipped that “businesses should stick to what they know best…”

Of course, I’m sure that he has already lined-up a capable team of co-investors but the combined demands of long-term funding and board room activity are sure to take their toll. Moreover, his core business, Air Asia, is continuing to grow rapidly and indeed, he’s also in the midst of taking a significant stake in MAS (Malaysian Airlines); oh, and he’s soon to take the lead role in the Asian version of The Apprentice!

My point is therefore simple. Can Tony Fernandes add QPR to his portfolio without compromising the effort required to generate the improvements needed at Team Lotus? I don’t think that Caterham need worry quite so much as their demands are based more around funding and introductions to new markets. Both of these are relatively easy for Tune to provide, especially in collaboration with other partners.

Caterham are unlikely to be affected by Fernandes focusing on QPR, but Team Lotus are far more vulnerable. Will the affable dealmaker have time for all his business interests?

Team Lotus, however, are far more vulnerable. They’ve already had to concede that for this year at least, they won’t meet their stated aim of challenging Toro Rosso, Force India, Sauber and Williams for midfield honours. Now they have to contend with fellow tail-enders Marussia, set to make strong improvements following their tie-in with McLaren and Williams, who will apply a raft of measures to halt their own decline.

To date, Mike Gascoyne has done a credible job in the effort to re-establish Team Lotus and Tune have fared even better with visibly sharp and incisive marketing. So whilst results on track have been frustrating, off-track efforts have been superb, culminating in global giant GE (formerly General Electric) coming on-board as a premium partner. The GE deal will undoubtedly create a platform for Fernandes to expand his operations into the highly lucrative North American market and the value to his “group” cannot be understated.

So why risk any of this for a serious venture into football club ownership? Especially when there is an immediate conflict as Tune are already contracted sponsors of match officials for both the Premier League and Football League.

Perhaps only time will tell but QPR are a club with issues and this adds to my concern: For a start, they are seriously under-resourced as far as the depth of their squad is concerned. This is going to take hard cash for transfer fees and hard cash for the wage bill. Next, the ground capacity has to be addressed. Loftus Road is the smallest stadium in the Premier League, holding less than 20,000 people, and with little scope for improvement, it would appear that the only realistic option is to find a new home. Again, the potential cost here, both in terms of management time and funding is significant.

So again, I have to ask “why”? Admittedly, Premier League status has a lot to be said for it! QPR’s promotion will guarantee £40m, even if they finish bottom and an extra £750k for each place above this. They’ll also sell a lot more merchandise and corporate hospitality sales will rocket – but to really benefit, they need to stay in the top-flight and this is going to be the struggle.

Maybe I just don’t “get it” but as far as I can see, it’s like a young family having a new baby. It’s easy to unintentionally overlook the older siblings as all the attention (time and money) goes onto the infant and their needs.

Be careful Tony.

If you remember, after last month’s judgement, Sarah Price, Head of Legal for Group Lotus confirmed they would be appealing against the decision, saying that “Despite the detailed judgment there are issues which still require clarification and we remain committed to obtaining this much needed clarity for the many fans of the Lotus marque..”

Justice Smith said in his 388-paragraph judgement that he considered it unfortunate the case had not been settled before reaching court, and indeed believed it might be beneficial for F1 fans if the two teams kept their names and merely competed on the track – the one that did the best would “possibly be better placed to claim to be successors to the Colin Chapman mantle”.

The argument being made by Group Lotus was that such a judgement would only serve to confuse customers and fans, effectively undermining the value of Group Lotus’ continued investment in Formula One and make it difficult for them to tie the marketing of its racing activities with that of its road cars.

According to a statement on Twitter this morning from Tony Fernandes, Justice Peter Smith has rejected Group Lotus’ application for appeal and ordered them to pay interim costs to 1Malaysia Racing Team.

Tony Fernandes previously said last month that he doubted there was the stomach to pursue an appeal in Malaysian government circles, “For an appeal to succeed they need something fundamental to change, ” he said. “The judgement is clear. I don’t know if Proton (owners of Group Lotus) has the stomach to go on. I’m not concerned anyway.”

Time will tell.

So you might consider it sacrilege to find out that the track has been completely redeveloped, along with a new baby-smooth surface that wouldn’t look out-of-place on a state-of-the-art Tilke circuit.

But progress is inevitable, especially when you’ve got an F1 team to run. The layout of the 2.2 mile circuit has changed very little since it was built by Colin Chapman back in the 1960′s, and modernisation changes include an extra corner, new asphalt and larger run off areas which are better suited to modern racing and performance car testing.

Its mixture of corners, straight and braking zones makes it ideal for testing and optimizing every performance aspect of the latest Lotus models, and evaluating car control at the Lotus Driving Academy. In addition to a spacious new workshop, the test track will soon be accompanied by a brand new pit building and hospitality suite.

Formula One legends open the new circuit

Nigel Mansell officially opened Group Lotus’s revised and restored Hethel test track with a roar from the 1981 Essex-Lotus 81B in which he started his glorious Formula One career more than 30-years-ago.

Mansell led a convoy of seven stunning racing cars from the Lotus stable, including the innovative 1980 Type 88 twin-chassis car – which the rule makers never allowed to race; the Lotus Type 125 Exos Experience car driven by fellow F1 legend Jean Alesi; and a brace of Lotus Renault GP cars piloted by current F1 stars Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna.

This was the first time that modern-era F1 cars had blasted around the historic Hethel tarmac since the early 1990s.

Nigel Mansell, Group Lotus ambassador and 1992 Formula One World Champion said: “What a joy it was to be reunited with my old 81B after 30 years. This is a very special place, Hethel, and it was wonderful to open the circuit today by driving alongside my sons Leo and Greg.”

Clive Chapman, Managing Director of Classic Team Lotus said: “I remember my father testing the Lotus 49 on this circuit. He didn’t wear a helmet and you could see him grinning from ear to ear because he knew he had another winner. The circuit’s longest straight doubled as a runway, and we would land here in my father’s plane after adventurous and race tracks around the world. The revised circuit has managed to keep a lot of the character of the original, and seeing those seven cars lapping today is something I shall never forget. Lotus is enjoying exciting times once again, and it fills me with pride when I see brand new Lotus’s around the world still bearing my father’s initials.”

Jean Alesi, Group Lotus ambassador and F1 legend said: “It’s extremely fast. The first time I went out I was surprised about the length of the straights, but then of course it’s not only for motor sport but for testing road cars. The layout is perfect for that. It’s a proper test track. Today I drove Lotus’ customer F1-experience car, the T125. The development of this car is ongoing, and very very promising. James Rossiter is doing a great job helping to develop the car, and will make this new track his home. I shall be validating these tests.”

Dany Bahar, Group Lotus CEO said: “A year ago we set out our plans to introduce a new model line up, ambitious motorsport plans and a revitalization of the iconic Lotus brand. A year in, we are meeting all the targets and milestones we set ourselves. One of the milestones was the opening of our test track. You might say this is just a refurbishment of a track and not a major achievement in itself, and I agree. However, mentally and psychologically seeing this project accomplished demonstrates that step-by-step our vision is becoming a reality. It shows our entire workforce and our partners that we are delivering on our promises.”

Gallery

Team Lotus will now be running a two tunnel programme, with the Aerolab facility in Italy working in conjunction with the Williams F1 site in the UK while work continues on the team’s own wind tunnel at Hingham. When that facility is operational all activity will be transferred to the team’s own site.

Tony Fernandes, Team Lotus Team Principal: “There are a number of reasons why I am delighted that we have signed this deal. From a practical perspective there are the obvious benefits of increasing our wind tunnel activity and using a state of the art facility in the UK, and I am sure that will immediately help Marianne Hinson (Head of Aerodynamics and CFD) and her team to work even more effectively in one of the key areas of the ongoing development of our team.

The other side of the agreement is that I owe a great deal of thanks to Frank Williams, Patrick Head and Adam Parr as they were the first people I ever worked with in Formula 1. AirAsia was a proud sponsor of their team and Frank, Patrick and Adam played key roles in introducing me to the Formula 1 world, so I am very pleased that we are able to keep working together as Team Lotus continues to establish itself as a serious force in Formula 1.”

Back in January it was rumoured that Williams F1 had joined Ferrari in using the state-of-the-art wind tunnel at Toyota Motorsport’s Cologne facility, developing parts for its current FW33 car.