An important chapter in the history of Lotus closes today (17th July) with the retirement of Mike Kimberley, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus plc. It's a measure of the strength of character and high regard in which Mike is held by many both inside and outside the company that the decision has come as a complete surprise despite the fact that he will turn 71 next month. That not withstanding, the decision has come about through medical reasons rather than age.

Since returning to the company in 2005 – already at an age when many would have been considering retirement rather than attempting to turnaround the fortunes of a sportscar maker – Mike has maintained a punishing schedule that would have seen off many a younger man. He was initially charged with assessing the company on behalf of owners Proton, before being appointed full-time to the Group Lotus plc Board (he stepped up to CEO a year later). The mere fact that the Proton hierarchy were situated in Malaysia, on the other side of the world, meant that Mike was regularly in the office before dawn in order to put in calls to head office. And of course he was often the last to leave in the evening to. No wonder his long-suffering wife was not too enamoured at him taking up the job, knowing full well that his love of Lotus would be a 24/7 affair!

However, a long-term back problem made things difficult for him, and with surgery last year having proven to be less than successful, decisions have had to be made. Doctors – and yes, he's believed to have consulted more than one! – advised him that for the long-term good of his health, retirement was the order of the day. For a man who says that "cut him in half and you will find he is green and yellow all the way through" that was a big wrench. Colin Chapman aside, Mike more than any other deserves the soubriquet 'Mr Lotus', his sheer love for the company and the people who go to make it up knows no bounds. What's more, he leaves the company in a rather better state than he found it – no mean feat in today's commercial climate.

Upon returning to the company he was responsible for creating and executing a new 5-year plan. The most obvious fruits so far is the introduction of the Evora, a ground-breaking new model that went from inception to production in amazingly short time – something he has achieved before. Now the ground has been prepared for the long-awaited Esprit replacement and the S3 Elise. In addition, he has turned around Lotus Engineering, the outside consultancy business, from an outfit that was doing little more than ticking over, working primarily for parent company Proton, to a vibrant organisation employing some 500 engineers with a full order book from manufactures all over the world.

From relatively humble beginnings, Mike has left some big shoes (not to mention long trousers!) to fill. He was born in Coventry in 1938 and by the age of two was being bombed by the Germans. However he survived the war to go to what he describes as a tough school, leaving at the age of 15 to take up a probationer apprenticeship with Jaguar; he'd spotted their products regularly passing his home and made up his mind that was where he wanted to work. Health issues interrupted even then though. Whilst fulfilling a sandwich course at a local college he contraced tuberculosis and that hospitalised him for six months.

Nevertheless his career took off when he returned to Jaguar and he quickly climbed the ladder, being very much involved in the design of the XJ13, a mid-engined prototype with Le Mans aspirations, and the V12 E-Type. The former project effectively ended when the car was destroyed in a testing accident during 1968. It did Mike no harm though, as his talents had been spotted by Colin Chapman and he was head-hunted to Lotus, joining the Norfolk company in 1969.

During the same year Tony Rudd also joined Lotus as Powertrain Manager and having been charged with organising the engineering team, he put Mike in charge of developing the Twin Cam Europa, designated Type 74, the new car going to market in 1971. This was a major job, with the Lotus Twin Cam engine replacing the previous Renault 16 unit, the rear body fins being cutaway to improve rear vision and the floorpan and seats were re-designed to provide greater cockpit room. It's no coincidence that the very tall Kimberley was given this job!

Rudd and Kimberley developed a habit of taking off on long continental drives at weekends in the interests of development, one of the first being a drive to Rome and back in the prototype Twin Cam Europa one weekend. Tony recounts the story in his book 'It was fun!' of how they were charging downhill, Mike clutching the open bottle of wine and large bag of cherries they had bought for lunch, when a tyre blew at about 90mph. Mike – a nervous passenger – lost grip of the bottle, the contents landing on the cherries, which ended up as a puree under Mike's feet as he attempted to 'brake' the car on the passenger side! They completed their journey without further mishap, although the spare tyre remained resolutely out of balance.

Mike himself is a fund of stories from such exploits, amongst his favourites being a description of coming down Mont Blanc in a development M50 Elite and almost losing it on the edge of a 1500-foot drop! Another story Mike tells involving Tony Rudd, again in France, is of how they crested a rise at a rapid rate of knots to find an accident involving a 2CV and a tractor all over the road, with Gendarmes in attendance. They could do nothing but charge through the middle of the melee, and sensibly didn't reduce speed until they reached the border!

Working with the 'Old Man', as Colin Chapman was known to one and all, was not always easy but Mike has nothing but respect for the man he was so unexepectedly to replace when he suddenly died from a heart attack in December 1982. Again, there are countless stories but a particular favourite of Mike's concerns a visit to Giorgietto Giugiaro at ItalDesign in the early days of the Esprit project, which began as a Guigiaro design exercise based on the Europa. As they discussed the styling model, Chapman casually picked up a bastard file and reshaped the A-pillar

Mike initially joined the Board of Lotus in 1975, at the age of 37, becoming Managing Director of Lotus Cars in 1976, then MD of Lotus Engineering in 1980. Chapman's untimely death in 1982 saw him become Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus plc. In the wake of the DeLorean business these were turbulent times for Lotus, and Mike was very appreciative of the support he got from Toyota, then a client of Lotus Engineering, and without whom Lotus quite possibly would not have survived. It's an association that continues to this day with supply of engines for the Elise and Evora ranges.

There were various changes of ownership and Lotus eventually fell under GM control; in 1992 Mike went off to work as Executive Vice President for GM in Asia. That was followed by a period with Lamborghini, including re-establishing the company before sale to Audi. There was a period of Malaysian ownership at Lamborghini and that eventually led Mike to Proton and full circle back to Lotus. 

Now, as Mike closes the book on the end of his time at Hethel, Dato' Syed Zainal, MD of Proton Holdings Bhd, and his team face the onerous task of finding someone suitable to take up the baton. For the immediate present an Executive Committee will take charge, but it is imperative they appoint someone who recognises  the significance of 'Lotus DNA', that they recognise the importance of Lotus history, and the current workforce, Mike has done a magnificent job of steering Lotus through the current storm and that work must continue.

So, we wish Mike 'bon voyage' but I'm sure Lotus have not seen the last of him – and of course there's still that Esprit to enjoy. We hear too that he plans to take-up an old hobby of shooting. Those who have upset him in the past – in particular politicians and bankers responsible for the crisis – had better watch out, he has a habit of hitting his target!

John Elwin

July 2009