Gone in a Flash! British Carmaker Lotus Marks 50 Years in 4.2 Seconds

One of the few remaining British car makers is celebrating 50 years with a sports car that can reach speeds of 100 kilometers an hour in just 4.2 seconds.

"The Evora 400 is the latest in a long line of world-beating sports and racing cars to have been hand built in Hethel over the last 50 years," Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Group Lotus plc said.

The anniversary edition of Lotus' latest model, the Evora 400 weighs in at just 1,395 kilograms and is built by hand at the purpose-built factory at a former RAF airfield in Hethel, Norfolk.

Evora 400 Hethel Edition

© Photo : Lotus Cars

The Lotus Mark 1 was built in 1948 and was an Austin 7-based sports car; fast forward almost 70 years and the limited edition Evora 400 has arrived, built to mark 50 years since the founding of Lotus' factory in Norfolk.

British Built, Not British Owned

There are just four British-owned car companies left: Bristol, Morgan, Caterham and McLaren. The most famous ones, Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls Royce and Mini are foreign-owned. However, they are made on British soil.

Spectre Aston Martin DB10, one of the series of DB10s designed and engineered by Aston Martin exclusively for James Bond, Spectre.

© Photo : Christie's Images LTD. 2016

Lotus, made in Norfolk is Malaysian-owned and Aston Martin in Warwickshire is owned by two Kuwaiti companies.

#Bentayga Exterior Paint Colour: Extreme Silver Location: Lake Como, #Italy.

A photo posted by Bentley Motors Official (@bentleymotors) on May 13, 2016 at 2:28am PDT

Bentley Motors built in Crewe is owned by Volkswagen and Rolls Royce, manufactured in Goodwood is owned by German BMW.

Jaguar/Land Rover are built in the West Midlands and Liverpool — but are owned by Tata Motors in India. BMW builds Minis in Oxfordshire.

The UK production line is pretty busy, producing more than 1.5 million cars and 205 million engines a year — and production is looking pretty hot.