Ron Hickman Ron Hickman Ronald Price Hickman OBE (21 October 1932 – 17 February 2011) was a South African-born, Jersey-based car designer and inventor who designed the original Lotus Elan, the Lotus Elan +2 and the Lotus Europa, as well as the Black & Decker Workmate. Hickman was born in Greytown, Natal, South Africa, where he worked as a courthouse clerk after leaving high school. He moved to London in the 1950s where he was employed by a music publisher. From 1954 Hickman worked for the Ford Motor Company at Dagenham first as a clay modeller and later he helped to style
Birkin Cars Birkin Cars Birkin Cars, Ltd. is a South African-based car manufacturer. The company's specialty and only currently-produced vehicle is the S3 Roadster, a kit-car copy of the Lotus Super 7. The founder and owner of the company is John Watson, a descendant of pioneering race car driver Tim Birkin. Birkin Cars was formed in 1982. Founder John Watson, an automotive enthusiast, was a fan of the classic Lotus Seven. However, the car had since finished production from the manufacturer and could no longer be purchased as new. Through the early 1980s, Watson developed and built his own version of the