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
Lotus Europa who offered "special" versions in small numbers to the public. Among these was the Swiss Lotus importer, who made two special versions of the S2 fitted with the Renault 16 TS type 807 engine, the "Europa Hemi 807" and the fuel injected "Europa Black Shadow 807". The Hemi 807 had SAE and could reach , while the Black Shadow had power output of . The Black Shadow also received a five-speed gearbox. These cars had a wider track, special wheels and stickers, white indicator lights up front, and featured extractor vents high on the side panel behind the rear door.