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 timings, dual valve springs and a twin-barrel carburettor. These changes lifted the engine's power by 30% from 63 bhp @ 5000 rpm to 82 bhp @ 6000 rpm. For US export, a de-tuned 1565cc version was used giving 80 bhp @ 6000 rpm. Later Europa models were fitted with the same Ford-based Lotus Twin Cam engine used in the Lotus Elan range since 1962. This was a sophisticated, twin-overhead-cam, 8-valve high-performance motor producing 105 bhp in original (Euro) form (later lifted to 126 bhp in "big-valve" form), and it was reported that Lotus initially delayed its introduction in the Europa