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 S touring nature. The Europa S has a dry weight of just achieved by an extruded and bonded aluminium chassis with composite body panels and front crash structure. The Europa S is a derivative of the Lotus Elise and Exige to the extent that the cars have variations of the same bonded aluminium chassis but the Europa bears a separate Lotus model designation (Type 121) due, in part, to its longer chassis and completely new design. The mid-engine two-seat coupé has a 2.0 L turbocharged GM Z20LER Ecotec straight-4 engine, producing at 5,400 rpm and of torque. coupled to the Getrag