Lotus Elan F1 supercar, reportedly said that his only disappointment with the McLaren F1 was that he could not give it the perfect steering of the Lotus Elan. In 2004, "Sports Car International" named the Elan number six on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s. The original version of the car was designed by Ron Hickman who also designed the first Lotus Europa as part of Lotus' GT40 project bid and made his fortune having designed the Black & Decker Workmate. Because of its successful design and rigorous attention to cost control on the body, chassis, engine and the
Bowin Cars Lotus included the Europa road car, as well as the Type 40 and Type 41 racers. On return to Australia in 1968, he started his own company, Bowin Designs Pty. Ltd., which designed and built racing cars for sale in Australia. Fifty-six cars were built in total between 1968 and 1976. During this period, he carried out several projects for Ford Motor Company and Leyland Motors on suspension design, to improve roadholding of Ford Falcon, Ford Escort and Leyland Marina cars. Approximately ten racing cars were sold for export to Canada, New Zealand and South East Asia. Bowin Cars have