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 factory in Malaysia, allowing for a lower sale price, but ultimately the company chose the Lotus Hethel factory for the car's production. Delivery of the Europa S began in September 2006 from the Lotus factory at Hethel, Norfolk. The car was not offered for sale in the United States or Canada as the Opel/Vauxhall-built turbocharger was not certified to meet emissions requirements for those countries. The Europa S body and platform was also used by Chrysler for their Dodge Circuit EV electric car concept. The Europa S was replaced by the more potent Europa SE in 2008. Production of the