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 Elan lists the following weights: Lotus marketing material from the S1 period quoted the weight at "11 1/2 cwt" (1,288 lb.) and from the S3 period quoted as "from 1,232 lb." Meanwhile, reported weights in magazine road tests varied from (Elan 1600, Cars Illustrated, August 1964) to (S4 FHC SE, Road & Track, January 1969). The table above shows that the weight of the vehicle changed during its production lifetime, tending to increase. Additional features such as electric windows, more luxurious carpeting, and larger wheels and tyres all contributing to the gain. The performance of the Elan was derived from the