History of Seven Car Club of Natal

THE Seven Car Club of Natal is happy to be celebrating 30 years of existence. The group is bonded by their love and passion for the Lotus Sevens Marquea, a small, simple, lightweight, two-seater, open-top, open-wheel sports car. Speaking to the Highway Mail, one of the group members, Pascal Fabre, said their community, as owners of the Lotus Seven, consists of 120 members throughout KZN, where they share tips on how to maintain their cars and demonstrate to each other the capabilities of these cars with so much history.

“Back in 1992, a few friends living in Pinetown, who owned Lotus Sevens, used to meet on a regular basis at a venue (Lord Charles in Stapleton Road). They would go on early Sunday morning drives. Other Lotus Seven owners started to join them on their runs. The group of 10 friends bonded and decided that a club should be formed to focus solely on the Lotus Seven brand. The club was formally established, a constitution formed and the club was named Sevens Car Club of Natal in 1993,” he explained.

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Beyond the history of the 30-year-old club, the Lotus holds history that dates back as far as 1952, originally from London, and made its traces to South Africa with the Birkin influence.

Pascal recalls the history. “The Lotus Engineering Company was founded by Colin Chapman and Michael Allen back in 1952. This partnership, however, split within the same year, and Colin Chapman and his then-girlfriend, Hazel Williams, who later became his wife, proceeded with the company a year later in 1953. The company was headquartered at the Railway Hotel in Hornsey, North London, where Chapman built race cars in his spare time. There are a few theories on how Lotus got its name, one of which is the lotus fruit, which evokes dreaminess, and another to the lotus flower. It is, however, rumoured that Chapman often said ‘us lot’ so the name could have been a reverse of that saying: ‘lot us’. Others believe that the name was suggested by Hazel, Chapman’s wife and business partner. Whatever the true inspiration for the name, Lotus died with Chapman itself. The Lotus Seven comes from humble beginnings, and motor racing was the prime mover to develop a car to compete in motor-racing events.

The Birkin Influence:

Birkin Cars was formed in Pinetown in 1982 by John Birkin Watson, John Scott and Barry de Groot, who combined forces to build five Lotus Seven type cars. The name ‘Birkin’ was John Watson’s middle name. His great uncle was Sir Henry Ralph Stanley ‘Tim’ Birkin, a British racing driver and one of the ‘Bentley Boys’ of the 1920s, confirming that the name Birkin has indeed got roots in motor racing.

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Since the birth of the Birkin Cars, the company expanded several times, from the first factory in Pinetown, situated at 28 Underwood Road, then to Westmead, where it expanded its facilities, then to Halifax Road and lastly to Prospecton in Durban. Production of the Lotus Seven peaked between 1996 and 1999, with almost two cars produced a day. Cars were sold through dealerships around the world, including the USA, Japan and across Europe. The cars could be purchased fully assembled or as a DIY kit. Several four-cylinder engines were on offer, including the Ford Kent, Zetec or the Toyota 4AG. Further developments to the car included independent rear suspension as opposed to the previously used ‘live’ axle. In July 2013, Birkin added a ‘wide body’ option which increased the size of the car by some 110mm in width and 90mm in length. At that stage, some 90% of Birkin sales were exported to Japan.

The continuation of the tradition still stands today as the club meets regularly to grow their passion and explore all there is. Should you want to join the club or be part of their regular meetings, feel free to email alanpienaar@mweb.co.za.

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