LEFT: Seen here at the controls of his in-house dynamometer, Mike Taylor is the brains behind the business, not only selling loads of Lotus bits but also involved in a lot of high-tech R & D.
ABOVE: The company keeps a huge stock of Lotus parts, from whole bodyshells right down to every last nut and bolt.
We’ ve met many people who are in the enviable position of having made a successful business out of a hobby or interest, usually specialising in a particular niche. But very few have succeeded quite so comprehensively as Mike Taylor, the proprietor of Lotusbits, who not only owns a thriving business but also the industrial estate that it is based upon, with many high-quality companies as symbiotic neighbours.
As is obvious from the name, Mike’ s business specialises in parts and services for Lotus cars, in particular the 900 series engined vehicles, and can supply new and secondhand spare parts as well as cater for every requirement from routine servicing and maintenance,
right up to full engine rebuilds and body-off restorations.
He may not fully have realised it at the time, but the success of the current business is the result of a whole set of skills and experience accumulated during his long and very professional career in various aspects of engineering and marketing.
After graduating from Bath University with a BEng( Hons) degree in Electronic and Communication Engineering, Mike worked for Lucas for nine years developing engine management and suspension control systems.
This then led to his employment with Valeo as product manager for electronic security systems where, among many other roles, he
ABOVE: Plenty of interest was shown in the trade stand at the recent Race Retro event, displaying the work of both Lotusbits and FJ-RS Engineering.
designed and patented ultrasonic product lines. When Valeo closed its development centre in the UK, he was appointed senior account manager for automotive parts specialist Sommer Allibert, before moving to Nissan Technical Centre Europe in 2002, then spending some time based in Japan as a troubleshooting globetrotter.
In the meantime, Mike had indulged his automotive enthusiasm in many forms, with a whole series of fast cars on both road and track. Shortly after parting with an Escort RS1600i which he used for road rallies, Mike took the opportunity to buy a Lotus Elite from his housemate for the knockdown price of £ 400. This was in 1992. Typically,... P
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