Hawker Beechcraft Announces Strategic Alliance with Group Lotus, EBACE Sales Promotion

Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) today announced it has formed an alliance with Group Lotus, which will see the two manufacturers working together on a number of unique initiatives. This strategic collaboration brings together two of Britain’s best-known performance brands, representing a combination of 140 years of innovation, performance and craftsmanship.

“Lotus is a perfect partner for Hawker Beechcraft as we both share a long-standing tradition of providing products with ground-breaking design, technical innovation and exceptional quality and performance,” said Shawn Vick, HBC executive vice president. “This strategic alliance represents an exciting and progressive step forward in both the aviation and motoring markets, allowing our engineers to share knowledge and expertise that will benefit both parties.”

HBC also announced that, for a limited time, customers in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region who purchase an HBC aircraft between the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE), which runs May 17-19, and June 30 will receive a Lotus sports car. Hawker customers will receive a Lotus Evora while Beechcraft King Air customers will receive a Lotus Elise.

“This sales promotion gives us the opportunity to create some excitement around our new alliance with Lotus,” Vick said. “We look forward to having customers experience the revolutionary craftsmanship through the ownership of both products.”

Like HBC, Lotus was the first in its respective field to embrace composite design and it continues to set the standard in motoring technology. Both brands are also industry leaders in the development of composites, weight reduction and aerodynamics. Technology development meetings between HBC and Lotus engineers will provide an opportunity for sharing expert knowledge and working together on unique technological initiatives.

HBC will be accompanying the Lotus Renault GP at a number of F1 Grand Prix events over the coming season, including appearances at races in Turkey, Monaco, Germany and Britain, to showcase its range of aircraft to key growth markets in private aviation. Hawker aircraft will be featured at local airports throughout the race weekends, while prospects and clients will be treated to exclusive events within the Lotus Renault paddock.

Hawker Beechcraft Corporation is a world-leading manufacturer of business, special mission and trainer aircraft – designing, marketing and supporting aviation products and services for businesses, governments and individuals worldwide. The company’s headquarters and major facilities are located in Wichita, Kan., with operations in Salina, Kan.; Little Rock, Ark.; Chester, England, U.K.; and Chihuahua, Mexico. The company leads the industry with a global network of more than 100 factory-owned and authorized service centers. For more information, visit www.hawkerbeechcraft.com.

Group Lotus plc, is based in Norfolk, UK, and has three operating divisions: Lotus Cars, Lotus Engineering and Lotus Motorsport. Lotus Cars builds world class, high performance sports cars, including the award-winning Evora, the iconic Elise, the stunning Exige and the road / track orientated 2-Eleven. Lotus New Era, the future product lineup, was unveiled in Paris in September and features the new Esprit, Elan, Elite, Elise and Eterne. Lotus Engineering provides comprehensive and versatile consultancy services to many of the world's OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers and is an internationally recognised automotive engineering consultancy. Global facilities include those in the U.S., Malaysia, China and offices in Germany and Japan, with rapid expansion in new territories such as South East Asia. Lotus is a global high-tech company, expanding rapidly and committed to driving forward technology for both Lotus Cars and its Engineering clients, spearheading research into such areas as hybrids, electric vehicles and renewable fuels. Lotus Motorsport operates the motorsports activities of Lotus and includes the strategy to return the Lotus name to a great number of series, including endurance racing with GT2, GT4 and LMP2, as well as single seater racing with GP2, GP3 and IndyCar. Lotus also returned to F1 with Lotus Renault GP, beginning in the 2011 F1 racing season.