Group Lotus & Ncfc: Pride Of Norfolk ‘United’

When Group Lotus unveiled five new concept cars on September 30th 2010 in Paris, the automotive world sat up and listened – Lotus were back.

When manager Paul Lambert led Norwich City Football Club through back-to-back promotions from League One through the Championship to the height of English football with a place in the Barclays Premier League for the 2011/12 season – the football world sat up and listened – after a six-year absence – the Canaries are back.

With the start of the 2011/12 season Norfolk based Group Lotus are proud to announce a five-season partnership with fellow Norfolk exports Norwich City Football Club. The relationship unites the two most prominent sporting entities in Norfolk and will allow Group Lotus the opportunity to communicate with the worldwide football audience through strategic branding and marketing activities.

Group Lotus announced the relationship in typical Lotus style by allowing brand ambassador Nigel Mansell to undertake a series of smoking stunts in the Evora GT4 in the car park outside NCFC's Carrow Road stadium with City Manager Paul Lambert and several first team players watching from the side-lines.

The Group Lotus All Stars, a group of five Lotus Motorsport drivers including Nigel Mansell, his son Greg, Lotus Renault GP driver Bruno Senna and Lotus Factory drivers James Rossiter and Ollie Jackson proceeded to entertain the media by taking on five NCFC players during a nail biting penalty shootout on the pitch.

Commenting on the announcement, Group Lotus Chief Executive Officer Dany Bahar said: "No one can deny the global appeal of football and this partnership with our local heroes Norwich City Football Club will provide us with a new platform to talk to future Lotus fans. The relationship makes sense on so many levels and we are very proud to be associated with a team who share our values of passion, performance and dedicated hard work. Business aside, I'm also planning on using our association with the team as a great staff motivator back at the factory where our team are working so hard."

Norwich City Chief Executive David McNally added: "This is a great and dynamic partnership with another Norfolk sporting giant which everyone at Norwich City is really excited about.

"It's a significant deal financially and a welcome commitment to the Club from a globally-renowned brand which also has a proud Norfolk heritage and strong local links. We're really looking forward to working together with Lotus in the seasons ahead."