Oliver Winterbottom, visionary car designer who helped take Lotus on to the global stage – obituary His designs, known for their smooth, timeless appearance and inherent engineering, included the Lotus Elite MkII and the Eclat range Oliver Winterbottom Credit: Antony Kelly Oliver Winterbottom, who has died aged 76, was the man behind some of the greatest car designs in the most significant eras of the independent British car manufacturers Lotus, and TVR. Little known outside his industry, Winterbottom played a vital role within industrial design and was far more than a “stylist”. He was a founding figure in the 1970s wedge-shaped car design trend which became a global movement.