Oliver Winterbottom is one of Britain's most famous automotive designers. Winterbottom worked directly with Colin Chapman

Colin Chapman

Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman CBE was an influential British designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars....

 who appointed him to lead the design and safety engineering projects at Lotus Cars. In addition to Lotus Cars, Winterbottom has worked with TVR

TVR

thumb|right|240px|TVR No.2, the oldest surviving TVR, located at [[Lakeland Motor Museum, Newby Bridge, Cumbria]]TVR was an independent British manufacturer of sports cars. Until 2006 it was based in the English seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, but has since split up into several smaller...

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Lotus & Chapman

At Lotus, Winterbottom designed the second generation Lotus Elite

Lotus Elite

Not to be confused with the Lotus Elise.The Lotus Elite name was used for two vehicles from Lotus Cars.-1957:The first Elite or Lotus Type 14 was an ultra-light two-seater coupé, produced from 1958 to 1963....

 that was acclaimed as a masterpiece of wedge design. In addition to the Elite II, Winterbottom designed the Lotus Eclat

Lotus Eclat

The Type 76 and Type 84 Lotus Eclat, built from 1974 to 1982, was a front engine rear drive coupe. It was based on the Lotus Elite but had a fastback body style which offered more practicality with storage in the boot ....

, the Lotus M90

Lotus M90

The Lotus M90 is a concept car that was developed by Lotus using many Toyota parts. Rumors were circulated that it was the initial design for the MKI MR2, but, though sharing an engine, it bears very little resemblance to the mid-engine roadster.In 1981, Oliver Winterbottom was brought back to...

, (X100) and the TVR Tasmin

TVR Wedges

TVR Wedges is a commonly used name for a series of wedge-shaped sports cars built by British specialist sports car manufacturer TVR between 1980 and 1991. There were 2-seat convertibles and 2-seater or 2+2 liftback coupés, with four-, six- and eight-cylinder engines from a variety of manufacturers...

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A Leader in Safety Engineering

At Lotus, Winterbottom was one of the first leading engineers and designers of the motor industry to focus on safety engineering in order to integrate safety features into the design process.

Engineering the Lotus V8

Winterbottom also was head of development for the V8 engine used within the Esprit, project 918.

Consultancy & COSVAM

Currently Winterbottom is an automotive consultant, and he also serves as membership director for the Coalition of Small Volume Automobile Manufacturers.
As of December 2008 Oliver Winterbottom is working as a consultant for SAIC Motors in Shanghai China.