title: WrestleMania 39

text: As part of the WrestleMania festivities during the week of the event, WWE will hold a number of events throughout the week. The night before WrestleMania 39 on March 31, WWE will kick off WrestleMania Weekend with a special "WrestleMania Edition" of "SmackDown". Immediately after "SmackDown", the 2023 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will commence. The day of WrestleMania Saturday, WWE's developmental brand NXT will hold its annual WrestleMania Week event, Stand & Deliver. WrestleMania Week will conclude with the "Raw" after WrestleMania on April 3. All of these events will be held live at the Crypto.com Arena in Downtown Los Angeles.


title: WrestleMania 39

text: The event will include an unknown number of matches that each result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, "Monday Night Raw" and "Friday Night SmackDown".


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: In 2013, each story arc received a manga adaptation with varying manga artists and publishers. That same year, an anime television series adaptation by Madhouse was announced and aired from April to September 2014. "The Irregular at Magic High School" franchise had been localized for English by two companies: The light novels and one of the manga adaptations are licensed by Yen Press, while Aniplex of America licensed the anime series. The anime series was simulcasted on four networks, and was later made available on Netflix. An featuring an original story by Satō premiered in Japan in June 2017, while a second season taking place after the anime series by Eight Bit aired from October to December 2020. The season was simulcasted on Funimation and Hulu. An anime television series adaptation of "The Honor Student at Magic High School" by Connect aired from July to September 2021. A film adaptation of the series' "Reminiscence Arc" aired in December 2021. A sequel anime was announced on January 1, 2022.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: In 2020, a direct sequel called "The Irregular at Magic High School Magian Company" began being published. Set after the events of Volume 32, the sequel focuses on the protagonist Tatsuya Shiba and the others after their graduation from First High magic high school. A spinoff sequel called "New – The Irregular at Magic High School: Maidens of Cygnus" will begin publication in 2021. Its focus is on Katsuto Juumonji and the revelation about a new family member.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: The series has been well received. The light novels appeared on Sugoi Japan's 2015 polls and since 2020, is one of the top selling series in Japan with 22 million copies sold. In addition, its manga and anime adaptations also appeared on top selling charts. English reviewers had mixed reception towards the anime adaptation. The complex technicality of magic within the series was received warmly, but the exposition was criticized for being heavy, unclear, and poorly executed.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: The series is set in a world with an alternate history, where magic exists and has been polished through modern technology. However, the ability to use magic is determined by genetics, limiting the number of magicians in existence. Following the 20-year long Third World War that reduced the world's population to 3 billion, the world's superpowers shifted to these four nations: The United States of North America (USNA), New Soviet Union, the Great Asian Alliance, and Japan. In Japan, the magic community is informally governed by the Ten Master Clans in lieu of the government. Due to the limited number of magicians, they are treated as a commodity and are forced to enter magic-related schools and professions. Nine magic high schools exist in Japan; they each specialize in different aspects of magic and are simply referred to by their numbers.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: The story follows Tatsuya Shiba, a bodyguard to his sister Miyuki Shiba who is also a candidate to succeed the leadership of the Yotsuba clan, one of the Ten Master Clans that govern Japan's magicians. They enroll into First High School which segregates its students based on their magical abilities. Miyuki is enrolled as a first course student and is viewed as one of the best students, while Tatsuya is in the second course and considered to be magically inept. However, Tatsuya's technical knowledge, combat abilities, and unique magic techniques cause people to view him as an irregular to the school's standardized rankings.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: Tatsuya and Miyuki are siblings of the same school year and children to Tatsurou Shiba and the late Miya Yotsuba with Tasuya being 11 months older than Miyuki; their parents had a loveless forced marriage, and when their mother died, their father married his mistress, Sayuri Furuha, leaving the siblings to live by themselves. Maya Yotsuba, their aunt and the current leader of the Yotsuba Clan, was the reason Tatsuya was born with the unique magic to decompose, reconstruct, and detonate matter (along with some gene manipulation). Out of fear of his powers, the Yotsuba Clan leadership of that time argued for Tatsuya's death, forcing Miya and Maya to take measures to ensure his survival: the first was Miyuki's creation with genetic enhancements in utero, who would act as a seal to Tatsuya's power; the second was to magically dull Tatsuya's emotions except for his familial love towards Miyuki; and the third was to assign Tatsuya to be Miyuki's bodyguard in order to develop his sense of loyalty towards her. During a family vacation in Okinawa, Tatsuya warded off an invasion by the Great Asian Alliance and joined the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion which is headed by Major Kazama Harunobu. At some point during his life, Tatsuya developed an interest in engineering magical technology and commercialized revolutionary technology through his family's company, Four Leaves Technology, under the pseudonymous identity Taurus Silver. He is voiced by Yuichi Nakamura (Japanese) and Alejandro Saab (English).


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: Miyuki is considered one of the strongest magicians in the world and is a candidate to succeed her Aunt Maya as the leader of the Yotsuba Clan. Her specialty is freezing magic, and her unique magic allows her to freeze a person's consciousness. In addition, half of her magic casting ability is used to seal Tatsuya's powers. Before the family vacation in Okinawa, Miyuki treated Tatsuya coldly akin to how the other Yotsuba Clan members did. She began to warm up to him and when Tatsuya saved her life, she devoted her entire existence to him. It evolved to the point where she disdains the touch of other males and expresses jealousy towards females around Tatsuya. Genetically different from Tatsuya despite being born from the same parents, Miyuki professes her love to him following their engagement under Maya's orders. She is voiced by Saori Hayami (Japanese) and Anairis Quiñones (English).


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: In the polls by "Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi!", both Tatsuya and Miyuki ranked as one of the most popular light novel characters. Outside of the franchise, Tatsuya and Miyuki also appear in the video game "".


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: Tatsuya's group consists of seven classmates whom he spends time with in his daily school life. They often assist Tatsuya during investigations and dangerous situations.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: The student council is a group of students which provides a liaison between the teachers and students. Meanwhile, the Disciplinary Committee consists of students who are essentially rule enforcers. A third committee is the Extracurricular Activities Federation who ensures that school clubs don't come into conflict with each other. The three committees are closely related and work together to preserve the peace on campus.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: Two people worked alongside Mayumi during the year. The first was who was the leader of the Disciplinary Committee. Mari has a tomboyish personality but becomes completely feminine in front of her boyfriend, , who is also Erika's next oldest half brother. For combat, she uses a whip like blade and uses magic to manipulate chemicals. Second is , the leader of the Extracurricular Activities Federation. Katsuto is the next head of the Jumonji clan and inherited the clans barrier magic, Phalanx: an impenetrable and perpetual barrier used for defensive and offensive purposes. Both the Saegusa and Jumonji are members of the Ten Master Clans, forcing Mayumi and Katsuto to be politically involved with the magic community outside of school. Mari is voiced by Marina Inoue (Japanese) and Amber Lee Connors (English), Naotsugu is voiced by Susumu Chiba (Japanese) and Howard Wang (English), and Katsuto is voiced by Junichi Suwabe (Japanese) and Kaiji Tang (English).


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: During the Shiba siblings' second year, Mayumi is succeeded as student council president by , a timid and youthful looking girl. Azusa has an interest in magic engineering and suspects Tatsuya is secretly Taurus Silver. She is able to use a unique magic named after her, Azusa Dream, to forcefully pacify people. Mari is succeeded as chairman of the Disciplinary Committee by , an impulsive and good-natured girl. She is engaged to , an androgynous and timid boy, and loves him dearly. Azusa Nakajou is voiced by Saki Ogasawara (Japanese) and Michelle Marie (English), Kanon Chiyoda is voiced by Saori Onishi (Japanese) and Vivian Lu (English), and Kei Isori is voiced by Sōma Saitō (Japanese).


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: The story was conceived around a protagonist whose abilities cannot be properly measured through standardized evaluation; as such, he is mistakenly categorized as a poor performing student or an irregular. This premise served as a basis for the character, Tatsuya Shiba. Satō has two processes for scripting the story arcs: the first is to create scenarios to have characters behave and interact in certain ways; the second is to plan a scene, then script the story so it leads to that scene. Satō professed that he does not feel his characters are alive or have a will of their own when scripting them.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: Tsutomu Satō published his work on the online web novel website, Shōsetsuka ni Narō, between October 12, 2008, and March 21, 2011. At some point during his publication on Syosetu, Satō sent an original work to Dengeki Bunko under a pseudonym. The original work's setting shared similarities to "The Irregular at Magic High School" causing an editor to deduce his identity and offer him a publication deal. On March 11, 2011, the author announced his work is going to be published as a light novel under the Dengeki Bunko imprint. The author expressed some regret turning free content into paid commodity and cited his financial needs as the reason. The illustrations accompanying the light novels were done by Kana Ishida. The first light novel volume was unable to accommodate the first story arc; deciding against cutting content from the web novel, it was split into two volumes and released a month later. On March 9, 2015, Yen Press announced its licensing of the light novels for English localization through Twitter. Yen Press' first volume was released in April 2016.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: In June 2020, it was announced that the novel series would be ending with its 32nd volume which was released on September 10, 2020.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: In July 2020, both a direct book sequel and a new spinoff series were announced. The sequel, titled began on October 10, 2020. The spinoff, began publication on January 9, 2021.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: "The Irregular at Magic High School" had several manga adaptations with various artists and publishers; each manga adaptation covered a story arc from the original light novel series. The first adaptation was by Fumino Hayashi and Tsuna Kitaumi and covered the Enrollment Arc of the light novels. The latest manga adaptation was drawn by Yuzuki N' and covers the President Election Arc.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: A spin-off manga titled by Yu Mori premiered in "Dengeki Daioh"s June 2012 issue. It was collected in eleven "tankōbon" volumes under the Dengeki Comics Next imprint. Yen Press licensed the series' "tankōbon" volumes for a North American release, and released the first volume in November 2015.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: An anime adaptation of the light novel was announced during the Dengeki Bunko Fall Festival on October 6, 2013. It is directed by Manabu Ono and animated by Madhouse. It aired on Tokyo MX, GTV, and GYT from April 6 to September 28, 2014; nine other networks and three streaming services broadcast the series afterwards. The individual episodes were later encapsulated into ten DVD and Blu-ray volumes released between July 2014 and April 2015. LiSA sang the first opening theme titled "Rising Hope".


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: In March 2014, Aniplex of America announced its acquisition for streaming rights to the anime series; much later they unveiled their plans to release the series into three Blu-ray volumes which segregate the episodes by story arcs. Four networks simulcasted the series with English subtitles: these include Aniplex Channel, Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Daisuki. In June 2014, the Australasia distributor, Hanabee Entertainment, announced its licensing of the series for streaming and home media release. Months later, Netflix made the series available on their network. Animax Asia also began broadcasting the series in July 2015.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: Three related media to the anime were created. The first is a super deformed short series titled by Aniplex. These shorts were uploaded on Aniplex's YouTube channel, and was later English subtitled and uploaded on Aniplex of America's channel. An internet radio show titled , premiered on March 23, 2014, and is hosted by Sora Amamiya and Yuiko Tatsumi, the voice actresses for Honoka Mitsui and Shizuku Kitayama respectively; the radio show episodes was later made available for purchase on CD. The third is a radio drama DVD which was released in December 2014 and is based on the light novel's "Recollection Arc".


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: An anime film titled was revealed in the 19th light novel volume which was released in March 2016. The film is based on an original new story written by the series creator, Tsutomu Satō, and premiered in Japan on June 17, 2017. It is directed by Risako Yoshida and animated by Eight Bit. The rest of the staff and cast will reprise their roles in the film. In the United States, Aniplex of America released the film in theaters and on home video. The film takes places after the events of the eleventh volume of the light novel or during the commecial break of the eleventh episode of the series' second season.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: At the "Dengeki Bunko Aki no Namahōsō Festival" event on October 6, 2019, a second season of the anime series adapting the "Visitor Arc" in the novel series was announced and originally scheduled to air in July 2020, but it aired from October 4 to December 27, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The main staff and cast from the 2017 film are reprising their roles in the second season. ASCA performed the opening theme song "Howling", while Miki Satō performed the ending theme song "Na mo Nai Hana". Aniplex of America announced its acquisition the anime series, and originally announced that Funimation would stream it exclusively, but Hulu ended up streaming the series as well. On November 13, 2020, Funimation announced that the second season of the series would receive an English dub.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: After the end of the series, it was revealed that the spin-off manga series, "The Honor Student at Magic High School" would get an anime television series adaptation, which aired from July 3 to September 25, 2021, on Tokyo MX and other channels. The series is animated by Connect and directed by Hideki Tachibana, with Tsuyoshi Tamai writing and overseeing the series' scripts, Ryōsuke Yamamoto and Takao Sano designing the characters, and Taku Iwasaki returning to compose the series' music. The opening theme is "101" performed by Sangatsu no Phantasia while the ending theme is "Double Standard" performed by Philosophy no Dance.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: On February 28, 2021, an anime adaptation of the "Reminiscence Arc" was announced. It was later revealed to be a 60-minute television film, with the main cast and staff of the second season reprising their roles. It aired on December 31, 2021. The theme song is "Ripe Aster" by Kairi Yagi.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: Three video game adaptations have been made for the franchise. The first is "The Irregular at Magic High School: Out of Order" by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It is a 3D fighting game for the PlayStation Vita and was released on December 25, 2014. The second game is "The Irregular at Magic High School": , a Japanese role-playing game by Mobage. It was made available for Android, iOS, and feature phone on June 9, 2014. The third game is "The Irregular at Magic High School: Lost Zero", developed by BeXide and published by Square Enix. It was made available for Android and iOS on September 4, 2014.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: The light novels have been well received. They were ranked seventh in Sugoi Japan 2015 polls and since 2011, was one of the top selling light novel series in Japan. In 2014, 5.3 million copies of the light novel were sold. In addition, its manga and anime adaptations also appeared on top selling charts. In 2017, the light novel series sold 7.7 million copies. Till 2020, the series has sold more than 20 million copies. As of December 2021 sale numbers exceeded 22 million copies.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: Anime News Network had four editors review the first episode of the anime: Carl Kimlinger saw potential in its take on a typical anime premise, praising Tatsuya as the lead protagonist and its handling of mysteries surrounding the plot; Theron Martin, although hopeful because of its male lead and plot concept, expressed criticism towards the indistinguishable animation and constant exposition for the viewers; and Rebecca Silverman felt that it was bland and nothing special. The fourth reviewer, Jacob Chapman, expressed immediate dislike towards the series, criticizing it for lacking anything to engage the viewers and for being a lazy adaptation of a light novel, and concluding the review with "I can't even remember the last time I saw something with not a single redeeming factor or thing to recommend about it at all." Silverman reviewed the series future episodes. Plotwise, she praised the "Enrollment Arc"s underline on standardized testing, criticized the "Nine Schools Competition Arc" for its execution and weak exposition, and felt the characters were uninteresting. Silverman felt the series doesn't live up to its potential and cited the background music and stilted animations as possible reasons.


title: The Irregular at Magic High School

text: Chris Beveridge's review for Fandom Post was highly positive towards the anime series, calling it a dark horse contender as one of their top new anime series of the year. Beveridge praised the technical and fundamental aspects of magic in the series for breaking the supernatural approach other works usually take and liked the potential impact it could have on future events. However, while the reviewer liked the series' technicality, they noted it will frustrate certain viewers in that aspect. Richard Eisenbeis, writing for Kotaku, liked the characters, story, the complex and technical magic system, and mysteries. However, Eisenbeis criticized the exposition, citing it to be poorly timed, heavy, and failing to explain things with better clarity. He concluded his review by writing how the anime might have been great if a different director or screenwriting was hired.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Lotus Cars Limited is a British automotive company headquartered in Norfolk, England which manufactures sports cars and racing cars noted for their light weight and fine handling characteristics.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Lotus was previously involved in Formula One racing, via Team Lotus, winning the Formula One World Championship seven times.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Lotus Cars was founded and owned for many years by Colin Chapman. After his death and a period of financial instability, it was bought by General Motors, then Romano Artioli and DRB-HICOM through its subsidiary Proton. It is currently majority owned by Chinese multinational Geely, with Etika Automotive as a minority shareholder.


title: Lotus Cars

text: The engineering consultancy firm Lotus Engineering, an offshoot of Lotus Cars, has facilities in the United Kingdom, United States, China, and Malaysia.


title: Lotus Cars

text: The company was formed in 1952 as Lotus Engineering Ltd. by engineers Colin Chapman and Colin Dare, both graduates of University College, London, but had earlier origins in 1948 when Chapman built his first racing car in a garage. The four letters in the middle of the logo stand for the initials of company founder, Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman. When the logo was created, Colin Chapman's original partners Michael and Nigel Allen were led to believe that the letters stood for Colin Chapman and the Allen Brothers.


title: Lotus Cars

text: The first factory was situated in old stables behind the Railway Hotel in Hornsey, North London. Team Lotus, which was split off from Lotus Engineering in 1954, was active and competitive in Formula One racing from 1958 to 1994. The Lotus Group of Companies was formed in 1959. This was made up of Lotus Cars Limited and Lotus Components Limited, which focused on road cars and customer competition car production, respectively. Lotus Components Limited became Lotus Racing Limited in 1971 but the newly renamed entity ceased operation in the same year.


title: Lotus Cars

text: The company moved to a purpose built factory at Cheshunt in 1959 and since 1966 the company has occupied a modern factory and road test facility at Hethel, near Wymondham in Norfolk. The site is a former World War II airfield, RAF Hethel, and the test track uses sections of the old runway.


title: Lotus Cars

text: In its early days, Lotus sold cars aimed at privateer racers and trialists. Its early road cars could be bought as kits, in order to save on purchase tax. The kit car era ended in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Lotus Elan Plus Two being the first Lotus road car not to be offered in kit form, and the Lotus Eclat and Lotus Elite of the mid-1970s being offered only in factory built versions.


title: Lotus Cars

text: After the elegant but delicate Lotus Elite of the 1950s, which featured a complete fibreglass monocoque fitted with built-in steel pickup points for mounting major components, Lotus found critical and sales success in the 1960s with the Lotus Elan two seater later developed to two plus two form. Lotus was notable for its use of fibreglass bodies, backbone chassis, and overhead camshaft engines, initially supplied by Coventry Climax but later replaced by Lotus-Ford units (Ford block, Lotus head and twin cam valve gear). Lotus worked with Ford on the Lotus Cortina, a successful sports saloon.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Another Lotus of the late 1960s and early 1970s was the two seater Lotus Europa, initially intended only for the European market, which paired a backbone chassis and lightweight body with a mid mounted Renault engine, later upgraded to the Lotus-Ford twin cam unit as used in the Elan.


title: Lotus Cars

text: The Lotus Seven, originating in the 1950s as a simple, lightweight open two seater continued in production into the early 70s. Lotus then sold the rights to produce the Seven to Caterham, which has continued to produce the car since then.


title: Lotus Cars

text: By the mid-1970s, Lotus sought to move upmarket with the launch of the Elite and Eclat models, four seaters aimed at prosperous buyers, with features such as optional air conditioning and optional automatic transmissions. The mid engined line continued with the Lotus Esprit, which was to prove one of the company's longest lived and most iconic models. Lotus developed its own series of four cylinder DOHC engines, the Lotus 900 series, and later a V8, and turbocharged versions of the engines appeared in the Esprit.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Variants of the 900 series engine were supplied for the Jensen Healey sports car and the Sunbeam Lotus "hot hatchback". In the 1980s, Lotus collaborated with Vauxhall Motors to produce the Lotus Carlton, the fastest roadgoing Vauxhall car.


title: Lotus Cars

text: By 1980, Group Lotus was in serious financial trouble. Production had dropped from 1,200 units per year to a mere 383. The combined reasons were that the world was in the middle of an economic recession and sales in the key United States market had virtually collapsed, along with limited development of the then model range.


title: Lotus Cars

text: In early 1982, Chapman came to an agreement with Toyota to exchange intellectual property and applied expertise. This initially resulted in Lotus Engineering helping to develop the Mk2 Toyota Supra, also known as the Toyota Celica XX. Secondly, it allowed Lotus to launch the new Lotus Excel to replace the ageing Lotus Eclat. Using drivetrain and other components from Toyota enabled Lotus to sell the Excel for £1,109 less than the outgoing Eclat.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Looking to re-enter the North American market, Chapman was approached by young law professor and investment banking consultant, Joe Bianco, who proposed a new and separate United States sales company for Lotus. By creating an unprecedented tax-incentived mechanism wherein each investor received a specially personalised Lotus Turbo Esprit, the new American company, Lotus Performance Cars Inc. (LPCI), was able to provide fresh capital to the Group Lotus in the United Kingdom. Former Ferrari North America general manager John Spiech was brought in to run LPCI, which imported the remarkable Giugiaro-designed Turbo Esprit for the first time. US sales began to quickly jump into triple digits annually.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Chapman died of a heart attack on 16 December 1982 at the age of 54, having begun life as an innkeeper's son and ended a multi-millionaire industrialist in post-war Britain. At the time of his death, the car maker had built thousands of successful racing and road cars and won the Formula One World Championship seven times.


title: Lotus Cars

text: At the time of his death, both Chapman and Lotus were linked with the DeLorean Motor Company scandal over the use of UK Government subsidies for the production of the DMC DeLorean, for which Lotus had designed the chassis. Chasing large sums of money which had disappeared from the DeLorean company, Lotus was besieged by Inland Revenue inspectors, who imposed an £84 million legal "protective assessment" on the company. Chapman died before the full deceit unravelled but, at the subsequent trial of Fred Bushell, the Lotus accountant, the judge insisted that had Chapman himself been in the dock, he would have received a sentence "of at least 10 years".


title: Lotus Cars

text: With Group Lotus near bankruptcy in 1983, David Wickins, the founder of British Car Auctions, agreed to become the new company chairman, through an introduction from his friend Mark Thatcher. Taking a combined 29% BCA/personal stake in Group Lotus, Wickins negotiated with the Inland Revenue, and then brought in new investors: merchant bank Schroeder-Wagg (14%); Michael Ashcroft's Bermudian operating company Benor (14%); Sir Anthony Bamford of JCB (12%). Wickins oversaw a complete turnaround in the company's fortunes, which resulted in him being called "The saviour of Lotus".


title: Lotus Cars

text: Despite having employed designer Peter Stevens to revamp the range and design two new concept cars, by 1985 the British investors recognised that they lacked the required capital to invest in the required new model development to production, and sought to find a major motor manufacturing buyer. In January 1986, Wickins oversaw the majority sale of the Group Lotus companies and 100% of North American–based LPCI to General Motors, with engineer Bob Eaton a big Lotus car fan. After four months' control of Group Lotus by the co-owners GM and Toyota, the latter sold GM its stake. By October 1986, GM had acquired a 91% stake in Group Lotus for £22.7 million, which allowed GM to legally force the company buyout.


title: Lotus Cars

text: On 27 August 1993, GM sold the company, for £30 million, to A.C.B.N. Holdings S.A. of Luxembourg, a company controlled by Italian businessman Romano Artioli, who also owned Bugatti Automobili SpA. In 1996, a majority share in Lotus was sold to Proton, a Malaysian car company listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Lotus Cars were awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise for contribution to International Trade, one of 85 companies receiving the recognition in that category in 2002. Lotus cars wore the badge of the award for a number of years.


title: Lotus Cars

text: On 24 May 2017, Chinese multinational Geely announced that was taking a 51% controlling stake in Lotus. The remaining 49% were acquired by Etika Automotive, a holding company of Proton's major shareholder Syed Mokhtar Albukhary.


title: Lotus Cars

text: In January 2021 Lotus' parent company Geely announced a joint venture with Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance and their Alpine division to develop a range of electric performance cars sharing some of their future platforms. In April 2021 Lotus announced plans to produce only electric cars by 2028 and increase production numbers from around 1,500 per annum to tens of thousands. Geely and Etika Automotive provided two billion pounds (US$2.8 billion) to fund the changes.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Currently organised as Group Lotus plc, the business is divided into Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering.


title: Lotus Cars

text: As well as sports car manufacture, the company also acts as an engineering consultancy, providing engineering development—particularly of suspensions- for other car manufacturers. Lotus's powertrain department is responsible for the design and development of the 4-cylinder Ecotec engine found in many of GM's Vauxhall, Opel, Saab, Chevrolet and Saturn cars. The US Lotus Elise and Exige models used the 1.8L VVTL-i I4 from Toyota's late Celica GT-S and the Matrix XRS both of which are no longer available new. The new Exige has the same V6 engine as its bigger counterpart the Evora and is not available in the US as a road-legal vehicle.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Michael Kimberley, who had been a guiding figure at Lotus in the 1970s, returned and took over as the Acting chief executive officer of the Company and its Group from May 2006. He chaired the executive committee of Lotus Group International Limited ("LGIL") established in February 2006, with Syed Zainal Abidin (managing director of Proton Holdings Berhad) and Badrul Feisal (non-executive director of Proton Holdings Berhad). LGIL is the holding company of Lotus Group Plc.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Kimberley retired as CEO on 17 July 2009, replaced on 1 October 2009 by the former Senior Vice-president for Commercial & Brand at Ferrari, Dany Bahar. Bahar intended to drive the brand up-market into the expanding global luxury goods sector, effectively away from the company's traditional light weight simplicity and pure driving experience focus.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Bahar was suspended as CEO on 25 May 2012 on a temporary basis, while an investigation into his conduct was undertaken. Lotus announced on 7 June 2012 the termination of Bahar's employment and the appointment of Aslam Farikullah as the new chief operating officer. The ambitious plans for several new models were subsequently cancelled following Bahar's departure. Jean Marc Gales replaced Bahar as the CEO of the company in 2014 and enabled the company to make a profit after decades in 2017, due to his effective market plans and strategies before he left the company in June 2018 due to personal reasons, and was replaced by Feng Qingfeng from Lotus Group's parent company, Geely.


title: Lotus Cars

text: October 2018 saw further senior personnel changes as Phil Popham was named CEO of Lotus Cars, with Feng Qingfeng remaining in charge of Group Lotus.


title: Lotus Cars

text: In January 2021 Matt Windle was appointed managing director of Lotus Cars after Phil Popham stepped down.


title: Lotus Cars

text: In its early days, the company encouraged its customers to race its cars, and it first entered Formula One through its sister company Team Lotus in 1958. A Lotus Formula One car driven by Stirling Moss won the marque's first Grand Prix in 1960 at Monaco. Moss drove a Lotus 18 entered by privateer Rob Walker. Major success came in 1963 with the Lotus 25, which – with Jim Clark driving – won Team Lotus its first F1 World Constructors' Championship. Clark's untimely death – he crashed a Formula Two Lotus 48 in April 1968 after his rear tyre failed in a turn in Hockenheim – was a severe blow to the team and to Formula One. He was the dominant driver in the dominant car and remains an inseparable part of Lotus's early years. That year's championship was won by Clark's teammate, Graham Hill.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Team Lotus is credited with making the mid-engined layout popular for IndyCars, developing the first monocoque Formula One chassis, and the integration of the engine and transaxle as chassis components. Team Lotus was also among the pioneers in Formula One in adding wings and shaping the undersurface of the car to create downforce, as well as the first to move radiators to the sides of the car to aid in aerodynamic performance and inventing active suspension.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Even after Chapman's death, until the late 1980s, Team Lotus continued to be a major player in Formula One. Ayrton Senna drove for the team from 1985 to 1987, winning twice in each year and achieving 17 pole positions. By the company's last Formula One race in 1994, the cars were no longer competitive. Team Lotus constructed cars won a total of 79 Grand Prix races. During his lifetime Chapman saw Lotus beat Ferrari as the first Marque to achieve 50 Grand Prix victories, despite Ferrari having won their first nine years sooner.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Formula One Drivers' Championship winner for Lotus were Jim Clark in 1963 and 1965, Graham Hill in 1968, Jochen Rindt in 1970, Emerson Fittipaldi in 1972 and Mario Andretti in 1978. In 1973 Lotus won the constructors' championship only; the drivers' title went to Jackie Stewart of Tyrrell.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Team Lotus established Classic Team Lotus in 1992, as the Works historic motorsport activity. Classic Team Lotus continues to maintain Lotus F1 cars and run them in the FIA Historic Formula One Championship and it preserves the Team Lotus archive and Works Collection of cars, under the management of Colin Chapman's son, Clive.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Team Lotus's participation in Formula One ended at the end of the 1994 season. Former racing driver David Hunt (brother of F1 world champion James Hunt) purchased the name 'Team Lotus' and licensed it to the Formula One team Pacific Racing, which was rebranded Pacific Team Lotus. The Pacific Team folded at the end of the 1995 season.


title: Lotus Cars

text: The Lotus name returned to Formula One for the 2010 season, when a new Malaysian team called Lotus Racing was awarded an entry. The new team used the Lotus name under licence from Group Lotus and was unrelated to the original Team Lotus. In September 2010 Group Lotus, with agreement from its parent company Proton, terminated the licence for future seasons as a result of what it called "flagrant and persistent breaches of the licence by the team". Lotus Racing then announced that it had acquired Team Lotus Ventures Ltd, the company led by David Hunt, and with it full ownership of the rights to the "Team Lotus" brand and heritage. The team confirmed that it would be known as Team Lotus from 2011 onwards.


title: Lotus Cars

text: In December 2010 Group Lotus announced the creation of Lotus Renault GP, the successor to the Renault F1 team. This team contested the 2011 season having purchased a title sponsorship deal with the team, with the option to buy shares in the future. The team's car for that season, the R31, was badged as a Renault, while Team Lotus's car, the T128, was badged as a Lotus. In May 2011, the British High Court of Justice ruled that Team Lotus could continue to use the "Team Lotus" name, but Group Lotus had sole right to use the "Lotus" name on its own. As a consequence, for Lotus Renault GP was rebranded as Lotus F1 Team and its cars were badged as Lotuses, while Team Lotus was renamed Caterham F1 Team (after the sports car manufacturer owned by team principal Tony Fernandes) and its cars were badged as Caterhams.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Group Lotus was also involved in several other categories of motorsport. It sponsored the KV team in the IndyCar Series and used to sponsor the ART team in the GP2 and GP3 Series in 2011 and 2012. In 2011, Lotus also returned to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a semi-works effort run by Jetalliance Racing, which fielded two Lotus Evoras.


title: Lotus Cars

text: After fielding underpowered and uncompetitive engines in the 2012 Indianapolis 500, in which drivers Jean Alesi and Simona de Silvestro were black-flagged after ten laps for failing to maintain a competitive pace, Lotus was released from its contract and did not participate in future seasons.


title: Lotus Cars

text: At the 2010 Paris Motorshow, Lotus announced five new models to be introduced over the next five years: Their intention was to replace the Elise with an entirely different model, as well as to introduce two entirely new sports coupes, which would have been known as the Elite and the Elan, a new sports saloon, the Eterne, to rival the Aston Martin Rapide and Maserati Quattroporte, and a modern interpretation of the Esprit supercar.


title: Lotus Cars

text: It became apparent in July 2012 that the firm's financial difficulties had made this plan impossible to implement, and initially all but the Esprit project were cancelled. Subsequently, the Esprit project was also cancelled.


title: Lotus Cars

text: In 2011, Lotus revealed this as the Lotus Ethos, a plug-in hybrid car based on the EMAS concept from its parent company Proton, and likely to be primarily built by Proton in Malaysia. This car has also been cancelled.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Lotus CEO at the time Jean Marc Gales confirmed in 2017 that development of an SUV is currently under way, after the company was acquired by the Chinese automotive manufacturer, Geely.


title: Lotus Cars

text: In January 2021, Lotus teased that the Elise, Exige, and Evora will be discontinued and be replaced by the Type 131 which had yet to be released at the time of announcement. In July 2021, Lotus revealed that this new model will be called Emira. With a July 6, 2021 debut, the letter "E", in Emira was brought into focus by the British automobile company, as to how all Lotus models names started with "E" after Lotus Eleven. Not to confuse with numeral 11, in Mark X1, as Mark 11, subsequent to Mark X; the company's founder Colin Chapman, named the car as Lotus Eleven. Since 1956, all Lotus cars names start with letter "E".


title: Lotus Cars

text: Lotus Engineering Limited is an offshoot of Lotus Cars, which provides engineering consultancy to third-party companies primarily in the automotive industry. As well as Hethel in the United Kingdom Lotus has engineering centres in Ann Arbor, USA, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Shanghai, China. In 2000, Lotus Engineering, Inc. was established with an office in Ann Arbor, Michigan.


title: Lotus Cars

text: The APX (also known as the "Aluminium Performance Crossover") is an aluminium concept vehicle revealed at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show built on Lotus Engineering's Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA).


title: Lotus Cars

text: Whereas the VVA technology was to be used in the development of a new mid-engine sportscar for Lotus cars, the APX is, in fact, a high-performance 7-seat MPV with four-wheel drive and a front-mounted V6 engine from Lotus Engineering's Powertrain division. The engine was designed and developed to be available in a 2.2-litre naturally aspirated and 3.0-litre supercharged variations. An electric version was also shown in the 2007 NADA show.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA) is an effort by the Lotus car manufacturing company to reduce the investment needed for producing unique, niche-market cars by sharing a number of common components.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Lotus Engineering developed the Evora 414E as their first hybrid concept car. Featuring a total hybrid range of more than 300 miles.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Lotus joined Jaguar Cars, MIRA Ltd and Caparo on a luxury hybrid executive sedan project called "Limo-Green"—funded by the UK Government Technology Strategy Board. The vehicle will be a series plug-in hybrid.


title: Lotus Cars

text: Lotus unveiled their first series production electric sports car called the Evija in July 2019. The car is undergoing development under the codename Type 130. Production would be limited to 130 units and is scheduled to begin in Summer 2020. The Evija makes use of a 70 kWh battery pack developed in conjunction with Williams Advanced Engineering. There are 4 electric motors placed on each wheel supported by an Integral powertrain. The powertrain is rated at a total output of and of torque. The Evija has a range of .


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The Toyota Fortuner, also known as the Toyota SW4, is a mid-size SUV manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota since 2004. Built on the Hilux pickup truck platform, it features two/three rows of seats and is available in either rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive configuration. It is a part of Toyota's IMV project for emerging markets, which also includes the Hilux and the Innova.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: While the first-generation Fortuner was developed in Thailand by Thai and Japanese engineers, its facelifted version, as well as the Hilux and Innova, was designed in Australia by Toyota Australia, which is also responsible for developing the second-generation model.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: For the medium body-on-frame SUV segment, Toyota offers the Hilux Surf/4Runner (Japan/North America) and the Land Cruiser Prado (Europe and Australasia). However, in some Central and South American countries and New Zealand, Toyota offers the Fortuner alongside the 4Runner and/or Prado, like in Peru, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, and Guatemala.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: Specialised variants with a naturally-aspirated "5L-E" diesel engine is offered to governments, organisations and the UN alongside other utility vehicles such as the Prado, Hilux, HiAce, and the 70 and 200 series Land Cruisers.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The first generation Fortuner was unveiled in December 2004 at the Thailand International Motor Expo and was available for sale in early 2005. It is positioned below the Land Cruiser and above the RAV4.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: At first, the Fortuner was sold with 4 different types of 2 petrol engines and 2 diesel engines. All variants were offered in 4×2 (RWD) or 4×4 configuration, with 5-speed manual transmission and a 4 or 5-speed automatic transmission. In August 2012, the 2.5-litre common-rail turbodiesel "2KD-FTV" engine was upgraded to a variable nozzle turbocharger (VNT) which was already equipped in the 3.0-litre common-rail turbo diesel "1KD-FTV" since its introduction in 2005 to increase power and torque about 60%, also reducing fuel consumption up to 30%. With this VNT equipment, the Fortuner could now accelerate from 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) in about 11 seconds (less than 10 seconds for 3.0-litre engine). It was launched to commemorate Pertamina's successful expedition from Jakarta, Indonesia to Rome, Italy (a distance of roughly 20,000 kilometres) using a group of Fortuners.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: A number of engine options are available depending on the country of sale, including a 2.7-litre "2TR-FE" and 4.0-litre "1GR-FE" V6 petrol with Variable Valve Timing and 2.5-litre "2KD-FTV" and 3.0-litre "1KD-FTV" common rail variable geometry turbocharger diesel models.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: Grade levels are G and G Luxury for rear-wheel drive diesel and petrol, and V for 4×4 Diesel and petrol. The common rail turbo intercooled diesel has functional scoop on its hood.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In 2007, Toyota Thailand dropped the 4×4 petrol model and replaced it with a two-wheel drive petrol version.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In Argentina, it is assembled in Zárate and sold as the Toyota SW4 in petrol and diesel versions. It is the only D-segment SUV made in Argentina.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: Like in Argentina, it is known as the SW4 in Brazil and sold since 2006. In this market, there were 3 engine options offered: 3.0-litre 1KD-FTV diesel, 4.0-litre 1GR-FE V6 petrol and 2.7-litre 2TR-FE flex fuel (petrol and ethanol).


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: Launched in 2005, the Fortuner in Brunei is available in 2.5-litre manual G grade with and 3.0-litre automatic V grade. The 2.5 G was available in 4×2 while the 3.0 V had full-time 4×4.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The Fortuner was unveiled in Colombia in 2005 and launched in 2007 as a replacement for the locally assembled Prado that had been under production for 9 years without any changes. The Prado continued in production until 2009. A new grade was added in 2010, the Fortuner Urbana, with a petrol 2.7 L engine in 4×4 and 4×2 models.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: All of them come standard with a 5-speed manual transmission or an optional 4-speed automatic transmission.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The Fortuner was unveiled in South America – Ecuador in 2005 and launched in 2007. Versions of the Fortuner have come from Venezuela and Thailand. There are various grade levels available, originally only 4×4 and 4×2 options using a V6 4.0-litre petrol engine were sold. Since 2010, a 2.7-litre engine option was introduced. New facelift models were also introduced. All grades come standard with a 5-speed manual transmission or an optional 4-speed automatic transmission.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The Fortuner was unveiled in Egypt in 2010 and launched in 2011. It is available in two grades with two petrol engines: the 4-litre V6 1GR-FE, and the 2.7-litre inline-four 2TR-FE. All have automatic transmission and 4×4. The car is assembled in Egypt at Arab American Vehicles.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: Toyota launched the Fortuner in India in 2009. It is assembled at the Bidadi, Karnataka plant of Toyota Kirloskar Motor from imported CKD kits. Fortuner production increased to more than 950 vehicles per month from the initial 500 units per month.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: Originally there was only one grade model sold, which was the 3.0-litre "1KD-FTV" engine 4×4 model, with leather upholstery, manual transmission and climatronic as standard. At the 2012 Indian Auto Expo, Toyota launched the 3.0-litre 4×2 option in both manual and automatic transmission. The top-of-the-range Fortuner 3.0 4×4 AT was introduced to the Indian market in January 2015 along with a 2.5-litre "2KD-FTV" engine with 5-speed manual and 5-speed automatic transmission. This 2.5-litre variant was only available in 4×2 configuration.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The Fortuner was introduced on 8 July 2005 at the 13th Gaikindo Auto Expo in Jakarta. Initially, the Fortuner was imported from Thailand and sold in 2.7 G (4×2) and 2.7 V (4WD) grade levels. The rear wheel drive 2.7 G was offered in the base grade with fabric interior and the Luxury with leather interior and premium sound system. The 3.0-litre diesel engine option is not sold in Indonesia, due to the heavier tax regulations imposed on vehicles with diesel engines larger than 2.5-litre.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The 2.5 G model was later added to the market in 2007, powered by a 2.5-litre diesel engine rated at . It is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. Since then, the Fortuner is assembled locally at the Karawang plant to fulfill the local market and exports to the Middle East (GCC) market.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In mid-2009, a newer variant was added to the lineup, which is the 2.5 G with a 4-speed automatic transmission. The 2.5 G grade can be ordered with "TRD Sportivo" body kits, which is also available as dealer installed options for other models. In August 2012, the 2.5-litre common-rail turbodiesel 2KD-FTV engine was upgraded with a variable nozzle turbocharger (VNT), rating the engine power output to . The 2.5 G 4×4 grade with automatic transmission was released in August 2014.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In June 2014, Toyota announced that complete knock-down (CKD) production of the Fortuner at a production facility of Saryarka AvtoProm LLP (SAP). Plans call for a production of approximately 3,000 units annually and the hiring of an additional 100 employees in SAP.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The Toyota Fortuner was launched in Malaysia in August 2005 with two grade models: the 2.5 G and the 2.7 V.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In August 2008, the first facelift for the Toyota Fortuner was made available in Malaysia with four grade models: 2.5 G, 2.5 G TRD Sportivo, 2.7 V and 2.7 V TRD Sportivo.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In October 2011, the second facelift for the Toyota Fortuner was made available in Malaysia again with four grade models: 2.5 G, 2.5 G TRD Sportivo, 2.7 V and 2.7 V TRD Sportivo.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In October 2013, the Fortuner underwent a minor update. Changes included different colour for the wheels and black upholstery. Grade levels remained the same as the previous model. ISOFIX became standard across the range.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In February 2015, another minor update occurred. Changes included smoked head and tail lamps, bumper-mounted LED DRLs, different TRD Sportivo decals.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The 2.7 V and 2.7 V TRD Sportivo carried a 2.7-litre petrol engine. It was available only in 4-speed automatic transmission with ECT. The 2.5 G and 2.5 G TRD Sportivo had a 2.5-litre diesel engine. At the outset, available with a 5-speed manual transmission only, but for the 2009 model year facelift it was replaced by a 4-speed automatic. In August 2012, together with the Hilux, the engine received a variable nozzle intercooled turbocharger.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The Fortuner was launched in Pakistan in February 2013. Initially offered in two variants, Fortuner 2.7 VVT-i and TRD Sportivo, all with the 2.7-litre "2TR-FE" engine.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The Fortuner was introduced in 2005. It fills in the gap between the smaller RAV4, and the more premium Land Cruiser Prado. It was sold in two grade levels: the entry-level G, and the top-spec V.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The G models had three drivetrain options available; the 2.7-litre "2TR-FE" petrol engine with VVT-i, or the 2.5-litre "2KD-FTV" engine with common rail diesel (D-4D) that either came with a 4-speed automatic transmission, or a 5-speed manual. As for the V models, engine options were limited to diesel engines with automatic transmissions only with a choice of the 2.5-litre "2KD-FTV" or the 3.0-litre "1KD-FTV". The top-of-the-line 4x4 model was equipped with the "1KD-FTV" engine with D-4D technology and came with a 4-speed automatic transmission and a low range transfer case.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In October 2011, the Fortuner received a new front fascia, headlights and tail lights alongside the facelifted Innova and Hilux. The drivetrains remain the same.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In September 2012, the 2.5-litre "2KD-FTV" diesel engine was upgraded with Variable Nozzle Turbocharger (VNT) with intercooler. According to Toyota Motor Philippines, the engine would have improved fuel efficiency and produce additional power by 40% and increase torque by 30%. A new feature for the Fortuner 4×4 V diesel and 4×2 G diesel automatic variants was an audio system with GPS.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the Fortuner was launched in 2005. There are two grades sold in Saudi Arabia, called the "GX" and the "VX" grades. The GX came with the 2.7-litre engine and 5-speed manual as standard (4-speed automatic is an option) and optional 4×4 whereas the VX came with the 4.0-litre V6 1GR-FE with standard 4×4 and all wheel drive with either a 5-speed automatic or 5-speed manual transmission. There is no diesel variant available. In the UAE, when the facelifted version was released the Fortuner was available in two variants, the 2.7-litre petrol engine and 4.0-litre petrol engine. In 2015 the Fortuner in the UAE came available with TRD body kits. As of 2015, the Fortuner is available in four variants: 2.7 EXR, 2.7 TRD Sportivo, 4.0 GXR, 4.0 VXR and 4.0 TRD Sportivo.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The Fortuner was introduced in 2005 in Singapore by Borneo Motors (Toyota's authorised dealer in Singapore), with the 2.7 V grade being the only available model. It received two facelifts, with changes to the headlight and tail light clusters in its first facelift in 2006, and new bumpers and grill design, new headlamp and clear tail lamp clusters, and blackwood grain trim in its interior for the second facelift in 2011. Later models included a touchscreen telematics navigation system. Due to the car's height (1.85 m), the car cannot clear the height limit in some Singaporean car parks.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The Fortuner was unveiled in South Africa in 2005 and launched in 2006 where it became the best-selling SUV since its launch. Toyota released an updated model in 2009. In 2011, the Fortuner benefited from another facelift, together with its sibling the Hilux. A 2.5-litre diesel engine was added to the newly facelifted range. Again in 2013, the Fortuner received some minor interior upgrades notably for the first time; the introduction of a black leather interior. The sound system was also upgraded together with the navigation system.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: Two grades are available for 2011 – 4×4 and 4×2 – both with the 4.0-litre V6 engine. The assembly plant is located in Cumaná.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In February 2009, Toyota Motor Vietnam (TMV) started to produce Fortuner – SUV of IMV series. And the Fortuner has soon occupied the first position in medium high SUV segment in Vietnam with the accumulated sales of nearly 25,000 units with a steady SUV market share at 64% with 6,129 units sold in 2012.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: A minor redesign of the Fortuner was launched in July 2008. It was first unveiled in Thailand, and then at the 16th Indonesia International Motor Show. It features new projector headlamps and grille, new rear lights, Bluetooth connectivity, new light sand interior, electronic adjustable driver's seat in 4×4 V model, rear air conditioning from ceiling for second, and third row which was originally located on the sides. Electronic Brake Force Distribution, with Brake Assist replacing LSPV in some models only. Its newly redesigned front grille and front lamps are in the style of the Land Cruiser 200 Series.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The second facelift Fortuner was introduced in July 2011. It was first unveiled in Bangkok, Thailand. The front fascia was completely revised with a new fender, hood, grille, headlamps, tail lamps, bumper and fog light housing, similar to the J200 Land Cruiser. The tail lamps were redesigned with clear housing similar to the first generation Lexus RX. The rear bumper, rear garnish plate were also revised. Changes in the sides includes a new sharper fender flares, LED integrated side view mirrors and the wheels was also redesigned similar to the 2012 Hilux. Minor changes were also made to the interior including the centre console, steering wheel and audio/video system were also upgraded. The Fortuner later also received a new VNT (Variable Nozzle Turbo) intercooled turbo engine.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The second generation Fortuner was unveiled simultaneously on 16 July 2015 in Australia and Thailand. Along with the Hilux, the Fortuner features the "Keen Look" design language. Both the Hilux and Fortuner share the chassis, transmission and engine lineup, with two new diesel engines from the GD series. The 2.7-litre and 4.0-litre petrol engines were updated with Dual VVT-i. The second-generation Fortuner features a part-time 4×4 system instead of the full-time 4×4 system used in the previous generation.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: Development was led by executive chief engineer Hiroki Nakajima. Despite sharing the hood panels, front pillar area, windscreen glass and front doors as the Hilux, the exterior of the Fortuner has been described as more slim-looking, featuring slim headlights with bi-beam LED projector as an option and blacked-out D-pillars for a "floating roof" look. Toyota designers drew inspiration from their own Land Cruiser and Land Cruiser Prado heritage, as a means of differentiating the Fortuner from competing body-on-frame SUV rivals.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: Since this generation, the Fortuner no longer shares the interior design with the Hilux to give a distinct character between the two. As the result, the interior took an upwards step in perceived quality with an upright dashboard design with synthetic leather trims with stitching, a three-spoke steering wheel shared with the Hilux and a modern instrument cluster with a large colour TFT LCD multi-info display.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The Fortuner also features larger cross sections for its ladder frame, and sits on double wishbone front suspension and five-link rear suspension with coil springs. The rear differential lock also has its componentry placed within the differential housing for improved off-road protection.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: All variants are equipped with ABS, EBD, dual airbags plus knee airbag, "follow me home" light function, all around sensor, glove box with chiller function, digital automatic climate control, all auto power windows along with tilt and telescopic steering wheel as standard. All variants have Eco Mode and Power Mode features to adjust throttle responses. The front braking system consists of 17" disc brakes, whilst the rear braking system uses drum brakes, except in Australia and India where disc brakes are used all around. In 2017, the Fortuner was upgraded to disc brakes all around in all markets. In the third row, the 50:50 split seats continue to flips up onto the body side while being folded instead of folding flat into the floor like on most of its competitors.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The Fortuner is powered by a range of petrol and diesel engines. The two GD series engines are newly developed for this generation, which feature common-rail direct-injection and variable nozzle turbocharging; the 2.8-litre also gets auto start-stop in some markets. The 2.7-litre petrol engine is lighter and equipped with Dual VVT-i, improved combustion and less friction.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The Fortuner was unveiled in Australia in July 2015 and went on sale in October 2015. It is sold only with 4×4, 2.8-litre turbo-diesel with only a six-speed automatic transmission. Three model grades are available: GX, GXL and Crusade.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In 2022, the Australian market Fortuner was no longer sourced from Thailand, instead it is imported from Indonesia.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The second generation Fortuner was launched in November 2016 with two engine options, 2.8-litre diesel and 2.7-litre petrol with either manual or automatic transmission, 4×2 or 4×4.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In early 2020, the Indian market Fortuner was upgraded to meet the Bharat Stage 6 emissions standards, which necessitate the addition of diesel particulate filter (DPF).


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The facelifted Fortuner was launched in India in January 2021, which is offered in both standard and Legender grades. In May 2022, the GR Sport variant was released as the highest grade.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The second generation Fortuner was launched in January 2016. Initial grade models were G (diesel, available in 4×2 with manual and automatic transmission, and 4×4 with automatic unit), VRZ (diesel, available in either 4×2 or 4×4, only with automatic transmission), and SRZ (petrol 4×2 automatic). Initial engine options were the 2.7-litre petrol engine or the 2.4-litre diesel engine.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The TRD Sportivo body kits were also available for the SRZ and VRZ variants (4×2 only) from August 2017 up to August 2021. In August 2018, the Fortuner was updated to comply with the Euro 4 emission standards. The TRD Sportivo model received a minor update in July 2019.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The facelifted Fortuner was launched in Indonesia in October 2020. In August 2021, the TRD Sportivo variant was renamed to GR Sport while the standard SRZ grade was removed from the lineup, leaving only its GR Sport variant.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In January 2022, the 2.4-litre diesel engine option for VRZ grade and its GR Sport variant was replaced with the 2.8-litre diesel engine. The standard 4×4 VRZ grade was also replaced by its GR Sport variant with the 2.8-litre diesel engine, alongside the discontinuation of 4×4 G grade.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The second generation Fortuner was launched in March 2016 with one model grade, V 4×4 with 3.0-litre diesel engine and 5-speed automatic transmission. In August 2017, the Fortuner was updated with an introduction of the new 2.8-litre diesel engine that replaced the old 3.0-litre diesel engine used in the outgoing model along with other upgrades.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The second generation Fortuner was launched in May 2016 and was offered in 2.4 VRZ 4×4 turbodiesel and 2.7 SRZ 4×4 petrol variants with automatic transmissions. In January 2017, both variants obtained "Energy Efficient Vehicle" (EEV) status from the government, which reduced its price. In September 2017, the 2.4 VRZ was renamed as the 2.4 4×4 and two additional grade models were introduced: 2.4 VRZ 4×2 and 2.4 VRZ 4×4.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The facelifted Fortuner was launched in Malaysia in February 2021 alongside the facelifted Innova. It is offered in three variants: 2.4 4×4, 2.7 SRZ 4×4 and 2.8 VRZ 4×4. In November 2021, the Fortuner SRZ and VRZ models was updated with dual-zone automatic climate control as standard along with other upgrades.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In late 2017, Toyota Indus introduced the Sigma 4 variant of the Fortuner, powered by the 2.8 litre diesel engine.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The second generation Fortuner was launched in the Philippines on 14 January 2016 with two new diesel engines (2.8-litre and 2.4-litre), and an updated 2.7-litre petrol engine. Initial grade levels were the entry-level G and top-spec V.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In August 2017, the Fortuner was refreshed for the 2018 model year. Rear disc brakes became standard on all grades along with other upgrades. The Fortuner became the best-selling car in the Philippines in 2017.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The facelifted Fortuner was launched in the Philippines on 17 October 2020. It is offered in 2.4 G, 2.4 V, 2.8 Q and 2.8 LTD grade levels with the 2.7 G petrol variant being discontinued. In September 2021, the Fortuner received another feature list upgrade.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The Fortuner went on sale in Russia in October 2017. The Fortuner sold in Russia is only available in 4×4 with 2.8-litre turbo-diesel and 2.7-litre petrol engines, with either five-speed manual or six-speed automatic gearbox. Four grade choices are offered: Standard, Comfort, Elegance and Prestige. Fortuners sold in the Russian market are imported from Thailand.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In Thailand, initial grade levels were the G and V. In March 2016, the TRD Sportivo variant was added to the lineup.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In 2021, the Fortuner gained a new body kit by Modellista. The GR Sport variant also became available.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In February 2022, a special variant called the Commander was released. Only 1,000 units were produced.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: In August 2022, the regular Fortuner was replaced with Leader G and Leader V grade levels, which share the styling with the upmarket Legender model.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The facelifted Fortuner debuted on 4 June 2020 for the Thai market alongside the facelifted Hilux. The Legender flagship sub-model (known as VRZ in Malaysia, LTD in the Philippines, Diamond in South America, and Black Onyx in Russia) was introduced to replace the Thai market TRD Sportivo model. The Legender grade is equipped with a different headlight units from the standard grades and different front and rear bumper designs which designed to be in-line with Toyota crossover SUVs. It is also equipped with 20-inch wheels, interior ambient lighting, two-tone leather seats, JBL sound system, and a set of Toyota Safety Sense active safety systems. The 2.8-litre "1GD-FTV" diesel engine received an upgrade, producing and of torque.


title: Toyota Fortuner

text: The Legender-based GR Sport variant with different styling from the Indonesian market Fortuner GR Sport was launched in Thailand on 26 August 2021, in the Philippines on 23 October 2021, in Brazil on 8 December 2021 and in India on 12 May 2022. It is only available in 2.8-litre diesel engine option with 4×4.


title: Trench warfare

text: Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became archetypically associated with World War I (1914–1918), when the Race to the Sea rapidly expanded trench use on the Western Front starting in September 1914.


title: Trench warfare

text: Trench warfare proliferated when a revolution in firepower was not matched by similar advances in mobility, resulting in a grueling form of warfare in which the defender held the advantage. On the Western Front in 1914–1918, both sides constructed elaborate trench, underground, and dugout systems opposing each other along a front, protected from assault by barbed wire. The area between opposing trench lines (known as "no man's land") was fully exposed to artillery fire from both sides. Attacks, even if successful, often sustained severe casualties.


title: Trench warfare

text: The development of armoured warfare and combined arms tactics permitted static lines to be bypassed and defeated, leading to the decline of trench warfare after the war. Following World War I, "trench warfare" became a byword for stalemate, attrition, sieges, and futility in conflict.


title: Trench warfare

text: Field works have existed for as long as there have been armies. Roman legions, when in the presence of an enemy, entrenched camps nightly when on the move.


title: Trench warfare

text: Trench warfare was also documented during the defense of Medina in a siege known as the Battle of the Trench (627 AD). The architect of the plan was Salman the Persian who suggested digging a trench to defend Medina.


title: Trench warfare

text: In early modern warfare troops used field works to block possible lines of advance. Examples include the Lines of Stollhofen, built at the start of the War of the Spanish Succession of 1702–1714, the Lines of Weissenburg built under the orders of the Duke of Villars in 1706, the Lines of Ne Plus Ultra during the winter of 1710–1711, and the Lines of Torres Vedras in 1809 and 1810.


title: Trench warfare

text: In the New Zealand Wars (1845–1872), the Maori developed elaborate trench and bunker systems as part of fortified areas known as pā, employing them successfully as early as the 1840s to withstand British artillery bombardments. According to one British observer, "the fence round the pa is covered between every paling with loose bunches of flax, against which the bullets fall and drop; in the night they repair every hole made by the guns". These systems included firing trenches, communication trenches, tunnels, and anti-artillery bunkers. British casualty rates of up to 45 percent, such as at Gate Pa in 1864 and the Battle of Ohaeawai in 1845, suggested that contemporary weaponry, such as muskets and cannon, proved insufficient to dislodge defenders from a trench system. There has been an academic debate surrounding this since the 1980s, when in his book "The New Zealand Wars," historian James Belich claimed that Northern Māori had effectively invented trench warfare during the first stages of the New Zealand Wars. However, this has been criticised by some other academics, with Gavin McLean noting that while the Māori had certainly adapted pā to suit contemporary weaponry, many historians have dismissed Belich's claim as "baseless... revisionism".


title: Trench warfare

text: The Crimean War (1853–1856) saw "massive trench works and trench warfare", even though "the modernity of the trench war was not immediately apparent to the contemporaries".


title: Trench warfare

text: Union and Confederate armies employed field works and extensive trench systems in the American Civil War (1861–1865) — most notably in the sieges of Vicksburg (1863) and Petersburg (1864–1865), the latter of which saw the first use by the Union Army of the rapid-fire Gatling gun, the important precursor to modern-day machine guns. Trenches were also utilized in the Paraguayan War (which started in 1864), the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905).


title: Trench warfare

text: Although technology had dramatically changed the nature of warfare by 1914, the armies of the major combatants had not fully absorbed the implications. Fundamentally, as the range and rate of fire of rifled small-arms increased, a defender shielded from enemy fire (in a trench, at a house window, behind a large rock, or behind other cover) was often able to kill several approaching foes before they closed with his position. Attacks across open ground became even more dangerous after the introduction of rapid-firing artillery, exemplified by the "French 75", and high explosive fragmentation rounds. The increases in firepower had outstripped the ability of infantry (or even cavalry) to cover the ground between firing lines, and the ability of armour to withstand fire. It would take a revolution in mobility to change that.


title: Trench warfare

text: The French and German armies adopted different tactical doctrines: the French relied on the attack with speed and surprise, and the Germans relied on firepower, investing heavily in howitzers and machine guns. The British lacked an official tactical doctrine, with an officer corps that rejected theory in favour of pragmatism.


title: Trench warfare

text: While the armies expected to use entrenchments and cover, they did not allow for the effect of defences in depth. They required a deliberate approach to seizing positions from which fire support could be given for the next phase of the attack, rather than a rapid move to break the enemy's line. It was assumed that artillery could still destroy entrenched troops, or at least suppress them sufficiently for friendly infantry and cavalry to manoeuvre.


title: Trench warfare

text: Digging-in when defending a position was a standard practice by the start of WWI. To attack frontally was to court crippling losses, so an outflanking operation was the preferred method of attack against an entrenched enemy. After the Battle of the Aisne in September 1914, an extended series of attempted flanking moves, and matching extensions to the fortified defensive lines, developed into the "race to the sea", by the end of which German and Allied armies had produced a matched pair of trench lines from the Swiss border in the south to the North Sea coast of Belgium.


title: Trench warfare

text: By the end of October 1914, the whole front in Belgium and France had solidified into lines of trenches, which lasted until the last weeks of the war. Mass infantry assaults were futile in the face of artillery fire, as well as rapid rifle and machine-gun fire. Both sides concentrated on breaking up enemy attacks and on protecting their own troops by digging deep into the ground. After the buildup of forces in 1915, the Western Front became a stalemated struggle between equals, to be decided by attrition. Frontal assaults, and their associated casualties, became inevitable because the continuous trench lines had no open flanks. Casualties of the defenders matched those of the attackers, as vast reserves were expended in costly counter-attacks or exposed to the attacker's massed artillery. There were periods in which rigid trench warfare broke down, such as during the Battle of the Somme, but the lines never moved very far. The war would be won by the side that was able to commit the last reserves to the Western Front. Trench warfare prevailed on the Western Front until the Germans launched their Spring Offensive on 21 March 1918. Trench warfare also took place on other fronts, including in Italy and at Gallipoli.


title: Trench warfare

text: Armies were also limited by logistics. The heavy use of artillery meant that ammunition expenditure was far higher in WWI than in any previous conflict. Horses and carts were insufficient for transporting large quantities over long distances, so armies had trouble moving far from railheads. This greatly slowed advances, making it impossible for either side to achieve a breakthrough that would change the war. This situation would only be altered in WWII with greater use of motorized vehicles.


title: Trench warfare

text: Early World War I trenches were simple. They lacked traverses, and according to pre-war doctrine were to be packed with men fighting shoulder to shoulder. This doctrine led to heavy casualties from artillery fire. This vulnerability, and the length of the front to be defended, soon led to front line trenches being held by fewer men. The defenders augmented the trenches themselves with barbed wire strung in front to impede movement; wiring parties went out every night to repair and improve these forward defences.


title: Trench warfare

text: The small, improvised trenches of the first few months grew deeper and more complex, gradually becoming vast areas of interlocking defensive works. They resisted both artillery bombardment and mass infantry assault. Shell-proof dugouts became a high priority.


title: Trench warfare

text: There were three standard ways to dig a trench: entrenching, sapping, and tunnelling. Entrenching, where a man would stand on the surface and dig downwards, was most efficient, as it allowed a large digging party to dig the full length of the trench simultaneously. However, entrenching left the diggers exposed above ground and hence could only be carried out when free of observation, such as in a rear area or at night. Sapping involved extending the trench by digging away at the end face. The diggers were not exposed, but only one or two men could work on the trench at a time. Tunnelling was like sapping except that a "roof" of soil was left in place while the trench line was established and then removed when the trench was ready to be occupied. The guidelines for British trench construction stated that it would take 450 men 6 hours at night to complete of front-line trench system. Thereafter, the trench would require constant maintenance to prevent deterioration caused by weather or shelling.


title: Trench warfare

text: Trenchmen were a specialized unit of trench excavators and repairmen. They usually dug or repaired in groups of four with an escort of two armed soldiers. Trenchmen were armed with one 1911 semi-automatic pistol, and were only utilized when either a new trench needed to be dug or expanded quickly, or when a trench was destroyed by artillery fire. Trenchmen were trained to dig with incredible speed; in a dig of three to six hours they could accomplish what would take a normal group of frontline infantry soldiers around two days. Trenchmen were usually looked down upon by fellow soldiers because they did not fight. They were usually called cowards because if they were attacked while digging, they would abandon the post and flee to safety. They were instructed to do this though because through the war there were only around 1,100 trained trenchmen. They were highly valued only by officers higher on the chain of command.


title: Trench warfare

text: The banked earth on the lip of the trench facing the enemy was called the parapet and had a fire step. The embanked rear lip of the trench was called the parados, which protected the soldier's back from shells falling behind the trench. The sides of the trench were often revetted with sandbags, wire mesh, wooden frames and sometimes roofs. The floor of the trench was usually covered by wooden duckboards. In later designs the floor might be raised on a wooden frame to provide a drainage channel underneath.


title: Trench warfare

text: The static movement of trench warfare and a need for protection from snipers created a requirement for loopholes both for discharging firearms and for observation. Often a steel plate was used with a "key hole", which had a rotating piece to cover the loophole when not in use. German snipers used armour-piercing bullets that allowed them to penetrate loopholes. Another means to see over the parapet was the trench periscope – in its simplest form, just a stick with two angled pieces of mirror at the top and bottom. A number of armies made use of the periscope rifle, which enabled soldiers to snipe at the enemy without exposing themselves over the parapet, although at the cost of reduced shooting accuracy. The device is most associated with Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli, where the Turks held the high ground.


title: Trench warfare

text: Dugouts of varying degrees of comfort were built in the rear of the support trench. British dugouts were usually deep. The Germans, who had based their knowledge on studies of the Russo-Japanese War, made something of a science out of designing and constructing defensive works. They used reinforced concrete to construct deep, shell-proof, ventilated dugouts, as well as strategic strongpoints. German dugouts were typically much deeper, usually a minimum of deep and sometimes dug three stories down, with concrete staircases to reach the upper levels.


title: Trench warfare

text: Trenches were never straight but were dug in a zigzagging or stepped pattern, with all straight sections generally kept less than a dozen meters. Later, this evolved to have the combat trenches broken into distinct fire bays connected by traverses. While this isolated the view of friendly soldiers along their own trench, this ensured the entire trench could not be enfiladed if the enemy gained access at any one point; or if a bomb, grenade, or shell landed in the trench, the blast could not travel far.


title: Trench warfare

text: Very early in the war, British defensive doctrine suggested a main trench system of three parallel lines, interconnected by communications trenches. The point at which a communications trench intersected the front trench was of critical importance, and it was usually heavily fortified. The front trench was lightly garrisoned and typically occupied in force only during "stand to" at dawn and dusk. Between behind the front trench was located the support (or "travel") trench, to which the garrison would retreat when the front trench was bombarded.


title: Trench warfare

text: Between further to the rear was located the third reserve trench, where the reserve troops could amass for a counter-attack if the front trenches were captured. This defensive layout was soon rendered obsolete as the power of artillery grew; however, in certain sectors of the front, the support trench was maintained as a decoy to attract the enemy bombardment away from the front and reserve lines. Fires were lit in the support line to make it appear inhabited and any damage done immediately repaired.


title: Trench warfare

text: Temporary trenches were also built. When a major attack was planned, assembly trenches would be dug near the front trench. These were used to provide a sheltered place for the waves of attacking troops who would follow the first waves leaving from the front trench. "Saps" were temporary, unmanned, often dead-end utility trenches dug out into no-man's land. They fulfilled a variety of purposes, such as connecting the front trench to a listening post close to the enemy wire or providing an advance "jumping-off" line for a surprise attack. When one side's front line bulged towards the opposition, a salient was formed. The concave trench line facing the salient was called a "re-entrant." Large salients were perilous for their occupants because they could be assailed from three sides.


title: Trench warfare

text: Behind the front system of trenches there were usually at least two more partially prepared trench systems, kilometres to the rear, ready to be occupied in the event of a retreat. The Germans often prepared multiple redundant trench systems; in 1916 their Somme front featured two complete trench systems, one kilometre apart, with a third partially completed system a further kilometre behind. This duplication made a decisive breakthrough virtually impossible. In the event that a section of the first trench system was captured, a "switch" trench would be dug to connect the second trench system to the still-held section of the first.


title: Trench warfare

text: The use of lines of barbed wire, razor wire, and other wire obstacles, in belts deep or more, is effective in stalling infantry traveling across the battlefield. Although the barbs or razors might cause minor injuries, the purpose was to entangle the limbs of enemy soldiers, forcing them to stop and methodically pull or work the wire off, likely taking several seconds, or even longer. This is deadly when the wire is emplaced at points of maximum exposure to concentrated enemy firepower, in plain sight of enemy fire bays and machine guns. The combination of wire and firepower was the cause of most failed attacks in trench warfare and their very high casualties. Liddell Hart identified barbed wire and the machine gun as the elements that had to be broken to regain a mobile battlefield.


title: Trench warfare

text: A basic wire line could be created by draping several strands of barbed wire between wooden posts driven into the ground. Loose lines of wire can be more effective in entangling than tight ones, and it was common to use the coils of barbed wire as delivered only partially stretched out, called concertina wire. Placing and repairing wire in no man's land relied on stealth, usually done at night by special wiring parties, who could also be tasked with secretly sabotaging enemy wires. The screw picket, invented by the Germans and later adopted by the Allies during the war, was quieter than driving stakes. Wire often stretched the entire length of a battlefield's trench line, in multiple lines, sometimes covering a depth or more.


title: Trench warfare

text: Methods to defeat it were rudimentary. Prolonged artillery bombardment could damage them, but not reliably. The first soldier meeting the wire could jump onto the top of it, hopefully depressing it enough for those that followed to get over him; this still took at least one soldier out of action for each line of wire. In World War I, British and Commonwealth forces relied on wire cutters, which proved unable to cope with the heavier gauge German wire. The Bangalore torpedo was adopted by many armies, and continued in use past the end of World War II.


title: Trench warfare

text: The barbed wire used differed between nations; the German wire was heavier gauge, and British wire cutters, designed for the thinner native product, were unable to cut it.


title: Trench warfare

text: The confined, static, and subterranean nature of trench warfare resulted in it developing its own peculiar form of geography. In the forward zone, the conventional transport infrastructure of roads and rail were replaced by the network of trenches and trench railways. The critical advantage that could be gained by holding the high ground meant that minor hills and ridges gained enormous significance. Many slight hills and valleys were so subtle as to have been nameless until the front line encroached upon them. Some hills were named for their height in metres, such as Hill 60. A farmhouse, windmill, quarry, or copse of trees would become the focus of a determined struggle simply because it was the largest identifiable feature. However, it would not take the artillery long to obliterate it, so that thereafter it became just a name on a map.


title: Trench warfare

text: The battlefield of Flanders presented numerous problems for the practice of trench warfare, especially for the Allied forces, mainly British and Canadians, who were often compelled to occupy the low ground. Heavy shelling quickly destroyed the network of ditches and water channels which had previously drained this low-lying area of Belgium. In most places, the water table was only a metre or so below the surface, meaning that any trench dug in the ground would quickly flood. Consequently, many "trenches" in Flanders were actually above ground and constructed from massive breastworks of sandbags filled with clay. Initially, both the parapet and parados of the trench were built in this way, but a later technique was to dispense with the parados for much of the trench line, thus exposing the rear of the trench to fire from the reserve line in case the front was breached.


title: Trench warfare

text: In the Alps, trench warfare even stretched onto vertical slopes and deep into the mountains, to heights of above sea level. The Ortler had an artillery position on its summit near the front line. The trench-line management and trench profiles had to be adapted to the rough terrain, hard rock, and harsh weather conditions. Many trench systems were constructed within glaciers such as the Adamello-Presanella group or the famous city below the ice on the Marmolada in the Dolomites.


title: Trench warfare

text: Observing the enemy in trench warfare was difficult, prompting the invention of technology such as the camouflage tree.


title: Trench warfare

text: The space between the opposing trenches was referred to as "no man's land" and varied in width depending on the battlefield. On the Western Front it was typically between , though only on Vimy Ridge.


title: Trench warfare

text: After the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg line in March 1917, no man's land stretched to over a kilometre in places. At the "Quinn's Post" in the cramped confines of the Anzac battlefield at Gallipoli, the opposing trenches were only apart and the soldiers in the trenches constantly threw hand grenades at each other. On the Eastern Front and in the Middle East, the areas to be covered were so vast, and the distances from the factories supplying shells, bullets, concrete and barbed wire so great, trench warfare in the West European style often did not occur.


title: Trench warfare

text: At the start of the First World War, the standard infantry soldier's primary weapons were the rifle and bayonet; other weapons got less attention. Especially for the British, what hand grenades were issued tended to be few in numbers and less effective. This emphasis began to shift as soon as trench warfare began; militaries rushed improved grenades into mass production, including rifle grenades.


title: Trench warfare

text: The hand grenade came to be one of the primary infantry weapons of trench warfare. Both sides were quick to raise specialist grenadier groups. The grenade enabled a soldier to engage the enemy without exposing himself to fire, and it did not require precise accuracy to kill or maim. Another benefit was that if a soldier could get close enough to the trenches, enemies hiding in trenches could be attacked. The Germans and Turks were well equipped with grenades from the start of the war, but the British, who had ceased using grenadiers in the 1870s and did not anticipate a siege war, entered the conflict with virtually none, so soldiers had to improvise bombs with whatever was available (see Jam Tin Grenade). By late 1915, the British Mills bomb had entered wide circulation, and by the end of the war 75 million had been used.


title: Trench warfare

text: Since the troops were often not adequately equipped for trench warfare, improvised weapons were common in the first encounters, such as short wooden clubs and metal maces, spears, hatchets, hammers, entrenching tools, as well as trench knives and brass knuckles. According to the semi-biographical war novel "All Quiet on the Western Front", many soldiers preferred to use a sharpened spade as an improvised melee weapon instead of the bayonet, as the bayonet tended to get "stuck" in stabbed opponents, rendering it useless in heated battle. The shorter length also made them easier to use in the confined quarters of the trenches. These tools could then be used to dig in after they had taken a trench. Modern military digging tools are as a rule designed to also function as a melee weapon. As the war progressed, better equipment was issued, and improvised arms were discarded.


title: Trench warfare

text: A specialised group of fighters called "trench sweepers" ("Nettoyeurs de Tranchées" or "Zigouilleurs") evolved to fight within the trenches. They cleared surviving enemy personnel from recently overrun trenches and made clandestine raids into enemy trenches to gather intelligence. Volunteers for this dangerous work were often exempted from participation in frontal assaults over open ground and from routine work like filling sandbags, draining trenches, and repairing barbed wire in no-man's land. When allowed to choose their own weapons, many selected grenades, knives and pistols. FN M1900 pistols were highly regarded for this work, but never available in adequate quantities. Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless, Savage Model 1907, Star Bonifacio Echeverria and Ruby pistols were widely used.


title: Trench warfare

text: Various mechanical devices were invented for throwing hand grenades into enemy trenches. The Germans used the "Wurfmaschine", a spring-powered device for throwing a hand grenade about . The French responded with the "Sauterelle" and the British with the Leach Trench Catapult and West Spring Gun which had varying degrees of success and accuracy. By 1916, catapult weapons were largely replaced by rifle grenades and mortars.


title: Trench warfare

text: The Germans employed "Flammenwerfer" (flamethrowers) during the war for the first time against the French on 25 June 1915, then against the British 30 July in Hooge. The technology was in its infancy, and use was not very common until the end of 1917 when portability and reliability were improved. It was used in more than 300 documented battles. By 1918, it became a weapon of choice for "Stoßtruppen" (stormtroopers) with a team of six "Pioniere" (combat engineers) per squad.


title: Trench warfare

text: Used by American soldiers in the Western front, the pump action shotgun was a formidable weapon in short range combat, enough so that Germany lodged a formal protest against their use on 14 September 1918, stating "every prisoner found to have in his possession such guns or ammunition belonging thereto forfeits his life", though this threat was apparently never carried out. The U.S. military began to issue models specially modified for combat, called "trench guns", with shorter barrels, higher capacity magazines, no choke, and often heat shields around the barrel, as well as lugs for the M1917 bayonet. Anzac and some British soldiers were also known to use sawn-off shotguns in trench raids, because of their portability, effectiveness at close range, and ease of use in the confines of a trench. This practice was not officially sanctioned, and the shotguns used were invariably modified sporting guns.


title: Trench warfare

text: The Germans embraced the machine gun from the outset—in 1904, sixteen units were equipped with the 'Maschinengewehr'—and the machine gun crews were the elite infantry units; these units were attached to Jaeger (light infantry) battalions. By 1914, British infantry units were armed with two Vickers machine guns per battalion; the Germans had six per battalion, and the Russians eight. It would not be until 1917 that every infantry unit of the American forces carried at least one machine gun. After 1915, the Maschinengewehr 08 was the standard issue German machine gun; its number "08/15" entered the German language as idiomatic for "dead plain". At Gallipoli and in Palestine the Turks provided the infantry, but it was usually Germans who manned the machine guns.


title: Trench warfare

text: The British High Command were less enthusiastic about machine guns, supposedly considering the weapon too "unsporting" and encouraging defensive fighting; and they lagged behind the Germans in adopting it. Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig is quoted as saying in 1915, "The machine gun is a much overrated weapon; two per battalion is more than sufficient". The defensive firepower of the machine gun was exemplified during the first day of the Battle of the Somme when 60,000 British soldiers were rendered casualties, "the great majority lost under withering machine gun fire". In 1915 the Machine Gun Corps was formed to train and provide sufficient heavy machine gun teams.


title: Trench warfare

text: It was the Canadians that made the best practice, pioneering area denial and indirect fire (soon adopted by all Allied armies) under the guidance of former French Army Reserve officer Major General Raymond Brutinel. Minutes before the attack on Vimy Ridge the Canadians thickened the artillery barrage by aiming machine guns indirectly to deliver plunging fire on the Germans. They also significantly increased the number of machine guns per battalion. To match demand, production of the Vickers machine gun was contracted to firms in the United States. By 1917, every company in the British forces were also equipped with four Lewis light machine guns, which significantly enhanced their firepower.


title: Trench warfare

text: The heavy machine gun was a specialist weapon, and in a static trench system was employed in a scientific manner, with carefully calculated fields of fire, so that at a moment's notice an accurate burst could be fired at the enemy's parapet or a break in the wire. Equally it could be used as light artillery in bombarding distant trenches. Heavy machine guns required teams of up to eight men to move them, maintain them, and keep them supplied with ammunition. This made them impractical for offensive manoeuvres, contributing to the stalemate on the Western Front.


title: Trench warfare

text: One machine gun nest was theoretically able to mow down hundreds of enemies charging in the open through no man's land.


title: Trench warfare

text: However, while WWI machine guns were able to shoot hundreds of rounds per minute in theory, they were still prone to overheating and jamming, which often necessitated firing in short bursts. However, their potential was increased significantly when emplaced behind multiple lines of barbed wire to slow any advancing enemy.


title: Trench warfare

text: In 1917 and 1918, new types of weapons were fielded. They changed the face of warfare tactics and were later employed during World War II.


title: Trench warfare

text: The French introduced the CSRG 1915 Chauchat during Spring 1916 around the concept of "walking fire", employed in 1918 when 250,000 weapons were fielded. More than 80,000 of the best shooters received the semi-automatic RSC 1917 rifle, allowing them to rapid fire at waves of attacking soldiers. Firing ports were installed in the newly arrived Renault FT tanks.


title: Trench warfare

text: The French Army fielded a ground version of the Hotchkiss Canon de 37 mm used by the French Navy. It was primarily used to destroy German machine gun nests and concrete reinforced pillboxes with high explosive and armour-piercing rounds.


title: Trench warfare

text: A new type of machine gun was introduced in 1916. Initially an aircraft weapon, the Bergmann LMG 15 was modified for ground use, with the later dedicated ground version being the LMG 15 n. A. It was used as an infantry weapon on all European and Middle Eastern fronts until the end of World War I. It later inspired the MG 30 and the MG 34 as well as the concept of the general-purpose machine gun.


title: Trench warfare

text: What became known as the submachine gun had its genesis in World War I, developed around the concepts of infiltration and fire and movement, specifically to clear trenches of enemy soldiers when engagements were unlikely to occur beyond a range of a few feet. The MP 18 was the first practical submachine gun used in combat. It was fielded in 1918 by the German Army as the primary weapon of the stormtroopers – assault groups that specialised in trench combat. Around the same time, the Italians had developed the Beretta M1918 submachine gun, based on a design from earlier in the war.