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Colin Chapman: Mr Lotus

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Words by Luke Friend

The legend of Colin Chapman today is saturated in myth, claim and counter claim. The portrait of a suave cad who founded Lotus with a £25 loan and grew the marque to greatness through a combination of genius, hard work and charisma has been somewhat dented in recent times. But his mark on British motor racing remains indelible. And he reminds us of Alan Whicker with a spanner.

Through Lotus he gave life to numerous design innovations that changed the face of motor racing, piling up wins on the racing circuits, demonstrating that his fertile mind and futuristic ideas had a defined purpose.


At work with shirt Eddie Jordan would be proud of, in 1972

Chapman was many things – engineer, entrepreneur, revolutionary – but above all he was a competitor. Anybody wishing to succeed in any field looks for an advantage and Chapman found his in the technological advancements that he was able to pioneer with his small team of dedicated engineers.

In a 1975 notebook he wrote, ‘A racing car has only ONE objective: to WIN motor races. If it does not do this it is nothing but a waste of time, money, and effort.’ As an ethos, it is both utterly ruthless and brutally honest. It is also what continually drove him to seek improvement, to tinker, experiment and challenge the tried and the tested. It is what led Lotus to seven Formula 1 Constructors titles, six Drivers Championships and a string of victories in the Indianapolis 500 between 1962 and 1978.


With Mario Andretti, random punter, Ronnie Peterson & interesting belt.

As a keen pilot (Chapman was in the RAF before he joined the British Aluminium Company) he paid particular attention to aeronautical engineering techniques and sort application to the racing car. A preoccupation with aerodynamics and with saving weight would become the building blocks for many of his most important and influential contributions.

Chapman’s obsession with the lightness was grounded in a simple principle. “Adding power makes you faster on the straights,” he said. “Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere.” By sacrificing power for improved handling he created cars that could respond to the brilliance of drivers like Jim Clark and Graham Hill – an astute tactic in a sport where every nanosecond counts.


With a very callow Ron Dennis (right)

His list of significant contributions is a long. He pioneered struts as a rear suspension device; today universally known as ‘Chapman struts’. He introduced the monocoque chassis into racing having previously used the technology in the Lotus Elite; the idea sketched on a napkin during a lunch date. In 1962 the Lotus 25 became the first car on the F1 grid to feature a monocoque chassis and a year later the feat was duplicated at the Brickyard in the shape of the Lotus 29. Jim Clark finished 2nd in that running of the Indianapolis 500 and the tube-frame chassis was sectioned to the history books.

‘Ground-effect’ was another Chapman first, as he sort ways to create downforce by harnessing the airflow under the chassis to improve traction and handling. The addition of a Venturi-like channel in the sidepods and sideskirts to trap the airflow resulted in the car being sucked down onto the track, more so as the car increased its speed. Even with the banning of skirts, it is a principle that is applied to all race cars today in varying degrees.


With Trevor Taylor and focussed expression

The creation of downforce led to another Chapman innovation, the dual-chassis, designed to improve driver comfort and subsequently performance. However, his Type 88 was never allowed to race, banned by FISA, another run-in with the authorities that wanted to rein in a man and a mind that didn’t appreciate boundaries of any kind.
Chapman died in 1982 but his active suspension debuted in 1987 in the shape of the Lotus 99T. A fitting tribute to both a true iconoclast and to the importance of his ideas.

Ultimately Chapman created a brand in his own image - with all the quirks and inconsistencies that innovation and creativity produces. If Lotus have managed to harness a quantum of that original spark - then their cars will always have a cult following...

Lotus & JPS

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Ok, we know. There is a twisted, byzantine history to the whole Lotus story – and when you talk about Lotus Racing and Team Lotus etc, there's even more layers of weirdness to negotiate. The quirky, idiosyncratic company history of Lotus is shot through with anomalies and inconsistencies – but something that is incontrovertible is the beauty, power and resonance of the Lotus GP cars, which, from 1972 to 1986, wore the black and gold livery of John Player Special.

The political incorrectness of tobacco sponsorship in F1 is probably part of the appeal. There was a time when the high tar cancer sticks dressed in the colour of death and trimmed in the lustre of filthy lucre was undeniably associated with everything manly, sexy – shot through with the tangy smell of cologne and tainted with the deadly glamour of F1.

The domination of team Lotus of course dated from way back in the early sixties, when drivers like Innes Ireland consistently won races and championships in Colin Chapman's trademark lightweight designs. Sure, there was criticism about the structural integrity of Lotus racers, but victories eventually silenced most of those criticisms. And when gentleman Jim Clark came to represent and to trounce all others before his tragic death - Lotus was at the pinnacle of all things Formula One -albeit with the spectre of the grim reaper shadowing it like a bad omen.

The list of tragedies within team Lotus went on into the seventies – Jochen Rindt died in 1970 and clinched the title, and a list of other serious injuries plagued competition. How much the Chapmanesque obsession with lightness had to do with safety remains a controversial point of discussion – and one that will probably remain so for as long as there is a Formula One championship.

But the JPS Lotus team continued to attract dashing, glamourous drivers who knew how to pilot these black beauties to victory. Emerson Fittipaldi won the F1 Championship in his Lotus 72 in 1972, and American icon Mario Andretti won in '78 – tragically the same year as Ronnie Peterson Died in hospital after complications from a crash at Monza. Elio DeAngelis cut a dash in black, as did a young Ayrton Senna in the turbo-tastic 1985 season (below) – achieving his first pole and scoring podiums along the way

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There was something essentially of the times about the JPS Lotus team – not only the style of the drivers and the paint job of the cars, but something about the nature of innovation and uncompromising forward thinking. We doubt, even that anyone ever sparked up a fag having been inspired by a Lotus JPS – but there was an addiction to watching black and gold victories that fit in with the word as it was

With Kimi back at the whee f an F1 car called a Lotus, perhaps the good times will roll again!

The Importance of being Jim Clark

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Every death in motor racing is a tragedy. But there can few figures lost to the sport who leave such a lasting legacy as Jim Clark. Crashing fatally at Hockenheim in April 1968, the Scottish farmer's son was only 32 when he died yet had started 72 Grands Prix - and achieved an amazing 33 poles and 25 victories.

People who knew him professed to his sublime finesse and feeling for camber, apex and flow - and though he apparently didn't have the mechanical knowledge of many of his contemporaries his partnership with Lotus engineering guru Colin Chapman resulted in one of the most sublimely talented partnerships in the history of the sport.


Clark's natural talent meant he could win in almost any type of car - from the Lotus-Cortina, with which he won the 1964 British Touring Car Championship to IndyCar, NASCAR Rallying and sports cars. He competed in the Le Mans 24 Hour race in 1959, 1960 and 1961, finishing second in class in 1959 driving a Lotus Elite, and finishing third overall in 1960, driving an Aston Martin DBR1.

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Jackie Stweart said of Clark "He was so smooth, he was so clean, he drove with such finesse. He never bullied a racing car, he sort of caressed it into doing the things he wanted it to do." Fellow driver summed up Clark's influence when, commenting on Clark's death he said "If it could happen to him, what chance do the rest of us have? I think we all felt that. It seemed like we'd lost our leader."

Humble to the last, Clark was nevertheless one of the most photographed drivers of his day. Look at the many moods of the man and see - there's an elegance - a kind of natural dignity to him that was reflected in the finesse with which he handled any race car he drove.

The film below is really worth taking the time to watch. Some great footage of a great F1 era.

Our Five Favourite Lotus Cars

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Lotus Elite 1974 (type 75)
This is the only Lotus I currently own. It's a pain to work on. It's not even a runner at the moment and I'm spending a fortune on repairing the fibreglass. In fact, it's sitting there in the garage winking at me, one pop-up lamp glaring accusingly. But one day, it will be restored to its mustard and black plastic glory, and it will recall the testosterone fuelled, shooting brake-ish days of futurist sophistication for which it was designed. This was Lotus's only real attempt to build a proper production saloon – and check out wikipedia – they call it a station wagon! It's ugly-beautiful, and all the more appealing for that.

Lotus Europa S1
Back in the early seventies I presumed the mid-engined Europa S1 was a mythical hotwheels-type creation. Until I finally saw one drive past my primary school. Freudian memories are still evoked by the otherworldly design. The first series came with less rear visibility than a Countach and less power than a souped up Mk 3 Cortina – but these things were offset by trick Chapman suspension, structure and consequentially a lightness that gave the car incredibly fluid handling. This car exemplifies to this day what we love about Lotus.

Lotus Cortina Mk2
Ok, the editor made me include the Mk2 version of the Lotus-Ford legend because his granddad owned one back in the seventies, but we can live with this box-tastic version of a collaboration made in Essex's version of heaven – otherwise known as Dagenham. The Mk2 was more reliable and more powerful than the Mk1 too – and was actually constructed in the Ford plant. True Britgrit credentials there, then. Purists will scoff that this makes it much more of a Ford than a Lotus, but we don't care. The high point in performance motoring for the masses, we reckon.

Lotus 11
These cars were revolutionarily slippery, light and low slung -with a Frank Costin designed fluid shell swathed beautifully over Chapman's structurally ingenious steel frame. Originally designed to be fitted with a 1500cc Coventry Climax engine, the car was incredibly successful, wining races at Le Mans and Sebring. Weighing in at only a shade under half a metric tonne, a cowled version manned by Sterling Moss was driven around Monza at a record breaking average of 143 MPH – how's that for some bang for bucks? But ultimately we love this thing for its looks. Something about it screams DRIVE ME HARD AND FAST.

Lotus Exige S
I had the privilage of belting round Silverstone in one of these for a few hours recently (the 240HP version, not the mentalist V6 Supercharged version they announced at Frankfurt last year). Believe me, if you're unconvinced of the point of pure trackday cars ( as I was a bit), then I urge you to do the same. It's stickier than a sticky thing and funner than a boxful of mowgwais on mushrooms. Driving this thing came as close to the thrill of a fairground ride than any driving experience I've had to date. The Toyota power means its super reliable and though you might look a little ridiculous down at Asda, think of what happens when you get on some clear tarmac. We love it.