For other persons named Colin Chapman, see Colin Chapman (disambiguation).
Colin Chapman
CBE
Chapman in 1965
Born
(1928-05-19)19 May 1928
Died
16 December 1982(1982-12-16) (aged 54)
Norwich, Norfolk, England
Formula One World Championship career
Active years
1956
Teams
Vanwall
Entries
1 (0 starts)
Championships
0
Wins
0
Podiums
0
Career points
0
Pole positions
0
Fastest laps
0
First entry
1956 French Grand Prix
Last entry
1956 French Grand Prix
Anthony Colin Bruce ChapmanCBE (19 May 1928 – 16 December 1982) was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of the sports car company Lotus Cars.[1]
Chapman founded Lotus in 1952 and initially ran Lotus in his spare time, assisted by a group of enthusiasts. His knowledge of the latest aeronautical engineering techniques would prove vital towards achieving the major automotive technical advances for which he is remembered. Chapman's design philosophy focused on cars with light weight and fine handling instead of bulking up on horsepower and spring rates, which he famously summarised as "Adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."[2]
Team Lotus won seven Formula One Constructors' titles,[3] six Drivers' Championships, and the Indianapolis 500 in the United States, between 1962 and 1978 under his direction. The production side of Lotus Cars has built tens of thousands of relatively affordable, cutting edge sports cars. Lotus is one of but a handful of English performance car builders still in business after the industrial decline of the 1970s.
Chapman suffered a fatal heart attack in 1982, aged 54.
^Gérard ('Jabby') Crombac, Colin Chapman: The Man and His Cars (Patrick Stephens, Wellingborough, 1986) ISBN 1-85960-844-2 Page 15
^"2010 Lotus Evora test drive". About.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
^Martin Williamson (28 May 2010). "Lotus breaks its F1 duck". ESPN F1. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman CBE (19 May 1928 – 16 December 1982) was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and...
Constructors' Champion: Williams-Honda Jim Clark Trophy Winner: Jonathan Palmer ColinChapman Trophy Winner: Tyrrell-Ford Previous 1986 Next 1988 Races by country...
by engineers ColinChapman and Colin Dare, both graduates of University College, London, but had earlier origins in 1948 when Chapman built his first...
name from, and is best known for its use by, ColinChapman of Lotus. The characteristic feature of the Chapman strut is a long upright strut combining a...
returning March and newcomers Larrousse), AGS contested the one-off ColinChapman Trophy in addition to the regular Constructors' Championship, while...
Grand Prix. However Capelli and the March 871 did finish 4th in the ColinChapman Trophy for constructors of cars equipped with naturally aspirated engines...
three decades. At approximately 1,500 lb (680 kg), the Elan embodied ColinChapman's minimum weight design philosophy. The Elan was technologically advanced...
between 1962 and 1978. Under the direction of founder and chief designer ColinChapman, Lotus was responsible for many innovative and experimental developments...
The Lotus 49 was a Formula One racing car designed by ColinChapman and Maurice Philippe for the 1967 F1 season. It was designed around the Cosworth DFV...
was raced in two different championships: for 1987 only there was the ColinChapman Trophy for constructors of cars equipped with naturally aspirated engines...
used in the 1977 and 1978 seasons. It was designed by Peter Wright, ColinChapman, Martin Ogilvie and Tony Rudd, and was the first ground effect car in...
The Lotus 72 is a Formula One car designed by ColinChapman and Maurice Philippe of Lotus for the 1970 Formula One season. The 72 was a pioneering design...
The Lotus 25 was a racing car designed by ColinChapman for the 1962 Formula One season. It was a revolutionary design, the first fully stressed monocoque...
with Lotus's team owner, ColinChapman, over the failure; he told a reporter after the accident: "I place the blame on him [Chapman] and rightfully so, because...
launch him to superstardom. Driving a Lotus Elite, he finished second to ColinChapman in a ten-lap grand touring race at Brands Hatch. Driving a Lotus Elite...
The Lotus 77 was a Formula One racing car designed by ColinChapman, Geoff Aldridge and Martin Ogilvie for the 1976 Formula One season. The car was a...
Ludvigsen, Karl (2010). ColinChapman: Inside the Innovator. Haynes Publishing. pp. 150–164. ISBN 1-84425-413-5. Ludvigsen & ColinChapman, p. 151 Wikimedia...
The Lotus 88 is an innovative Formula One car designed by ColinChapman, Peter Wright, Tony Rudd and Martin Ogilvie of Lotus in an effort to maximise...
The Lotus 33 was a Formula One car designed by ColinChapman and Len Terry and built by Team Lotus. A development of the successful Lotus 25, in the hands...
Ltd., and Cosworth initially maintained a strong relationship with ColinChapman; and initial revenues of the company came almost exclusively from Lotus...
Lotus vehicles of the era, the Europa was designed and built following ColinChapman's oft-stated philosophy of automotive design: "Simplify, then add lightness"...
eligible for a subsidiary championship for normally-aspirated cars, the ColinChapman Trophy. The team initially ran a single car for Philippe Alliot, but...
Bresson, the stories of Raymond Carver, and the automobile designs of ColinChapman. The word was first used in English in the early 20th century to describe...
car with two seats and an open top. It was designed by Lotus founder ColinChapman and has been considered the embodiment of the Lotus philosophy of performance...
debuted at the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix and was ColinChapman's first single-seat racer. ColinChapman's first foray into single-seater racing, the 12 appeared...
designed by ColinChapman, Martin Ogilvie and Tony Rudd. After several uncompetitive seasons with experimental or uncompetitive cars, ColinChapman went back...
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