Colin Chapman
Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (* 19th May 1928 in London , † 16th December 1982 in Norfolk ) was an English racing cars - design engineer . He was the founder of the racing brand Lotus .
Career
Colin Chapman studied civil engineering at University College London and then aeronautical engineering at the University Air Squadron. With numerous innovations in racing car construction, he was always able to set new standards. His most important inventions were the introduction of the monocoque construction in the 1960s, the invention of the so-called wingcars in the 1970s (with an aerodynamically shaped underbody) and the legendary Lotus 88 with the double chassis .
Colin Chapman founded Lotus Engineering in 1952 . Two years later, the Lotus racing team was launched. Chapman first made a name for himself as a racing car designer with the aerodynamic Lotus Mark 8. With the success of Mark 8 in the back Lotus came in 1958 with the front engine type Lotus 12 in Formula 1 and this altered by technical innovations.
Chapman died of heart failure on December 16, 1982. After his death, rumors surfaced that he had not died but merely went into hiding. Allegedly, he and John DeLorean , founder of the DeLorean sports car brand , moved £ 17.6 million, made up of £ 5 million in government funds and £ 12.5 million from private investors, to private accounts in Switzerland. In addition, he is said to have been involved in a drug affair.
He and his wife Hazel had a son, Clive Chapman.
statistics
Le Mans results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1955 | Lotus engineering | Lotus Mk9 | Ron Flockhart | failure | Disqualified |
1956 | Lotus engineering | Lotus Eleven | Herbert MacKay-Fraser | failure | drive shaft |
Sebring results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1957 | Lotus Company | Lotus Eleven | Joe Sheppard | Dick Dungan | 11th place and class win | |
1958 | Team Lotus | Lotus Eleven | Cliff Allison | Rank 6 |
Individual results in the sports car world championship
season | team | race car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1954 | lotus | Lotus Mk4 | BUA | SEB | MIM | LEM | RTT | CAP | |
DNF | |||||||||
1955 | lotus | Lotus Mk9 | BUA | SEB | MIM | LEM | RTT | TAR | |
DNF | 11 | ||||||||
1957 | lotus | Lotus Eleven | BUA | SEB | MIM | ONLY | LEM | KRI | CAR |
11 | |||||||||
1958 | lotus | Lotus Eleven | BUA | SEB | TAR | ONLY | LEM | RTT | |
6th |
literature
- Hugh Haskell: Colin Chapman. Lotus engineering. Theories, Designs & Applications. Osprey Automotive, London 1998, ISBN 1-85532-872-0 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Colin Chapman in the catalog of the German National Library
Individual evidence
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Chapman, Colin |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Chapman, Anthony Colin Bruce |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British racing car designer |
DATE OF BIRTH | May 19, 1928 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | London |
DATE OF DEATH | December 16, 1982 |
Place of death | Norfolk |