Colin Chapman

1928-1982

Colin Chapman founded Lotus to sell his race car designs to other enthusiasts. From the very start, his approach was to make cars as light as possible so they wouldn’t need huge power. Handling was another of his obsessions, and it showed in the way his cars could outperform much more exotic machinery. It’s a testament to his engineering nous that his original 7 design of 1957 is still in production today as the much-evolved Caterham.