"Simplify, then add Lightness..." The Colin Chapman Story | Full Documentary

Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman CBE (19 May 1928 - 16 December 1982) was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars.
In 1952 he founded the sports car company Lotus Cars. Chapman 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. His 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."
Under his direction, Team Lotus won seven Formula One Constructors' titles, six Drivers' Championships, and the Indianapolis 500 in the United States, between 1962 and 1978. 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. (Source: Wikipedia)
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Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman CBE (19 mei 1928 - 16 december 1982) was een Engelse ontwerp ingenieur, uitvinder en bouwer in de auto-industrie, en oprichter van Lotus Cars.
In 1952 richtte hij het sportwagen bedrijf Lotus Cars op. Chapman runde Lotus aanvankelijk in zijn vrije tijd, bijgestaan ​​door een groep enthousiastelingen. Zijn kennis van de nieuwste luchtvaart technische technieken zou van vitaal belang zijn voor het bereiken van de grote auto technische vooruitgang waarvoor hij wordt herinnerd. Zijn ontwerpfilosofie was gericht op auto's met een laag gewicht en een fijn rijgedrag in plaats van op paardenkracht en veerconstante, wat hij beroemd samenvatte als "Het toevoegen van vermogen maakt je sneller op de rechte stukken. Door gewicht af te trekken, ben je overal sneller."
Onder zijn leiding won Team Lotus tussen 1962 en 1978 zeven Formula One Constructors'-titels, zes Drivers' Championships en de Indianapolis 500 in de Verenigde Staten. De productiekant van Lotus Cars heeft tienduizenden relatief betaalbare, geavanceerde sportwagens. Lotus is een van slechts een handvol Engelse autobouwers die nog steeds actief zijn na de industriële neergang van de jaren zeventig.
Chapman kreeg in 1982 op 54-jarige leeftijd een fatale hartaanval. (Bron: Wikipedia)
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Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman CBE (19. Mai 1928 - 16. Dezember 1982) war ein englischer Konstrukteur, Erfinder und Konstrukteur in der Automobilindustrie und Gründer von Lotus Cars.
1952 gründete er die Sportwagenfirma Lotus Cars. Chapman leitete Lotus zunächst in seiner Freizeit, unterstützt von einer Gruppe von Enthusiasten. Sein Wissen über die neuesten Techniken der Luftfahrttechnik würde sich als entscheidend erweisen, um die großen technischen Fortschritte im Automobilbereich zu erreichen, für die er bekannt ist. Seine Designphilosophie konzentrierte sich auf Autos mit geringem Gewicht und feinem Handling, anstatt auf Pferdestärken und Federraten zu bauen, was er bekanntlich wie folgt zusammenfasste: „Mehr Leistung macht Sie auf den Geraden schneller. Weniger Gewicht macht Sie überall schneller.“
Unter seiner Leitung gewann das Team Lotus zwischen 1962 und 1978 sieben Formel-1-Konstrukteurstitel, sechs Fahrer-Meisterschaften und das Indianapolis 500 in den Vereinigten Staaten. Die Produktionsseite von Lotus Cars hat Zehntausende von relativ erschwinglichen, hochmodernen Autos gebaut Sportwagen. Lotus ist einer von nur einer Handvoll englischer Hersteller von Hochleistung autos, die nach dem industriellen Niedergang der 1970er Jahre noch im Geschäft sind.
Chapman erlitt 1982 im Alter von 54 Jahren einen tödlichen Herzinfarkt. (Quelle: Wikipedia)
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Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman CBE (19 mai 1928 - 16 décembre 1982) était un ingénieur concepteur, inventeur et constructeur anglais dans l'industrie automobile et fondateur de Lotus Cars.
En 1952, il fonde la société de voitures de sport Lotus Cars. Chapman a d'abord dirigé Lotus pendant son temps libre, assisté d'un groupe de passionnés. Sa connaissance des dernières techniques d'ingénierie aéronautique s'avérera essentielle pour réaliser les avancées techniques automobiles majeures pour lesquelles il est connu. Sa philosophie de conception s'est concentrée sur les voitures légères et à la maniabilité fine au lieu d'augmenter la puissance et les ressorts, qu'il a résumés comme suit : "Ajouter de la puissance vous rend plus rapide dans les lignes droites. Soustraire du poids vous rend plus rapide partout."

[@Mtlmshr]

Both the Seven and the Elan make my top ten list of all time favorite cars!

[@BeesWaxMinder]

I remember as a kid being fascinated with the car in Patrick McGoohan’s “prisoner” television series and some years later, still a child, I visited Port Merrion, the village in Wales where the TV series was based and bought a postcard of a Caterham Super 7 From the shop there. The Seven on this postcard was done out like McGoohan’s Lotus from the TV and this photo on this postcard just totally fascinated and absorbed me! I gazed at it endlessly for some reason! On the back of the postcard was printed “a Caterham 7 purporting to be ‘KAR 120C’” and I was determined in that pre-Internet era to find out what the hell is a “Caterham Seven“! Somehow a teacher in my school, probably recognising my obsession(!?), tells me that it was a Lotus, incorrectly as it turned out, in the photograph on my postcard but did manage to locate a small advertisement for a kit car in an auto magazine which Included an address So I sent them a photocopy of the postcard (I wouldn’t risk the original!) And a letter asking them what was the car they were selling what is a lotus are they Lotus who is Mr Carterham That kind of thing! Graham Nearn then replied personally in the letter and included a wealth of material, brochures and magazine articles explaining the whole story and I was forever smitten!

[@BeesWaxMinder]

… Actually now I think on I remember the motor journalist of one of the articles in that parcel sent from “Caterham car sales and Coachworks“ bemusedly complained that when they do reviews of a car they ask the manufacturers a set of questions to get some basic specifications right & so they sent one to Caterham expecting them to fill this detailed spec questionnaire in but they noted under the section“aerodynamic drag coefficient “ Caterham had replied “CONSIDERABLE!” 🤣

[@roywinchel3620]

Wow, what a great Doc... C.C. Was so forthright.

[@lordleonusa]

Great Video

[@markg1531]

Chapman was a genius.

[@woodennecktie]

always liked the colin chapman designs up to the elan , from there the lego era started with horrible engines and worse handling ....... how on earth did he go on with all that fantasy cars products is a mystery to me

[@aureliobrighton1871]

Those were the days, when you rode on the tunnel next to dad ...🌷:)

[@jekanyika]

59:58 No servants! What peasants.

[@mariodelgado9729]

He killed many of drivers with his lightweight cars, look up the names of drivers that race a Loutus before yo come at me with bs.

[@djpalindrome]

Perhaps Mike Spence, Jochen Rindt, Ronnie Peterson, and Jimmy Clark wish that Chapman hadn’t added so much lightness by shaving the margins of safety

[@_Ben4810]

Colin Chapman wasn't responsible for Mike Spence misjudging a turn at Indy in a team mate's car, nor was he responsible for Peterson's car being unable to survive the impact damage it did when all cars at that time were made of honeycomb aluminium structure, & he certainly wasn't responsible for Jim Clark picking up debris that caused a slow puncture & to spin off into the trees...🙄

[@davidhall2327]

Grossly misleading statements to make. Chapman , his design team, fabricators and mechanics were in no way responsible for any of those deaths.

[@SNUBCULCHA]

People die every day in the most mundane of circumstances and also in wars etc. Road cars were so safe in the 50’s and race cars even more so. Going fast is dangerous. If that’s too scary then maybe stay home? Although……they say home isn’t so safe anyway. Trolling the trolls 😂 every time I see a seven type car on the road I can’t help admire the insanity of it. Colin Chapman. Lightness. Genius. One day they will understand x

[@wcads623]

Elite or TR4 come on - just look at it. In 1950s & 1960s it was sooo ahead of its time as was the Elan 🤩🤩Chapman just was a genius, old school.

[@philipgrice1026]

So, nicely done, but with a huge hole in the middle. What about the Europa? Mentioned as a platform from which Giugiario designed the Esprite and then .... nothing. Lotus built and sold more bloody Europas than they did Elans!

[@375GTB]

The racing Lotus 47 Ford was the proper Europa!

[@wcads623]

Ahh the Europa great car but never quite had the good looks of the Elans of the day ☺☺

[@georgel74]

A flawed genius...

[@GB-vn1tf]

Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious LOTUS. But great cars when they're working properly.

[@truantray]

Chapman killed a lot of drivers with bad engineering. Jochen Rindt was a typical example. He was also a lifetime grifter and ended up in the middle of the DeLorean scandal. Many still believe he faked his death.

[@t3hgir]

@@truantray woah

[@stevejones1318]

There's always some bonehead who has to trot out that one.

[@AmericasChoice]

"The late, great, Colin Chapman." That is how Nigel Mansell says his name, he had great respect for him.

[@375GTB]

I just saw the tail end of a lengthly film on the 1962 Goodwood Glover Trophy non-championship race Won by Graham Hill in the BRM P57 V-8 after the Lotus 24's and 25's failed and Moss crashed out. Hill drinking from the trophy! This was on Sky Sports F-1 About an hour ago. I cannot find this film,, anywhere Only short bits about Moss's crash! I became a fan of BRM and G. Hill after Zoondvort. 1962 Thru 1965... The H-16 ended THAT BRM thing, for me! THEY should have done the V-12 from the get go! WITH 4 valves from Weslake IMHO J.C. Age 74 last month... Ferrari Enduro fan since 1964 Daytona 2000km. and Sebring 12... That V-12 sound! 330P3/4 For NART in particular Thru 1972.... NOT a fan of IMSA 1973 < Not a fan of Ferrari F-1 Enzo was his own worst enemy! Never a Tifiosi!! FORZA FERRARI After 58 Years!!!

[@SharonOsman]

Jimmy Clark won 25 Grand Prix, not 19.

[@JohnJenkins-l4p]

In the Avengers series Diana Rigg also drove a Europa.

[@zebafilho1188]

Good job

[@stevejones1318]

Arnold constantly says 'we' as if he and Chapman were partners. He's a historian for crying out loud, and had nothing to do with building Lotus cars.

[@_Ben4810]

He was very full of himself, a typical car salesman type who later ran Club Lotus which briefly strengthened his position & authority over all things historical regarding Lotus cars.

[@andrewhunter180]

I liked how he was talking to Bruce Mclaren. You would not see that now days.

[@mrrolandlawrence]

hazels pet name - lotus blossom hence lotus cars.

[@philterboi3601]

Do you know who owns the copyright of this documentary?

[@Mtlmshr]

What I found interesting was how Chapman was sort of bashing American Business and then the next scene that talks about his favorite hobby and the advantages of flying he jumps into a American built and owned company, Cessna! So why not a British aircraft company Mr Chapman?

[@martinda7446]

There were plenty to choose from... But he chose Er.. A Piper. That ain't no Cessna mate.

[@JohnJenkins-l4p]

I can not say for sure but I feel that the prisoner car was a Lotus because another tv series of the time The Avengers had actor Diana Rigg driving an Elan if my memory is correct .This at the time would have a wonderful way for CC to market his range of cars

[@bentucker2301]

An S2 Lotus Seven registration plate "KAR 120C"

[@eoinmurphy210]

This guy was another bollox in motor racing,had he lived a bit longer would have rightly ended up in jail.

[@helmuthj.zotter7272]

If Chapman would have designed the Concord, the wings would have fallen off....🤣

[@theant9821]

but it would have been even faster before falling apart, and the second one might survive, then the third on be even faster, and so on. "any fool can build a bridge that won`t fall down, it takes a great engineer to build a bridge that Just won`t fall down." Colin Chapman

[@davidhall2327]

Perhaps. But only after it had landed. Before then it would have broken all records.

[@aureliobrighton1871]

@@theant9821Rather more than piston engines jets produce extreme heat, which becomes a factor with firewalls from brown paper. Otherwise I would agree (:💨

[@375GTB]

He would weld a roll over bar to the GAS TANK! Thank God Alf Francis had the Rob Walker Lotus 18 built with Reynolds 531 nickel moly tubing, on/with Lotus's jigs! Not the cheap brittle carbon steel Chappers preferred... Saved Stirl's LIFE! Read the Francis bio The Costin/Duckworth book! History J.C.

[@sourcetext]

Put helium in the tires ,like Porsche put nitrogen in a sealed tubular chassis to save weight . Unt wakko noggin headin 🤔