Renowned as one of the greatest creative forces ever to work in the world of the automobile, Colin Chapman left behind a mixed legacy. Was he an unparalleled innovator who advanced the state of the art of sports and racing cars? Or was he an uninhibited exploiter of the uncredited ideas of others? In death as well as life Colin Chapman excites fevered debate about his achievements and methods.

Karl Ludvigsen, CIMechE MSAE, gets to grips with important aspects of the Chapman legend. Digging beneath the skin of Colin Chapman and his cars, he explores and exposes the motivations that drove the mercurial Chapman. Origins of many of his key innovations are disclosed and analysed. It places special emphasis on his structural advances, his fluctuating enthusiasm for aerodynamics and the crucial breakthrough to the use of ground effects that remains Chapman’s enduring legacy three decades after his death. Special attention is given to the achievements of Lotus and Chapman at Indianapolis, ranked as one of his most spectacular accomplishments.