Colin Chapman

Colin Chapman, born in 1928, had a huge impact on motor sport and had an immense influence on car design.

He built himself a car as a teenager and called it Lotus. In 1952 he was responsible for the creation of Lotus engineering after having so much success in club racing.

In 1958 he became an entrant in Formula one. Two years later he gained his first win with Stirling Moss and in 1963 and 1965 he won the World Championship. Four more Championships followed in 1968, 1970, 1972 and 1978.

Formula one became a rich sport after Chapman introduced Players as a tobacco sponsorship in 1968 and billions of pounds poured in.

In the fifties Chapman helped out other teams that were struggling, namely Vanwall and BRM, he designed their chassis for them.

Tragically Colin died from a massive heart attack in December 1982.