The Colin Chapman Museum - Lotus Books (One for the Library)

Lotus Books - One for the Library

The Lotus Book by William Taylor

The definitive Lotus book. The detail in this book is amazing, every page has colour photo’s and detail about numbers and models. The book covers every Lotus from the Mk1 up to the Lotus Elise. You can find this book for under £40 from a variety of sources.

As with Michael’s book on the Lotus 72 the research that has gone into this book is truly astonishing. Nothing is left out and the result is a very detailed history of the Lotus 49 that is very readable and enhanced by the anecdotes by the many people involved. . Highly recommended.

Available on Amazon for about £75.

It is over forty years since the author, Michael Costin, Development Director of Lotus Cars Ltd. at the time, with David Phipps, technical writer, and automotive artist, James Allington published the Chassis Designers' Bible.

Available through the internet, however very expensive.

Jim Clark “Life at Team Lotus” Limited edition by Peter Darley

“A superb collection of photo’s from an era when you could get close”
Taken by Peter Darley who was the official photographer for Team Lotus.

Available through the internet, in the region of £75.

Build Your Own Sports Car by Ron Champion

This was mentioned to me by one of our readers as the guiding light in getting started and has extensive coverage in Australia, South Africa and I sure elsewhere.

The history of the Lotus 23 by Graham Capel

A very well researched and detailed book.. It is a complete record and history of the Lotus Twenty Three, a definite keeper for the library. Can be bought from many sources for £25.

Can-Am Challenger by Peter Bryant

Something different , however it’s a terrific book with a history from Lotus to Can-AM

Motor racing historian Ed Mcdonough has taken the original transcripts of Innes' articles, with the co-operation of Jean Ireland, and edited them into this collection of tales, adding many photographs not previously published. They demonstrate the depth of Ireland's passions and his skill as a writer and story teller.

Hugh Haskell is an engineer .He worked for Colin at Lotus during the 1960’s. He contributed to the 20, 22, and 23 racing cars. Under Chapman he was involved with the Ford Lotus Cortina.

He knows his stuff; the theory and practice and conveys it well.

The book is true to its title. It commences with an outline of the fundamental physical and engineering principles .For example the concept of triangulation is explained along with the monocoque [egg shell and cf the Lotus Elite] Details are provided of the backbone Elan chassis. The principle of the Wobbly Web wheel is convincingly explained and illustrated. Haskell then explains the human, personal and creative attributes of Colin Chapman, the collaborators, rivals and peers.

This work is extremely well illustrated and contains references from the early cars through to the modern [at time of press]
With fairness and insight the De Lorean affair is mentioned. [Like Haskell the editors feel that this episode has not been fully explained and doubts remain]

There are chapters on:

Aerodynamics
Engines and gearboxes
Motor Boats
Industrial Design
Micro lights

Colin Chapman’s work in industrial design is overshadowed by the cars. This does not do him justice and this is a rare book that explains the diverse items that were probably extrapolated from specialism’s already developed.

The Industrial design included household baths, garden pools window frames furniture with Ron Hickman.”Line Lotus “is believed to have been an intended range for “transit lounges” such as airport lounges and station concourse.

Haskell’s’ book shows a picture and the Archive and Resource has attempted to recreate a model. [Please see website pictures].The design was one piece glass fibre mounted on a tubular frame. They would seem practical durable, hygienic and attractive. However they were not thought to be financially viable.

Colin is also believed to have designed a reclining leather chair with Colin Gething c 1973. This is believed to have won a design award.

A book that covers a lot of ground and gives insight to the engineering, business and diverse design skills of Colin Chapman. It is therefore an important addition and goes a long way to enable a full and complete assessment of Chapman and his considerable achievement amongst designers. Perhaps explaining his pre-eminence.

Useful to a wide source of readers not least those seeking inspiration and thoughts about design methodology. The book is obtainable from various internet sources,however at a hefty price.

Rob Walker by MIchael Cooper-Evans

This book tells the story of Rob Walkers life and his involvement in Motor Sport beginning in the 1930's. There are strong links with Lotus, the cars, the drivers. the races all make this a fascinating story. This was a very different era of motor racing and covers drivers ranging from Moss to Jo Siffert.

British Racing Green
David Venables

Italian Racing Red.
Karl Ludvisen

Introduction

These two books form part of a series which eventually will have an important comparative value. They have been written in a wide context and this increases their appeal. A standardised format is a useful method of comparison and evaluation.

The books place development in their wider socio economic, geographical and cultural context. The map locations at the front immediately help establish the concentrations of manufacturing and the tendency of the Industrial Revolution to group industries that shared similar structural functions. However the post industrial era has thrown up a different pattern but also sharing same structural factors. As technology changes the past is easily forgotten often at some expense. The books help recall the pride and achievement of areas once at the forefront of engineering technology.

These books help understand the motor racing technology, the cars, circuits, companies, motivations and personalities. Also it perhaps helps explain the impact of competition and technology transfer and Internationalism that crosses boundaries.

The two books selected and available in the Archive and Resource have an attractive range of illustrations .These include period photographs [some extremely atmospheric] technical illustrations, circuit plans and elevation drawings of selected cars.

Overall the books trace the evolution and development from the dawn of motor sort to the present. The have a nice feel and the national identities are reinforced in cover design and colour coding. They are well illustrated and each contains a decent authoritative bibliography.

British Racing Green.

This book features some well and a few lesser known marques:

Napier
Sunbeam
Bentley
M.G.
E.R.A
Aston Martin
Austin
Lagonda & Riley
Alta,H.W.M .Connaught
B.R.M
Vanwall
Cooper
Jaguar
Lotus
Brabham
Tyrell & March Lola
Williams
McLaren

Italian Racing Red.

Although with similarities with a different author there seemed an additional richness in this edition.

The author called attention to the geography and topography of the nation and its impact on the development of the car. Handling and breaking were functional requirements. The Mille Miglia and Tagia Florio are explained in the context of the contributions to the respective local economies and relative ease of road closure in sparsely populated regions.

Ludvigsen also bravely makes reference to the Futurist Movement and the links between art, progress, technology and the wider impact on Italy as it entered industrialisation. In particular offering a description of the Fiat works. This was an ambitious five storey building with a test track on the roof. It was designed by Giacomo Matte-Trucco. In a similar vein was the Monza Motor racing circuit started c 1922. It employed a work force of approximately 3.5 000.The track was 6.2 miles and located near Milan. Its specification for the time was forward thinking and contained four restaurants, a main grandstand to seat 3,000, overpasses and subways, protective continuous fencing, an Olympic size swimming pool, camping and other facilities. There is a feeling that it was built for the nation and all sections of the community might find some benefit in both the long and short term.

Alf Francis: Racing Mechanic

Motor racing books, in fact automotive books in general, are not usually referred to as a "good read", much less a page turner. This one is. The combination of the outspoken and often stubborn Francis and the efforts of Peter Lewis, who at the time was the Motor Racing Correspondent of "The Observer", creates a vivid, hilarious, and evocative look at racing on the continent in the early 1950s. It is full of not only human stories, but of mechanical woes, and written so well it is almost impossible to put it down.

Second, the British car content, though significant, is by far overshadowed by the descriptions of racing in Italy and France. And in addition to being the chief mech for John Heath, Francis maintained the Whitehead Ferrari F1 car for the 1952 season, and in 1954, was working with the Maserati factory to ensure that the Moss "Green Maserati" was up to the usual Moss/Francis expectations. The tales of the 1954-5 season alone are worth the price of the book.

Alf Francis began his career as a motor racing mechanic, when in 1948, he answered an newspaper ad and applied as a mechanic to John Heath. Despite never having worked on a race car, he was hired, as his resume offered a real plus. Francis was fluent in several different languages, and Heath wanted to go racing on the continent. Francis would be not only the chief mechanic but a team manager who would make all the arrangements necessary for getting a team of racecars through France, Italy, and Germany.

Initially drafted to work on Geoffrey Taylor’s GP Alta, Francis soon became involved in the creation of the H.W.M. Alta, then, by 1950, a complete run of cars to compete in the new Formula 2. During the winter a team of four people worked to construct the cars, working 16 hour days seven days a week. The amount of work was all-encompassing. "We never thought or talked of anything else, not even on those rare occasions when there was time to sit down and have a quiet cup of tea." The conditions at best were primitive, and the base of knowledge of engineering or suspension was so small, at first Francis didn’t even comprehend the essentials of power to weight ratios.

Once completed, Francis hauled the cars through France, and over the Alps (no tunnels then) in a flathead Ford powered truck, prepared them, managed the team and repaired the inevitable damage. Enroute to the 1950 Rome Grand Prix, Francis drove through the Mt. Cenis Pass, got totally lost in Turin, getting help from the Police to find their way out. In Genoa they got lost again, only two have the transporter die on a tramway track. Along came a tram, and all the passengers got out and helped push the truck several hundred yards to safety. "As one Italian explained to me: 'We like to help you because you have racing cars. And anyway we want to get home!'" Francis had more adventures on the road than the drivers did on the track and describes them with both joy and cynicism. Like many, Francis fell in love with the Italians, though he would never have said it that way.

H.W.M. had employed a young man named Stirling Moss, who in turn recognized Alf’s abilities, and when the Moss family purchased a new Maserati 250F (serial number 2508) in early 1954, Francis went to work as the Moss Equipe chief mechanic. "I did not know that I should cover over fifteen thousand miles in the Commer van during that memorable 1954 season, cross the Channel nine times, negotiate the mountain passes of the Alps fifteen times, and cros more than thirty international frontiers in order to deliver the Maserati safely to fifteen major meetings in seven European countries". Arriving at Maserati to coordinate the preparation of the Moss Maserati (seat position, pedals, paint, tires, were all different on the Moss car) Francis met and established lifelong relationships with both Guerino Bertocchi and Fantuzzi. Although the Moss Maserati was an independent, Maserati supported the equipe as if a factory car, for they knew that Moss was by far the best Maserati driver, yet still too inexperienced in F1 to drive for the factory.

Francis had some interesting insights as to the fate of the 250F effort after Moss rather unexpectedly bolted to Mercedes Benz in 1955. "In my opinion, what Stirling did had far-reaching consequences. Had he stayed with Maserati during 1955 I am convinced there would have been a very different approach to the sport that season by Signor Orsi. He might have even produced the V8, but naturally an organization like Maserati is not going to spend a lot of money on development of such a power unit unless there is someone ..(as good as Moss).. to drive the car."
Francis went on to develop the Rob Walker F2/F1 Cooper Climax, which in turn led to him working again with Moss. But the book stops in at the end of 1957 season.

Copy from Veloce today.

COLIN CHAPMAN –Inside the Innovator

Karl Ludvigsen
Haynes Publishing 2010
ISBN: 978 844 254132

The A&R was able to conduct a wider review by taking a copy to the recent Crystal Palace revival sprint. Here several Lotus enthusiasts and indeed authors were able to examine it.
In general there was a positive response.

First impressions are important .The book felt quality in size weight and obvious quantity of illustrations. The cover design and first flip through reminded me of Hugh Haskell’s “Colin Chapman’s Lotus “ and Terry and Baker’s “Racing Car Design and Development” Perhaps these first impressions were reinforced by the colour scheme and excellent numerous photographs and illustrations.

One of the significant features of this book is that Karl has had access to Colin Chapman archive held by classic Team Lotus. Karl has included many of the drawings made by Colin’s hand. I believe these to be important and list them:

Lotus 30 family range proposal dated 3/10/1963
Transaxle detail dated c 1957
Schematic layout of Indianapolis single seater dating from mid 1960’s.
Schematic layout of F1 single seater c1977
Hub designs dating from late 1970’s
Sketch of “Optimal basic structure”
Future specification of F1 car c 1975
Venturi for Type 80

I personally thought the strengths of Karl’s book are:

The historical comparisons and tracing of some earliest origins.
The overall level, quality, and variety of illustrations, diagrams etc
The period photographs
The personal photographs of Colin that covers the progress of his life in motor sport. These can be seen reflecting the real man; his concerns, triumphs, failures, highs, lows and the ever-present determination.

In addition I liked the inclusion of the commendation that accompanied the award of the Ferodo Trophy. This ought be read and appreciated as a significant benchmark.

Karl’s inclusion of a substantial bibliography is both a measure of his impartiality and provides useful cross-reference whilst suggesting lines of enquiry.

My personal favourite chapters were No1. Conceiving Concepts and No12 Coda to Chapman. Here Karl is able to introduce some extremely important and valuable comparisons. For instance perhaps for the first time Colin Chapman has been compared with Brunel. Controversial as this might be I believe it to be extremely important not only as a means of impartial analytical comparison but also as a means of appreciating that engineers have aesthetic sensitivities often well defined ad that further more they contribute to a nations wealth and technological progress.

In particular I liked the inclusion of quotations form Setright

“The Lotus is a machine for driving as a house by Corbusier is a machine for living” and later suggesting the basis of the Lotus appeal in that it appeals to
“ To those that have sensual and cerebral appreciation…”

Karl developed this them and made further reference and comparison of Colin Chapman and the architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

This approach is justified on several intellectual levels and they cannot be ignored. Colin Chapman was a qualified structural engineer [and could have just as easily pursued a career is this field and or the built environment.] often substituting for architects in designs determined by structural calculations.
Colin and the architects mentioned had significant aesthetic appreciation and Colin’s drawings mentioned earlier indicate that he could articulate this. Perhaps too often in the past it has been assumed that engineers have little soul or somehow lack a cultural appreciation. In Colin’s case this is untrue. The evidence would suggest within Colin existed an artist as nearly all his creations might be classed as rolling sculpture and more beautiful as a result of their functionality. He wished to imbue his creations with more than utility and his design mantra was for elegance.

At the A&R we feel that this aspect ought be given more prominence and dissemination.

Although Karl makes comparison with these famous architects my personal assessment is that Colin might have had affinity with the Bauhaus School and their discipline of form and function and their concern for lightness and structural purity. Both the architects and Colin had their failures but these were often part of idealism in searching and experimenting with new concepts.
“ A man who never made a mistake never made anything”

These are themes to which we will often return at the A&R.

We welcome the addition of Colin Chapman – Inside the Innovator to our library. We will make reference to it in the future. In the meanwhile if any of our users are having difficulties obtaining a copy or would like further clarification please contact us.

Author John Scott-Davies

Innes Ireland – Motor Racing today

A wonderful book. Any book that starts the Lotus chapter with, “For my personal transport I use a Lotus Elite. Quite frequently on my travels , both in Great Britain and abroad, I see other Elites on the road and I constantly have to remind myself that these superb motor cars came into being only ten years after the birth of the first Lotus”.

Just has to be good.

Published in 1961at 13s 6d! I found this on EBay for £7.00