Colin Chapman: Technology and Industrial Design
The cornerstone and the foundation of the CCM&EC is that the interpretation of the Chapman methodology for engineering and design still remains inspirational and relevant in 2008 .
The creation of Lotus was achieved without substantial capital and was the product of a competitive personality determination, intelligent, creativity, innovation and man management skills.
These skills remain desirable and are appropriate to all walks of life that can realise that commercial success does not necessarily depend on high initial capital investment. It’s the quality of ideas and the implementation that is important.
This is demonstrated by the competition, manufacturing and aesthetic success of his products – possible more pronounced in racing/sports racing cars than later design outside the realms of automobiles.
Central to the understanding the Chapman methodology is the appreciation of his unique skills and how he applied them. These specialised but fully integrated and overlapping skills might be summarised as:
- Personal determination, creativity, application
- Ability to research
- Ability to borrow and adapt
- Man management and motivational
- Exceptional and gifted driver
- Engineer, science based objectivity
- Theoretical purist – problem solving
- Ability to make scientific cross over and seeing, adopting applying science from parallel technologies
- Managerial and production based thinking
- Entrepreneurial thinking mentality
- Unconventional, insubordinate in theoretical/organisation context
- Competitiveness
- Applied theoretician
- Visionary
- Interpreter and Filter, anticipator/visionary
The evidence of these skills are found in:
- Consultancy
- The F1 record of Manufacturer and Driver Championship
- The manufactured road cars
- The related industrial design embracing micro lights, furniture (utility and exhibition), power boats and household items
- The Chapman innovations are explained in several of the reference books/ One of the easiest to access being David Hodge “Lotus – The Legend” – see p13 Collaboration and p15 Lotus Innovations
Possibly the most abiding quality is that of the creative thinker with a wide ranging list of innovation and varied interests. This creativity still exists in Lotus today, which is an indicator of the Chapman thinking that runs throughout the organisation.
Lotus: Engineering Innovations
1957 First production car with glass fibre unitary chassis
Chapman strut suspension
1962 First GP car with monocoque chassis
First road car to combine steel back bone chassis with G.F. body
1967 First GP car using engine as load bearing chassis member
1970 First GP with gas turbine engine
1975 First GP car with ‘wedge’ body lines
1976 First GP car with ground effect
Active suspension test
1983 Flat Twin 480cc air cooled engine for micro light
Active noise cancellation
Active rear wheel steering
1987 Vacuum assisted resin injection mould (Vari)
1988 Interactive wishbone suspension
1989 Carbon composite monocoque bicycle (sport 110)
1990 Extruded aluminium suspension uprights
Aluminium mmc brake disks
Epoxy bonded extruded aluminium chassis
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