(19 May 1928 – 16 December 1982) was an influential British
designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars
.
He studied structural engineering
at University College London
, joined the University Air Squadron
and learned to fly. Chapman left UCL without a degree in 1948, resitting his final Mathematics paper in 1949 and obtaining his degree a year late. He briefly joined the Royal Air Force
in 1948, being offered a permanent commission but turning this down in favour of a swift return to civilian life.
You won't catch me driving a race car that I have built. (A clever double entendre, as numerous photos exist of Chapman driving racing cars he built.)
Make the suspension adjustable and they will adjust it wrong -- look what they can do to a Weber carburetor in just a few moments of stupidity with a screwdriver.
To add speed, add lightness.
Any car which holds together for more than a race is too heavy. (Tongue-in-cheek, as race cars must test and qualify before the start of any race.)
Accountants are the scorers of industry; they have nothing to do with playing the game. (Probably not tongue-in-cheek, as he was implicated in the De Lorean scandal shortly before his death.)
Adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere. See also: list of people by name Category:Business leaders|Chapman, Colin