- Lotus Mk4
Lotus Mk4 was a trials car by
Colin Chapman built on aAustin 7 chassis. Chapman’s success at building trials cars brought another previous customer, Mike Lawson, to order a second trials car in 1952 to replace hisLotus Mk2 , in which he won the Wrotham Cup. Once again Chapman chose an Austin Seven as the starting point, reinforcing the frame and installing a four-cylinder 1172cc (71.5ci)Ford sidevalve engine. Chapman used all the tricks he had learned in his previous cars, constructing a lightweight aluminum body with a rounded nosecone. He fitted a 3-speed transmission taken from aFord 8 and the divided front axle as on his previous cars.Lawson won his class in the very first attempt in this car, following up with others, solidifying Chapman’s reputation as a designer and engineer. The success of this car, and other requests for more cars, led Chapman and Michael Allen to establish Lotus Engineering in a disused stable in
Hornsey . [Setright, L.J.K, "Lotus: The golden mean", in Northey, Tom, ed. "World of Automobiles" (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 11, p.1222.]Ford Sidevalve Motor
Config: S4 SV
Displacement: 1172 cc
Bore/Stroke: 63.5mm x 92.456mm (2.5x3.64")References
* Taylor, William, "The Lotus Book:The Complete History of Lotus Cars" Coterie Press Limited, 1998.
* Tipler, John, " Lotus and Caterham Seven: Racers for the Road " The Crowood Press, 1995.
* Coulter, Jeremy, "The Lotus & Caterham Seven: A Collector's Guide " Motor Racing Publications, 1986.
* Setright, L.J.K, "Lotus: The golden mean", in Northey, Tom, ed. "World of Automobiles" (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 11, p.1221-34.External links
* [http://www.motorbase.com/vehicle/by-id/17305064/ Motorbase] Accessed February 17, 2006.
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