The first Lotus Mark 1 was built in 1948 in a garage behind his parents’ house
Most people associate Lotus with the late great Colin Chapman, but it was a race team and motorcar company that he co-founded with his wife, Hazel Chapman. Earlier in the day Hazel Chapman, 94, died.
Notably, Hazel Chapman met her husband at a dance in 1944 and she married him in 1954. The Lotus Mark 1 was built in 1948 around an Austin 7 chassis in a lockup garage behind Hazel Chapman’s parents’ home in Hornsey, north London. When her husband was drafted into the Royal Air Force, she herself took over the development of the Mark 2, which had a Ford engine.
After the formation of the Lotus organization in 1952, he took a seat on the boards of several of its companies, including the F1 team. He played a matriarchal role in the success of the F1 team, which won 6 World Drivers’ Championships and 7 constructors’ crowns in the 1960s and ’70s.
She became the head of the brand in 1982 after the death of her estranged husband
His tenure yielded some of F1’s greatest drivers, including the late greats Jim Clark, Graham Hill (Damon Hill’s father), Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti, and Nigel Mansell, and the late 80s great Ayrton Senna.
When her husband died in 1982, she was instrumental in securing new investments to secure the company’s future with the sale of equity to a group led by British Car Auctions. The F1 team remained family-owned until 1990, and after its demise in 1994, Hazel became the director of Classic Team Lotus.
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“It’s a very sad day for everyone around the world who is associated with Lotus. Without Hazel Chapman, Lotus would not have been there,” said Matt Windley, MD, Lotus Cars.
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