Did Colin Chapman have any personal Lotus Cars?

General Lotus Discussions
1

I couldn’t find this topic in “Lotus Elans” but if this subject has been covered previously please just refer me to the relevant text, website etc.
Regards,
Ray

2

He definitely had an esprit eclat and excel…then there’s the pics of him with an elan and +2…i suppose as a company owner it depends on if they were his personally just ‘pool’ cars as a tax fiddle…

3

Hi,
A few years ago, I saw somewhere a Elan Plus2 for sale which was advertised as Chapman’s personal Plus2. I cannot say how true this statement was of course.
Fran?ois

4

My understanding is that Chapman drove the various models and returned them to the factory so they wouldn’t have been registered in his name. But I stand corrected if anyone knows different. The Chapman family did have a collection of Lotus in their personal museum but who know whose name the cars were registered in or where they are now. Jim

5

The Collier collection in Florida has a beautiful Elite that was supposed to be his personal car.

Carlos G.

6

My S4’s first owner is listed as Clive Chapman, which I’ve always been pleased to assume is THE Clive Chapman :laughing:

7

I believe that by the time the Elan was in production Chapman was astute enough to know not to put his name to a registration document for one of his products. There have been a number of Fords, Jaguars and Range Rovers which have come to market which do have his name to them.

Apparently he would often take a recently completed car from the new car park and whip it around the local roads, going home for lunch or at the end of the day. He was testing for quality issues and to check the handling, ride and performance were what he expected, but most of all, he was concerned to ensure that the cars were kept to their stated weight limits.

Tim

8

Thanks for all the responses.
Ray

9

this has just pitched up on Fleabay…
ebay.co.uk/itm/1968-Lotus-E … SwEaBaAMu0

I am always dubious about these claims.

Jeff 72+2

10

That was up for sale very recently, I think we even had a thread about it:-)

11

One of his very first cars was a Ford Prefect that used to carry a Lotus Eleven to Monza in 1956
ibb.co/Pt1mn6X

fotos hd para descargar

12

I have seen a few cars over the years registered to Hazel Chapman, usually in a mid green colour.
If there was a tax advantage available in registering cars that way, I am sure ACBC would have made use of it? :slight_smile:

13

One of Colin Chapman Elan Plus used in 1972