Colin Chapman and Lotus - A disappearance as fast as his cars

Everyone knows the Lotus Esprit that the invincible Roger Moore playing the secret agent 007 drove underwater, which later emerged onto the Sardinian beach of Romazzino in Capriccioli, much to the amazement of the bathers. While the Aston Martin has become the quintessential James Bond car, Lotus is no less important as the Esprit played a central role in no less than three films. And yet communication and industrial reality are two profoundly different things.

Lotus Esprit earned a place of honour in the James Bond films. Here in “For Your Eyes Only”...

Making a single-seater is complex and expensive, but production is limited to just a few examples which are carefully followed by a team of dedicated technicians. Producing cars for customers is far more complex: quality, reliability and service costs a lot of money. Chapman, financially supported by Imperial Tobacco in Formula 1 through the John Player Special brand, continued to innovate and win. With the Lotus 79, he introduced the ground-effect concept that Chaparral had already developed in the Can Am series, and the seventh World Title arrived thanks to Mario Andretti and Ronnie Peterson, his team mate and runner up. The idea of sealing off the underside of the car and using downforce to increase performance made the 79 an almost unbeatable single-seater.