This short video explores the career of Colin Chapman, one of the most brilliant and fascinating characters in the history of motorsport.
Who was Colin Chapman? Now there is a complicated question, and it’s not going to be answered in any three-minute video. For longtime Chapman followers, this little film will serve a celebration. For younger enthusiasts who are just getting curious about this true genius, it’s a brief primer.
For more in-depth studies of Chapman, here are two worthwhile books with two different perspectives:
+ Colin Chapman, the Man and His Cars: The Authorized Biography, by Gerard Crombac
+ Colin Chapman Wayward Genius by Mike Lawrence
In the meantime, please enjoy this beautifully produced little video.
What a coincidence. I just finished reading a short but fine article on innovation in auto racing during the Sixties and Seventies, including how Chapman “invented” aerodynamics. IMO, aero has ruined racing and we’ll never get the genie back in the bottle. Someone else would have found it if Chapman hadn’t though.
http://draftingthecircuits.whoobazoo.com/2013/11/30/the-lost-art-of-innovation-in-racing-part-2-by-frank-santoroski/
On a more positive note, one of my other journeys across the web today involved hunting down photos of Emma Peel, who drove a very nice Lotus Elan. So I’ve got that going for me.