The first three Lotus models together at Revival 2023

Lotus founder Colin Chapman’s first steps towards becoming a sportscar manufacturer began when he took part in a trials competition in 1947. Inspired, he started building his own Austin Seven special in the lock-up behind the house of his future wife Hazel’s parents. Completed in 1948, the car was registered PK 3493 and was immediately pressed into competition action. Colin drove and Hazel fulfilled the vital role of ‘bouncer’ and the couple won several awards.

The Mark I was later re-registered OX 9292 and continued its competition career. Sadly, it didn’t survive and, despite several concerted efforts to find it, the original car’s whereabouts have never been traced. It was Lotus China who first commissioned Classic Team Lotus to recreate the first Lotus as a show car. It inspired Clive Chapman, head of CTL and son of Colin Chapman, to create its own running version of Lotus number one.

“The Classic Team Lotus fabrication department is especially strong and the extraordinary challenge was taken on with relish,” we were told.

“Undoubtedly Steve Jest, Matt Sutton and Harvey Boore have become the world experts on the construction of the Lotus Mark I, together with support from their colleagues, including Heritage Manager William Taylor, Raceshop Manager Lewis Cullington and paint wizard Wayne Riches.”

Goodwood’s 75th-anniversary parade at the Revival provided an impetus to get the car up and running. “Together with my skilful colleagues at Classic Team Lotus, it has been a real pleasure to discover how my parents went about creating their first car,” said Clive. The anniversary parade celebrated the entire Colin Chapman era of Lotus, from 1948 to 1982 (a rare exception to Revival’s usual 1966 cut-off).

Joining the Mark I recreation were the sole Mark II and Mark III specials, which have beaten the odds to survive to this day. It was in the summer of 1948, when Chapman had graduated as a civil engineer, that he started work to build the Mark II. Like its immediate forebear, this was again a trials car that used an Austin Seven chassis that had been boxed in to create a lightweight but strong structure.

This time, though, power would come from a Ford 10 engine that Chapman had acquired from a nearly new, fire-damaged donor car. From the front, the Mark II resembles the later Lotus Seven, albeit much higher-riding. The car remains in its original, unrestored condition and is therefore the oldest direct link to the early days of Lotus.

It was only after the Mark II was sold that Chapman decided to use the Lotus name, which was retrospectively applied to the first two cars. The Mark III would be the first car to carry the name while it was still on the drawing board. The much lower-slung stance of the Mark III is a reflection of its circuit-racing intent.

Having innovated with the chassis on the earlier cars, this time Chapman turned his attention to the engine. The Austin Seven engine has ‘siamese’ inlet ports, meaning that one port serves two cylinders. De-siamesing the engine was an effective way to produce more power. The result? Victory in the hands of Chapman on its very first outing, at Castle Combe. Hazel also raced the car on many occasions, and the couple used the car to go on holiday in Scotland.

With the Mark I built just in time for Revival, the three earliest Lotuses were seen together during the on-track parades on each day of the event. In a wonderful link to Colin, the Mark I was driven at Revival variously by his daughter Jane, granddaughter Alice and great grand-daughter Martha.