The Lotus

Since motoring began, enthusiastic amateur car builders have experimented with collecting and re-assembling components, notably chassis, engines and suspension units, to create highly personalised, sometimes transient and frequently unique vehicles. This book tells the story of some of these hybrid machines, many of which achieved sporting success, and their constructors. Most are long forgotten but a few like Chapman's Lotus for example, have become household names. The cult of the 'special' flourished in Britain, when unitary construction deprived the impecunious builder of easily available chassis.