Lotus Mark IV

Lotus Mark IV
1959 Lotus Seven Series 1
Overview
Manufacturer	Lotus Cars
Production	1952 (1 unit made)
Designer	Colin Chapman
Body and chassis
Class	Sports car
Body style	Roadster
Related	Austin 7
Powertrain
Engine	Ford side valve 1172cc
Chronology
Predecessor	Lotus Mark III
Successor	Lotus Mark V

Template:DMCA Template:DMCA Lotus Mark IV was a trials car by Colin Chapman built on an Austin 7 chassis. Chapman's success at building trials cars brought another previous customer, Mike Lawson, to order a second trials car in 1952 to replace his Lotus Mark II, in which he won the Wrotham Cup. Once again Chapman chose an Austin Seven as the starting point, reinforcing the frame and installing a four-cylinder 1,172 cc (71.5 cu in), Ford, sidevalve engine. Chapman used all the tricks he had learned in his previous cars, constructing a lightweight aluminium body with a rounded nosecone. He fitted a 3-speed transmission taken from a Ford 8 and the divided front axle as on his previous cars.

Lawson won his class in the first attempt in this car, following up with others, solidifying Chapman's reputation as a designer and engineer. The success of this car, and other requests for more cars, led Chapman and Michael Allen to establish Lotus Engineering in a disused stable in Hornsey.

Ford Sidevalve Motor
Configuration: S4 SV
Displacement: 1172 cc
Bore/Stroke: 63.5mm x 92.456mm (2.5x3.64")

References

• Taylor, William, The Lotus Book:The Complete History of Lotus Cars Coterie Press Limited, 1998.
• Tipler, John, Lotus and Caterham Seven: Racers for the Road The Crowood Press, 1995.
• Coulter, Jeremy, The Lotus & Caterham Seven: A Collector's Guide Motor Racing Publications, 1986.
• Setright, L.J.K, "Lotus: The golden mean", in Northey, Tom, ed. World of Automobiles (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 11, p. 1221-34.

External links

• Motorbase Accessed 17 February 2006.

Type	1950s										1960s										1970s										1980s										1990s
	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Owner	Colin Chapman																																	David Wickins			General Motors							Romano Artioli			Proton Holdings
Sports racer					VIII	IX	Eleven		15	17	19		23		30	40		47		62																					105	106					114	115
			Mark VI					Seven
Roadster													Elan																											Elan							Elise
Coupé									Elite							Elan
																		Europa									Esprit												Esprit						Esprit
Grand tourer																		Elan +2							Elite
																									Eclat									Excel
Saloon														Cortina				Cortina																							Carlton

Racing cars	Mark I Mark II Mark III Mark IV Mark V 12 16 18 20 21 22 24 25 27 29 31 32 33 34 35 38 39 41 42 43 44 48 49 51 55 56 59 61 63 64 67 68 69 70 72 73 74 F2 76 77 78 79 80 81 86 87 88 91 92 93T 94T 95T 96T 97T 98T 99T 100T 101 102 107 109 112
Related cars	Caterham Seven Ford Cortina Lotus Talbot Sunbeam Lotus DeLorean Westfield Sport Isuzu Piazza Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 Opel Lotus Omega/Vauxhall Lotus Carlton Kia Elan
Concept cars	Emotion Esprit M70 Etna M250 M90
Key figures	Colin Chapman Tony Rudd Romano Artioli Dany Bahar Len Terry
Group Lotus	Official website Lotus Cars Lotus Engineering Team Lotus Lotus F1

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