Lotus · 1952–present
Lotus Mark IV
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")
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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Specifications
- Manufacturer
- Lotus Cars
- Production
- 1952 (1 unit made)
- Designer
- Colin Chapman
- Class
- Sports car
- Body style
- Roadster
- Related
- Austin 7
- Engine
- Ford side valve 1172cc
- Predecessor
- Lotus Mark III
- Successor
- Lotus Mark V
Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Check the linked sources for citations.
Sources
- Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3837539CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Mark_IVCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1369387596 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1959_Lotus_Seven_Series_1,_front_right.jpgCC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: Mariegriffiths at English Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.