Lotus Mark II

The car that came to be known as the Lotus Mark II was created in 1949, while Colin Chapman was serving with the RAF.

For his second car Chapman built on the knowledge gained from building and competing in the Lotus Mark I, so he again used the widely available and inexpensive Austin 7 chassis as a starting point.

He boxed in the chassis rails and replaced the cross members with stronger tubular braces.

Chapman used this chassis and running gear to support a cigar-shaped body with a rounded nose.

From that point forward, Chapman concentrated on designing and constructing cars for race circuits instead of trials.