Tuesday 24th August 2021

Colin Chapman: INSIDE THE INNOVATOR  Book Review by Peter Baker

What kind of person was Chapman? Permanently irritable, twitchy, ruthless, unable to accept criticism. A pain in the neck. Unfunny. Or was he actually, not a bad bloke? It’s a good question. Guilt, maybe, brought about by a thousand Chinese whispers?

In this 400-page book, composed by master craftsman Karl Ludvigsen, first published in 2010 by Haynes, and now reprinted by EVRO, he drip feeds you the jury with increasing evidence; for and against, chapter by chapter, with the skill of a courtroom lawyer until, at the bottom of the very last page, he concludes the case, for and against Colin Chapman.

Some say Chapman was never the same after Jim Clark died. While Emerson Fittipaldi, World Champion 1972, in his Foreword describes Chapman as ‘extremely competitive’. Journalist Peter Windsor accused him of risk-taking (in 1968, Rindt, Hill and Jacky Ickx all suffered rear wing failure during a single race, before these fragile add-ons were officially banned on grounds of safety). Could Mr. Chapman really judge race distance down to the last pint of petrol in his relentless bid to save weight? Can his John 'naïve' DeLorean-collaboration be described as unfortunate? And finally, was it true that he fired staff on Christmas Eve, after arriving at the party in his new aeroplane and noticing the car park was overflowing?

Personally, having worked for a very successful entrepreneur for a number of years, a driven being, not unlike Chapman himself, focused, unable to accept second best and always unreasonable, I’ll begrudgingly accept that the man was inspirational, and a genius. But flawed. Of course, after reading this book you may not agree.

This is a great read, well worthy of five stars. Thoroughly recommended.

Colin Chapman: INSIDE THE INNOVATOR
Written by Karl Ludvigsen
ISBN 978-1-910505-64-9
Published by EVRO Publishing
Price £50.00