Lotus Mk3 was a single seated sports car built by Colin Chapman as a 750 Racer.
In 1951, Chapman began to focus on a car for road racing, rather than trials, to compete in the 750 Motor Club formula, which used the Austin 7 as a basis. To conform to the rules, Chapman had to retain the Seven's chassis, engine, gearbox, and rearend; with the assistance of Nigel and Michael Allen, he modified them to the limits of the rules. Chapman boxed the frame rails and added 14-gauge tubular cross-members for torsional stiffness. A sleek aluminum two-seater body, which weighed only 65 lbs. (29.5 kg), was added to cut down drag, and the engine was highly tuned. The car, for all its seeming delicacy, proved startlingly faster than the competition. It led to a demand for copies (an improved Mark 3B was built for Adam Currie, for instance), as well as copies of the earlier Mark 1. By the end of the racing season, it was apparent the Mark 3 was the best 750 Formula car in the country.
At this time, Chapman was still working full-time at British Aluminum, and creating cars at nights and racing them, with the help of enthusiastic volunteers, on the weekends, but it was clear from the performance of the Mark 3, and the demand, there was an opportunity here. Following this successful year, on January 1st, 1952, Chapman established Lotus Engineering Company, with Michael Allen becoming Chapman’s first business partner. They set up shop in a disused stable in Hornsey.
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The first line states that this was a "single seated" sports car. It was of course a two seater.
This does not give the true picture: "with the assistance of Nigel and Michael Allen, he ...."
What actually happened was that they agreed to build not one but THREE Mark III cars, one for each of them to race. They built three chassis frames, and had finished TWO rolling chassis when they realised that they would not have time to complete them all.
Only one Mark III was completed that year, and in the next year (1952) Adam Currie asked if he could buy one of the two other rolling chassis to fit his own Ford engine and gearbox, and have a similar body built. This just involved Lotus in bolting together the bits they had already made.
The third car was not sold as a rolling chasis, but just as a chassis frame to a customer who built it into his own "Special" as described in my book "Lotus - The Early Years 1951-54". Lotus were not in business to make copies of the Mk III, they made one Mk IV for Mike Lawson and then concentrated almost all their efforts on the new Mk VI.
How do I know all this? I actually bolted together the chassis in the Lotus works for Adam Currie! Colin was pleased to have the free labour.
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