Co-founder of Lotus Hazel Chapman dies aged 94

Born Hazel Williams, she met Chapman at a dance in 1944 and Chapman’s first car, what became known as the Lotus Mark 1, was built around an Austin 7 chassis in a lock-up garage at the rear of her parents’ house in Hornsey, North London, in 1948.

She took over the development of the trials car and its Ford-powered successor, the Mark 2, after Colin was briefly commissioned into the Royal Air Force.

Their successes as drivers with these cars and the Mk3 Formula 750 car, the…