Lotus
Page updated : 8 February 2008Home > Cars > Lotus
LMU 4 on its first trial on 16th March 1952 - Kentish Border MC – J B Taylor Cup Trial
Photograph by Michael Allen, courtesy of Martyn Halliday
The history of the 1952 Lotus Mark IV, LMU 4
Lotus is not a name usually associated with trialling but Colin Chapman, as with so many other low-volume car builders in the early 1950s, was happy to produce sports cars for any discipline if someone was willing to pay. This resulted in several of the very early Lotus cars being built specifically for trialling. Martyn Halliday has provided me with a history of his Mark IV car, LMU 4, which I'm very happy to publish, slightly edited, below.
The story really starts back in the early fifties when the well-known trials driver of the day, Michael Lawson, purchased Colin Chapman’s Lotus Mark II. This was Colin’s second home-constructed car and in this case used a Ford 10 engine, and gearbox, on an Austin 7 chassis. Colin had successfully raced and trialled the car before it was sold to Lawson.
After using the Mark II for a time, Michael Lawson wanted something better and commissioned Chapman to build a new trials car that could be driven on the road. By now Colin was only really interested in racing and had produced the famous 750 racing Mark III in which he made his name. But Colin needed the money. On the 1st January 1952, Colin Chapman and Michael Allen formed the Lotus Engineering Company, and the first customer car delivered was the one and only Mark IV, registration number LMU 4, designed to be used in trials by Michael Lawson.
It was very advanced, for its time, with the engine 27" behind the front axle, and a jerry can in the nose cone that could be filled with water to keep the front wheels on the ground when the car was driven on the road. A Ford 10 engine and gearbox was built onto an Austin 7 chassis and back axle, but the front axle was split and included a central pivot that became known as the 'jelly joint'. This allowed huge front axle articulation rather like a tractor. Body side panels were constructed from alloy sheet on plywood which, when the whole car was bolted together, gave a very rigid structure.
Michael Lawson enjoyed a very successful season with the car but already the writing was on the wall in the form of the proposed RAC Trials Regulations. These gave strict dimensions on such things as engine position, mainly to prevent builders going to extremes and constructing dangerous specials. As a result of the introduction of these regulations the car had to be rebuilt with the engine moved forward in the chassis. At the same time the front suspension was changed to a Ford beam axle and anything that was not vital was removed in the interest of saving weight. The original Lotus nose cone was removed and replaced with a flat front.
Again the car was a success, but by 1955 it seems to have disappeared off the trials scene. From 1958 to 1964 the car had various owners one of which used it for, in his words, “tearing around the local fields”. He also managed to destroy what may have been the original engine by running it without oil! Around 1964 Arthur Hay, who already owned the only trials Lotus Mark VI (the ex Sinclair Sweeny car, HEL 46), was offered the Mark IV which was, by now, in a very sorry state. He intended to restore it but it stayed in one of his old garages untouched for the next 24 years.
In 1988 Martyn Halliday was researching old trials hills by looking for route cards from early classic trials and was told that Arthur Hay might have kept all the paperwork from events in which he competed. Martyn arranged to meet Arthur to discuss old trials but at this stage he did not know that Arthur had the Mark IV (and, by this time, both the Mark VI and the Mark II). Friendship grew and in the end Arthur asked Martyn if he would buy the car and restore it.
Researching the history of a car can be a long and involved process. In this case the two Allen brothers, Michael and Nigel who were involved with Colin Chapman in the very early days of building the Lotus Mark III and then setting up Lotus Engineering Company, were still very much alive and well. The most amazing part was that Michael had taken photographs during the construction of the Mark IV, and at its first trial, and he still had the undeveloped film! The restoration was undertaken by Mike Brotherwood using a set of Allen photographs, an original Chapman blueprint, and with help from both Allen brothers.
LMU4 is now generally restored to its original specification but it needs more development before it could be used in modern classic trials.
Lotus Miscellany
This photograph was taken at the MCC Centenary celebrations at Brooklands in 2002 and features:
LMU 4 - Lotus Mark IV - the first customer Lotus,
LJH 902 - Lotus Mark II - the second special built by Colin Chapman, used for trials then racing,
HEL 46 - Lotus Mark VI - the only trials Mark VI ever built.
This was the first time that the three cars had been together since Arthur Hay
sold the Mark IV to Martyn Halliday in 1989.
Photograph by Martyn Halliday
Lotus Links
- Historic Lotus Register particularly the:
- Lotus History page.
- The Cars page.