In 1953 Lotus Cars was a two-man operation run by Colin Chapman and Mike Costin; Colin would come up with the ideas while Mike, who was still employed as a draughtsman at the aircraft constructor De Havilland, would build the cars during a five-hour shift every evening.
Colin had earlier fallen out with his original investors and was attempting to keep the business afloat while at the same time working for an aircraft company but he persevered and promoted the Lotus name by racing his products with some success. Soon a steady stream of customers were visiting the modest company premises in north London. In 1954, Lotus cars were winning in club races around the UK and the first ‘customer’ car, the Lotus 6, was proving very popular and Mike had to join Lotus full time to keep up with demand. The foundations for a successful company, capable of building lightweight, well-engineered automobiles for the road and track had been established. In 1956, its new sports racing car, the Lotus Eleven was launched. This was a very light two-seater car with a spaceframe chassis and sleek aerodynamic bodywork designed by Mike’s brother, Frank Costin. Power was provided by a Coventry Climax engine and at the time was the most advanced racing car available. To gain maximum publicity Colin Chapman entered the new car in the Le Mans 24-Hour race and in 1956 a Lotus Eleven finished seventh overall. The photograph above shows the team at the end of the Le Mans endurance in 1957, having won the prestigious Index of Performance. The winning drivers behind the car are Keith Hall and Cliff Allison and to the left of them in the photo is Mike Costin. At the far right is team mechanic and gearbox builder Graham Hill while on the left of him in the check shirt is a very happy Colin Chapman.
