A Chapman strut is an automobile suspension device. Being a strut, it is designed to act as both a shock absorber (with an integrated coil spring) and a wheel location device. That is, it is designed to resist lateral forces. Chapman struts are only used on rear wheels, while the very similar MacPherson strut is used in front.
The Chapman strut was named after Colin Chapman, the famed Lotus engineer, and was first used on the Lotus 12 .
