>>Lotus 94T

Lotus 94T

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Lotus 94T

94T of Nigel Mansell at the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed
Category	Formula One
Constructor	Lotus
Designer(s)	Gérard Ducarouge Martin Ogilvie
Predecessor	93T
Successor	95T
Technical specifications
Chassis	Carbon fibre and Kevlar monocoque
Suspension (front)	Double wishbones, pull rod, coil springs
Suspension (rear)	Double wishbones, pull rod, coil springs
Axle track	Front: 1,816 mm (71 in) Rear: 1,664 mm (66 in)
Wheelbase	2,654 mm (104 in)
Engine	Renault Gordini EF1, 1,492 cc (91.0 cu in), 90° V6, turbo, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted
Transmission	Lotus / Hewland 5-speed manual
Weight	545 kg (1,202 lb)
Fuel	Elf
Tyres	Pirelli
Competition history
Notable entrants	John Player Team Lotus
Notable drivers	11.  Elio de Angelis 12.  Nigel Mansell
Debut	1983 British Grand Prix
Races Wins Podiums Poles F.Laps 7 0 1 1 1
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0

The Lotus 94T was a Formula One racing car used by Team Lotus in the second part of the 1983 Formula One season. The car was powered by the Renault Gordini EF1 V6 turbo engine, and ran on Pirelli tyres. The car was designed and built in only six weeks by incumbent designer Gérard Ducarouge, who was brought into the team by boss Peter Warr in an attempt to stave off the uncompetitiveness of the previous Lotus cars.

The car featured a lower, slimmer monocoque with improved weight distribution over its predecessor. The 94T made its debut at the 1983 British Grand Prix and proved to be competitive in the hands of Nigel Mansell, who came home fourth in the race, and Elio de Angelis, and provided an upswing in form for the Lotus team which would carry them into the 1984 season with a developed version of the car. Its best result was a third place at the 1983 European Grand Prix with Mansell, who also claimed fastest lap in the race, while De Angelis won the pole position. De Angelis had the lion's share of bad luck, and scored only two points with the car, but Mansell made it into the top six on several occasions, and finished the season with 12 points to his credit.

Gallery

A Lotus 94T of Nigel Mansell at the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed 

Mansell in his 94T at the 1983 British Grand Prix 

Elio De Angelis driving the 94T at the 1983 Dutch Grand Prix 

>>Lotus 93T

Lotus 93T

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Lotus 93T

An Elio de Angelis Lotus 93T on display in 2010.
Category	Formula One
Constructor	Lotus
Designer(s)	Colin Chapman Martin Ogilvie
Predecessor	92
Successor	94T
Technical specifications
Chassis	Carbon fibre and Kevlar monocoque
Suspension (front)	Double wishbones, pull rod, coil springs
Suspension (rear)	Double wishbones, pull rod, coil springs
Axle track	Front: 1,816 mm (71 in) Rear: 1,664 mm (66 in)
Wheelbase	2,667 mm (105 in)
Engine	Renault Gordini EF1, 1,492 cc (91.0 cu in), 90° V6, turbo, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted
Transmission	Lotus / Hewland 5-speed manual
Weight	560 kg (1,230 lb)
Fuel	Elf
Tyres	Pirelli
Competition history
Notable entrants	John Player Team Lotus
Notable drivers	11.  Elio de Angelis 12.  Nigel Mansell
Debut	1983 United States Grand Prix West
Races Wins Podiums Poles F.Laps 7 0 0 0 0
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0

The Lotus 93T was a Formula One car with which the Team Lotus participated the first part of the F1 championship in 1983. It was the first Lotus car to use the Renault Gordini EF1 turbo engine and was the last F1 car designed by team founder Colin Chapman. In the championship the car was driven by Elio de Angelis, the other driver of the team, Nigel Mansell, raced with the Lotus 92, a car with the Ford Cosworth engine. The 93T was replaced in the course of the season with the Lotus 94T. Mansell drove the 93T car twice, in the 1983 German Grand Prix after he suffered problems with his 94T during the warm-up and had to revert to the older model and in a non-championship race, the 1983 Race of Champions. The 93T usually performed well in qualifying but suffered with reliability problems and came only once to the finish of a race.

Its design and development is the subject of the documentary Lotus Goes Turbo which follows the teams steps through the introduction of the new Renault engine to replace the naturally aspirated Cosworth power plant.

>>Lotus 92

Lotus 92

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Lotus 92

Category	Formula One
Constructor	Lotus
Designer(s)	Colin Chapman Martin Ogilvie
Predecessor	91
Successor	93T
Technical specifications
Chassis	Carbon fibre and Kevlar monocoque
Suspension (front)	Lotus Active suspension
Suspension (rear)	Lotus Active suspension
Axle track	Front: 1,786 mm (70.3 in) Rear: 1,672 mm (65.8 in)
Wheelbase	2,799 mm (110.2 in)
Engine	Cosworth DFV, 2,993 cc (182.6 cu in), 90° V8, NA, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted
Transmission	Lotus / Hewland 5-speed manual
Weight	580 kg (1,280 lb)
Fuel	Elf
Tyres	Pirelli
Competition history
Notable entrants	John Player Team Lotus
Notable drivers	11.  Elio de Angelis 12.  Nigel Mansell
Debut	1983 Brazilian Grand Prix
Races Wins Podiums Poles F.Laps 8 0 0 0 0
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0

The Lotus 92 was a Formula One racing car designed by Martin Ogilvie along with Team Lotus founder Colin Chapman before Chapman died in December 1982. The 92 was used by Lotus in the first part of the 1983 Formula One season.

The car was driven regularly by Nigel Mansell and also in one race (the 1983 Brazilian Grand Prix) by Elio de Angelis. Engine problems on the warmup lap for de Angelis' Renault turbo-engined Lotus 93T forced him into the spare 92, which eventually led to his disqualification, for changing from a Renault-engined car to a Cosworth-engined one. The 92's best result was a 6th place for Mansell at the Detroit Grand Prix.

The 92 was the last non-turbo car designed and raced by Lotus until the turbo engines were banned from the 1989 season. It was also the last Lotus car to carry the Cosworth DFY V8 engine (a development of the Keith Duckworth designed Cosworth DFV which Lotus had introduced to F1 in 1967), while also being the first Lotus to use active suspension. The suspension system gave a lot of trouble and virtually eroded Mansell's confidence in such things. Though when he eventually won the World Championship with Williams nine years later (1992), it was in a car with active suspension.

>>Lotus 91

Lotus 91

Lotus 91

Category	Formula One
Constructor	Lotus
Designer(s)	Colin Chapman Martin Ogilvie
Predecessor	87B
Successor	92
Technical specifications
Chassis	Carbon fibre and Kevlarmonocoque
Engine	Cosworth DFV, 2,993 cc (182.6 cu in), 90° V8, NA, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted
Transmission	Lotus / Hewland 5-speed manual
Fuel	Valvoline
Tyres	Pirelli Goodyear
Competition history
Notable entrants	John Player Team Lotus
Notable drivers	11.  Elio de Angelis 12.  Nigel Mansell 12.  Roberto Moreno 12.  Geoff Lees
Debut	1982 Brazilian Grand Prix
Races Wins Podiums Poles F.Laps 15 1 2 0 0
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0

The Lotus 91 was a car used by the English team Lotus in the 1982 Formula One season, designed by Colin Chapman, Martin Ogilvie and Tony Rudd. After several uncompetitive seasons with experimental or mediocre cars, Colin Chapman went back to basics and designed the graceful Lotus 91, based in part on the Williams FW07 and Lotus' own 88 design. Powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV, and using a standard Hewland gearbox, the 91 was uncomplicated and easy to maintain. Following Brabham's lead, the new car was the first Lotus chassis to use carbon brakes, improving braking performance considerably.

After a design study by Chapman into new composite materials, the decision was taken to build the car in carbon fibre, making it after the McLaren MP4/1 the second F1 car to race to be built from the material - the Lotus 86/88 not having raced because it was banned.

Under the direction of Peter Warr, the team worked hard to make the car as competitive as possible. The lightweight chassis gave the 91 a fighting chance against the far more powerful turbo engined cars, and Cosworth worked on a short stroke version of the DFV purely for Lotus' use. The suspension was revolutionary. Using an on-board system to control the ride height and behavior of the suspension, the Lotus 91 was the first car to be fitted with active suspension. The system was partially controlled by computers, but at this early stage was mostly operated by hydro-pneumatic valves. Elio de Angelis used the car well, but found the 91 was mostly competitive on ultra fast tracks like Hockenheim, Monza and the Österreichring. The latter track provided a thrilling final lap win for De Angelis against Keke Rosberg in the Williams. That as well as several other podium places helped the team to fifth in the final standings in 1982, before ground effects were banned for the 1983 Formula One season, and the 91 was replaced by the first Lotus turbo car. The 91 was the last Lotus F1 car to win a race under Colin Chapman's rule before he died of a heart attack on 16 December 1982.

This was the last Formula One car until 2015 to run on Valvoline fuel.

The Lotus 91 without front wing

>>Lotus M90

Lotus M90

Lotus M90
Overview
Manufacturer	Lotus
Also called	X100
Production	1
Model years	1984
Designer	Oliver Winterbottom
Powertrain
Engine	1.6L 123 bhp (92 kW) 4-cylinder Toyota
Transmission	Toyota-built 5-speed

The Lotus M90 (sometimes referred to as the Lotus X100) is a concept car that was developed by Lotus using many Toyota parts. Rumors were circulated that it was the initial design for the MKI MR2, but, though sharing an engine, it bears very little resemblance to the mid-engine roadster. The project was the last one overseen by Lotus founder Colin Chapman before his death in 1982.

In 1981, Oliver Winterbottom was brought back to Lotus, after a stint developing the Tasmin for TVR, to design a new car to complement the Excel and the Esprit and bring some profitability to the lineup. The new car was to resurrect the Elan name which had not been used since 1975 and, like the Excel, make use of the company's close relationship with Toyota to use already well engineered suspension and engine components. Initial designs were a coupe that didn't get much of an enthusiastic response from the board of the company. The project stalled when company founder Colin Chapman died in 1982, as Lotus found itself in financial trouble. David Wickens of British Car Auctions ended up taking a controlling interest in the company, and the project was started up again, but renamed to the X100 (the Elan later being known as the M100). After redesigning the car to be a convertible the go ahead was given in 1984 to make a single prototype. It was built to a high level of finish, but by that time most of the company's engineers were concentrating on the new front-wheel-drive Elan, and the prototype was warehoused at the company's factory. In 1998 it was auctioned off along with several other rare Lotus cars, and sold to a private collector, and shipped to the United States.

The M90 makes use of a front-mounted 1.6L 123 bhp (92 kW) 4-cylinder Toyota engine, as well as a Toyota-built 5-speed transmission. The suspension is also from Toyota, using the same setup as is found in the Excel. The instrument cluster is from an Opel Monza and the radiator is from an Austin Allegro. The tail lights are borrowed from the Aston Martin Lagonda and the turn signal indicators are from the Ford Fiesta. The body is made of fiberglass and the roof is lowered in two pieces. The top is removed separately and fits in the trunk, to create a 'targa' style roof, and the rear portion folds down like a typical convertible.

This car is featured in a book released in June 2017 by Oliver Winterbottom titled "A Life in Car Design", in which the author provides insight into the design and construction of the M90 along with photographs and related documentation.

>>Lotus 88

Lotus 88

Lotus 88

A Lotus 88 driven by Takuma Sato in 2015
Category	Formula One
Constructor	Team Lotus
Designer(s)	Colin Chapman Martin Ogilvie
Predecessor	81 / 87
Successor	91
Technical specifications
Chassis	Twin-chassis construction
Suspension (front)	Top rocker arms, lower wishbones, inboard springs
Suspension (rear)	As front
Axle track	Front: 1,778 mm (70.0 in) Rear: 1,600 mm (63 in)
Wheelbase	2,178 mm (85.7 in)
Engine	Cosworth DFV 2,993 cc (2.993 L; 182.6 cu in) V8
Transmission	Lotus/Hewland 5-speed manual
Weight	585 kg (1,290 lb)
Tyres	Michelin/Goodyear
Competition history
Notable entrants	Team Essex Lotus
Notable drivers	11.  Elio de Angelis 12.  Nigel Mansell
Debut	1981 United States Grand Prix West
Races Wins Poles F.Laps 0 0 0 0

The Lotus 88 was an innovative ground effect Formula One car designed by Colin Chapman, Peter Wright, Tony Ruddand Martin Ogilvie of Lotus in an effort to maximise the downforce produced by ground effects cars.

History

By 1981 the ground effects cars were so efficient and so fast that the drivers were suffering from the tremendous g-forces involved in cornering and braking. The FIA banned the moveable skirts fitted to the bottom of the cars' sidepods that were vital for achieving consistent ground effect and regulated a mandatory ground clearance of 6 cm, in the interests of driver safety, and also in some people's view to aid the big manufacturers Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and particularly Renault. The Brabham team were the first to circumvent the rules using hydropneumatic suspension systems which compressed under aerodynamic loading and lowered the Brabham BT49 onto the track. This had the side effect of rendering the car without any sort of suspension, causing the driver to be buffeted even more than before. However, the performance gains were such that other teams were soon following suit - although most had difficulty in replicating the Brabham system and used a simple switch to lower the car. Chapman had other ideas.

The twin chassis internal structure of the Lotus 88

The earlier Lotus 86 had been designed at the time when skirts were still legal, in the same layout as the 88 but only one prototype had been built. The performance gains were relatively small but significant over conventional ground effects cars. When the skirts were banned, Wright studied the car and its performance without skirts. The loss in performance was largely negligible, so the 88 was quickly designed as a re-engineered 86. The 88 used an ingenious system of having a twin chassis, one inside the other. The inner chassis would hold the cockpit and would be independently sprung from the outer one, which was designed to take the pressures of the ground effects. The outer chassis did not have discernible wings, and was in effect one huge ground effect system, beginning just behind the nose of the car and extending all the way inside the rear wheels, thereby producing massive amounts of downforce. The car was powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV engine. Lotus drivers Nigel Mansell and Elio de Angelis reported the car was pleasing to drive and responsive. To make the aerodynamic loads as manageable as possible, the car was constructed extensively in carbon fibre, making it along with the McLaren MP4/1 the first car to use the material in large quantity.

Other teams were outraged at this exploitation of the regulations and protests were lodged with the FIA, on the grounds that the twin chassis tub breached the rules in terms of moveable aerodynamic devices. The FIA upheld the protests and consequently banned the car from competing. Chapman was adamant the car was legal and challenged the other teams and the FIA at every turn, but the decision stood. It got to the point where if the Lotus 88 was entered in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the team would lose its championship points and the race itself would lose its place as a championship round of the season. Chapman was forced to update two of his Lotus 87 chassis as replacements for his thwarted brainchild. The Lotus 88 therefore remains a curiosity from a bygone age of F1. Some of the 88's aerodynamics and layout were worked into the successful Lotus 91 which followed in 1982.

>> Lotus 87

Lotus 87

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Lotus 87

Category	Formula One
Constructor	Lotus
Designer(s)	Colin Chapman (Technical Director) Martin Ogilvie (Chief Designer) Peter Wright (Aerodynamics)
Predecessor	81 / 86
Successor	88 / 91
Technical specifications
Chassis	Carbon fibre and kevlar monocoque
Axle track	1,778 mm (70.0 in) front, 1,600 mm (63 in) rear
Wheelbase	2,705 mm (106.5 in)
Engine	Ford Cosworth DFV, 2,998 cc (183 cu in), V8, NA, mid-mounted
Transmission	Hewland FGA 400 5-speed manual gearbox
Weight	587 kg (1,294 lb)
Fuel	Essex (1981) Valvoline (1982)
Tyres	Michelin (1981) Goodyear (1981-1982)
Competition history
Notable entrants	Team Essex Lotus John Player Team Lotus
Notable drivers	Elio de Angelis  Nigel Mansell
Debut	1981 Monaco Grand Prix
Races Wins Podiums Poles F.Laps 11 0 0 0 0

The Lotus 87 was a Formula One racing car used by Team Lotus in the second part of the 1981 Formula One season and in the first race of the 1982 season.

The car, driven by Italian Elio de Angelis and future world champion Nigel Mansell, was another step in Lotus' development of ground effect cars. Its predecessor, the Lotus 81 had proven to suffer from a chassis that was not rigid enough, compared to the dominant Williams FW07. Lotus therefore introduced a new chassis, built out of carbon fibre and reinforced by kevlar sheets, since the team felt carbon fibre alone would not be sufficient to provide the chassis with the stability needed. As the John Barnard-designed McLaren MP4/1 would prove, this was a miscalculation. The chassis was originally planned for the ambitious twin-chassis Lotus 88, but after the car was outlawed, it was hastily rebuilt to become the more conservative 87. The car was not competitive enough to fight for victories, even though the drivers did manage to get some points. When the new turbo charged engines of Renaultand Ferrari became more reliable, the car proved to be yet still too heavy and was replaced by a lighter 87B specification for the opening round of 1982.It was subsequently replaced altogether by the Lotus 91, which proved more competitive, recording a podium in its first outing in Brazil.

>>Lotus 81

Lotus 81

Lotus 81

Category	Formula One
Constructor	Lotus
Predecessor	80
Successor	86 / 87 / 88
Technical specifications
Chassis	Aluminium monocoque
Suspension (front)	Double wishbones, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar
Suspension (rear)	Double wishbones, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar
Length	4,623 mm (182.0 in)
Width	2,134 mm (84.0 in)
Height	965 mm (38.0 in)
Axle track	Front: 1,700 mm (67 in) Rear: 1,638 mm (64.5 in)
Wheelbase	2,789 mm (109.8 in)
Engine	Ford Cosworth DFV, 2,993 cc (182.6 cu in), 90° V8, NA, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted
Transmission	Hewland FGA 400 5-speed manual
Weight	580 kg (1,280 lb)
Fuel	Essex
Tyres	Goodyear (1980) Michelin (1981)
Competition history
Notable entrants	Team Essex Lotus
Notable drivers	Mario Andretti  Elio de Angelis  Nigel Mansell
Debut	1980 Argentine Grand Prix
Races Wins Podiums Poles F.Laps 18 0 2 0 0
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0
n.b. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to Formula One World Championship Grands Prix only.

The Lotus 81 was a Formula One racing car built by Colin Chapman's Lotus team for the 1980 Formula One season. Unlike many of its illustrious Lotus forebears the 81 was not a terribly innovative or competitive car, coming as it did at a time when Chapman's interest in his racing activities was waning.

Instead it was a very standard ground effect design with sliding skirts and the ubiquitous Cosworth DFV 3.0 litre V8 powerplant. The car was said to generate a great deal of downforce but have excessive pitch sensitivity problems, ultimately leading Chapman to develop the innovative twin-chassis Lotus 88.

Mario Andretti and Elio de Angelis used the 81 in all 14 rounds of the 1980 Formula One world championship, and the car also gave Nigel Mansell his Formula One debut, with the British driver lining up in a total of three races that season. The best result for the car was Elio de Angelis's 2nd place in Brazil.

Chapman had intended to use theLotus 88 for the 1981 season,but a massive furore over the legality of the new car meant that the 81 was kept on as a stop gap for the first four races Lotus competed in, as they boycotted the 1981 San Marino Grand Prix, with Mansell taking 3rd place in the Belgian Grand Prix and de Angelis claiming three points finishes. The car was replaced by the Lotus 87.

The Lotus 81 at Barber.

Lotus 81 engine and transmission

>>Lotus 80

Lotus 80

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Lotus 80

Category	Formula One
Constructor	Team Lotus
Designer(s)	Colin Chapman Martin Ogilvie Peter Wright Tony Rudd
Predecessor	Lotus 79
Successor	Lotus 81
Technical specifications
Chassis	Aluminium monocoque
Suspension (front)	Lower wishbone and upper rocker-arms, with inboard coilover spring / damper units
Suspension (rear)	Lower wishbone and upper rocker-arms, with inboard coilover spring / damper units
Axle track	Front: 70 in (1,778 mm) Rrea: 64 in (1,626 mm)
Wheelbase	108 in (2,743 mm)
Engine	Ford-Cosworth DFV 2,993 cc (182.6 cu in) 90° V8 NA, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted
Transmission	Lotus / Hewland FGA400 5-speed
Weight	625 kg (1,378 lb)
Fuel	Essex
Tyres	Goodyear
Competition history
Notable entrants	Martini Racing Team Lotus
Notable drivers	1.  Mario Andretti
Debut	1979 Spanish Grand Prix
Races Wins Podiums Poles F.Laps 3 0 1 0 0
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0
n.b. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to Formula One World Championship Grands Prix only.

The Lotus 80 was a Formula One car used by Team Lotus in 1979. The car, designed by Colin Chapman, Martin Ogilvie, Peter Wright and Tony Rudd was an attempt to take ground effect as far as possible.

Design

Ogilvie and Rudd reasoned that to take a further step ahead of the competition, the new car should be designed as one huge ground effect system, starting just behind the nose and extending all the way to the back of the car beyond the rear wheels. An additional ground effect system was built into the nose, in an effort to turn the whole chassis into an aerodynamic device. In theory this would create a tremendous amount of downforce, so the chassis would have to be built to be more structurally rigid than that of the Lotus 79. The 80 also would not need wings due to the massive downforce. Chapman approved the idea at once.

The car appeared resplendent in British racing green, since John Player Special had pulled out of F1. The car featured 'coke bottle' sidepods, something that would become familiar in the 1980s. However, a serious problem was encountered during testing. Mario Andretti reported that at speed the car behaved very well, but in braking and cornering, where speeds were lower, the car lost downforce alarmingly then regained it unexpectedly. It was discovered the car was generating too much downforce for the driver to cope with. The problem was twofold: firstly, the ground effect's low pressure area under the car was moving around with the car's centre of gravity. The phenomenon was known as porpoising, as the car appeared to be lifting and squatting at different speeds, causing it to lurch violently through corners. Secondly, the slightest difference in track ride height including off cambered corners, kerbs, etc. affected the undercar pressure hugely. The team experimented by fitting the car with wings, but this had little effect on the way the car behaved. Andretti persevered with the car, but his new team mate Carlos Reutemann refused to drive it and stayed with the Lotus 79.

Competition history

Chapman eventually had to admit the 80 was not the wondercar he had planned, and after a reasonable third place for Andretti in the 1979 Spanish Grand Prix, the problems with the Lotus 80 became obvious in Monaco and France.The Lotus 79 was modified and pressed back into service.

It was a massive setback for the team, and for the car which had appeared so promising, however Chapman persevered with the concept of a full length ground effect chassis in the Lotus 88.

Lotus 80