The Lotus 88 is an innovative
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
car designed by
Colin Chapman
Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (19 May 1928 – 16 December 1982) was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars.
In 1952 he founded the sports car company Lotus Cars. Chapman ...
,
Peter Wright,
Tony Rudd
Anthony Cyril Rudd (8 March 1923 – 22 August 2003) was a British engineer involved in aero engine design and motor racing, with particular associations with BRM and Lotus.
Early life and war service
Rudd became involved with motor racing ...
and
Martin Ogilvie Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
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Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
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* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
of
Lotus in an effort to maximise the downforce produced by
ground effect. The Lotus 88 made its debut at the first practice session of the 1981 season opener, the US Grand Prix West at Long Beach. Although the car was not allowed to race, it was the first car nominally built to Formula One rules to use a
carbon fibre
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
monocoque
Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell".
First used for boats, ...
chassis. The carbon fibre
McLaren MP4/1
The McLaren MP4/1 (initially known as the MP4) was a Formula One racing car produced by the McLaren team. It was used during the 1981, 1982 and 1983 seasons. It was the second Formula One car to use a monocoque chassis wholly manufactured from ...
made its debut at the third Grand Prix of the season in Argentina.
Design
By 1981 the ground effect 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.
Brabham
Brabham () is the common name for Motor Racing Developments Ltd., a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac, the team won four ...
were the first to circumvent the rules by using
hydropneumatic suspension
Hydropneumatic suspension is a type of motor vehicle suspension system, designed by Paul Magès, invented by Citroën, and fitted to Citroën cars, as well as being used under licence by other car manufacturers, notably Rolls-Royce ( Silver Shado ...
which compressed under aerodynamic loading and lowered the
Brabham BT49
The Brabham BT49 is a Formula One racing car designed by South African Gordon Murray for the British Brabham team. The BT49 competed in the to Formula One World Championships and was used by Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet to win his first Wo ...
onto the track surface. 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.
![Lotus-Cosworth 88B - Flickr - Supermac1961](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Lotus-Cosworth_88B_-_Flickr_-_Supermac1961.jpg)
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
The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had ...
engine. Lotus drivers
Nigel Mansell
Nigel Ernest James Mansell, (; born 8 August 1953) is a British retired racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship (1992) and the CART Indy Car World Series ( 1993). Mansell was the reigning F1 champion when he moved over ...
and
Elio de Angelis
Elio de Angelis (26 March 1958 – 15 May 1986) was an Italian racing driver who participated in Formula One between and , racing for the Shadow, Lotus and Brabham teams. He was killed in an accident while testing the Brabham BT55 at the Paul ...
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
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
, making it, along with the
McLaren MP4/1
The McLaren MP4/1 (initially known as the MP4) was a Formula One racing car produced by the McLaren team. It was used during the 1981, 1982 and 1983 seasons. It was the second Formula One car to use a monocoque chassis wholly manufactured from ...
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 reached the point where if the Lotus 88 were entered in the British Grand Prix at
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
, the team would lose its championship points and the race itself would lose its place as a championship round of the season.
Chapman was thus forced to update two of his Lotus 87 chassis as replacements for his thwarted brainchild. The Lotus 88 remains a curiosity from a bygone age of F1. Some of the 88's aerodynamics and layout were worked into the successful
Lotus 91
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.
Design
After several uncompetitive seasons with experimental or uncompetitive cars, Colin Chapm ...
which followed in 1982.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
)
All points scored by the
Lotus 81B and
Lotus 87
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.
Design and development
The car, driven by Italian Elio de Angelis and future world champ ...
.
See also
*
Lotus 78
The Lotus 78 was a Formula One racing car used in the and seasons. It was designed by Peter Wright, Colin Chapman, Martin Ogilvie and Tony Rudd, and was the first ground effect car in Formula One.
Concept
In early 1976, spurred on by a di ...
*
Brabham BT46B
References
External links
Lotus 88 article at www.f1technical.net
{{F1 cars 1981
88
1981 Formula One season cars
Lotus 088
Formula One controversies