Lotus 88

Lotus 88

Lotus 88B
Category	Formula One
Constructor	Team Lotus
Designer(s)	Colin Chapman Martin Ogilvie
Predecessor	81 / 87
Successor	91
Technical specifications[1]
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 Rudd and 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. 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. 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.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap.)

* Includes points scored by the Lotus 81 and Lotus 87.

See also

• Lotus 78
• Brabham BT46B

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lotus 88.

• Lotus 88 article at www.f1technical.net

Team Lotus
Founder Colin Chapman Noted personnel Frank Dernie Gérard Ducarouge Maurice Philippe Peter Warr Peter Wright Len Terry World Champions Mario Andretti Jim Clark Emerson Fittipaldi Graham Hill Jochen Rindt Other notable drivers Elio de Angelis Martin Donnelly Mika Häkkinen Johnny Herbert Jacky Ickx Nigel Mansell Satoru Nakajima Gunnar Nilsson Ronnie Peterson Nelson Piquet Carlos Reutemann Ayrton Senna John Surtees Derek Warwick Alex Zanardi Drivers' titles 1963 1965 1968 1970 1972 1978 Constructors' titles 1963 1965 1968 1970 1972 1973 1978 Formula One cars 12 16 18 21 24 25 33 43 49 56B 63 72 76 77 78 79 80 81 86 87 88 91 92 93T 94T 95T 97T 98T 99T 100T 101 102 107 109 112 Formula Two cars 12 16 18 32 35 41 44 48 59 69 Formula Three cars 22 31 35 41 55 59 69 Formula Junior cars 18 20 22 27 Formula Ford cars 51 59 61 69 Formula 5000 cars 68 70 Tasman Series cars 32 39 67 Indianapolis 500 cars 29 34 38 42 56 64 96T Sports racing cars 15 17 19 23 30 40 47 53