Lotus 88
Encyclopedia
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.
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 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. 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.
* Includes points scored by other Lotus chassis.
Ground effect in cars
Ground effect is term applied to a series of aerodynamic effects used in car design, which has been exploited to create downforce, particularly in racing cars. This has been the successor to the earlier dominant aerodynamic theory of streamlining...
Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
car designed by Colin Chapman
Colin Chapman
Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman CBE was an influential British designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars....
, Peter Wright, Tony Rudd
Tony Rudd
Anthony Cyril "Tony" Rudd was an engineer involved in aero engine design and motor racing, with particular associations with BRM and Lotus.- Early life and war service :...
and Martin Ogilvie of Lotus
Team Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
in an effort to maximise the downforce produced by ground effects cars.
History
G-force
The g-force associated with an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. This acceleration experienced by an object is due to the vector sum of non-gravitational forces acting on an object free to move. The accelerations that are not produced by gravity are termed proper accelerations, and...
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
Hydropneumatic suspension
Hydropneumatic suspension is a type of automotive suspension system, invented by Citroën, and fitted to Citroën cars, as well as being used under licence by other car manufacturers, notably Rolls-Royce, and Peugeot. It was also used on Berliet trucks and is since recently used on Mercedes-Benz...
systems which compressed under aerodynamic loading and lowered the Brabham BT49
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 World Championship in .The car was initially designed in...
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 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
Nigel Mansell
Nigel Ernest James Mansell OBE is a British racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the CART Indy Car World Series...
and Elio de Angelis
Elio de Angelis
Elio de Angelis was an Italian racing driver who participated in Formula One between and , racing for the Shadow, Lotus and Brabham teams. He was killed during testing at the Paul Ricard circuit at Le Castellet in 1986...
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
McLaren MP4/1
The McLaren MP4/1 was a Formula One racing car produced by the McLaren team. It was used during the 1981, 1982 and 1983 seasons...
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. 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
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. After several uncompetitive seasons with experimental or mediocre cars, Colin Chapman went back to basics and designed the graceful Lotus 91, based in part...
which followed in 1982.
Complete World Championship Formula One results
(Results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap.)| Year | Entrant | Engine(s) | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex Team Lotus Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing... John Player Team Lotus Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing... |
Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... Cosworth DFV Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine... 3.0 V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
USW 1981 United States Grand Prix West The 1981 United States Grand Prix West was a Formula One race held on March 15, 1981 at Long Beach, California.__FORCETOC__-Summary:Defending World Champion Alan Jones finished nine seconds ahead of teammate Carlos Reutemann, and won his first Long Beach Grand Prix, as the 1981 season finally began... |
BRA 1981 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1981 Brazilian Grand Prix was the second race of the 1981 Formula One season and was held on March 29, 1981 at Jacarepaguá in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.-Classification:Results from the 1981 Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix:- Notes :... |
ARG 1981 Argentine Grand Prix The 1981 Argentine Grand Prix was the third race of the 1981 Formula One season and was held at the Buenos Aires circuit in Argentina on April 12, 1981. This was the last Argentine Grand Prix until the 1995 Argentine Grand Prix... |
SMR 1981 San Marino Grand Prix The 1981 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Imola on May 3, 1981.The race was the first to bear the title "San Marino Grand Prix", although several non-championship Formula One races and the 1980 Italian Grand Prix had previously been held at the circuit.The Lotus team... |
BEL 1981 Belgian Grand Prix The 1981 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zolder on May 17, 1981.-Mechanic safety:The Belgian Grand Prix of 1981 was marred by two serious incidents involving mechanics, one fatal. In Friday practice a mechanic from the Osella team, Giovanni Amadeo, stumbled off the pitwall... |
MON 1981 Monaco Grand Prix The 1981 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on May 31, 1981.-Race:Nelson Piquet led for much of the race, but crashed out late on... |
ESP 1981 Spanish Grand Prix The 1981 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 21, 1981, at the Circuito Permanente Del Jarama, Jarama, Spain.-Summary:... |
FRA 1981 French Grand Prix The 1981 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Dijon on July 5, 1981.- Classification :- Notes :*Alain Prost's first F1 victory*Race was stopped after 58 laps due to rain... |
GBR 1981 British Grand Prix The 1981 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on July 18, 1981. John Watson won his first race for five years, and McLaren's first since James Hunt's victory at the 1977 United States Grand Prix... |
GER 1981 German Grand Prix The 1981 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Hockenheimring on August 2, 1981. The race was notable for a memorable battle between Alain Prost and Alan Jones.-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
AUT 1981 Austrian Grand Prix The 1981 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Österreichring on August 16, 1981.The Fittipaldi team was not present because it did not have enough engines.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: René Arnoux - 1:32.018... |
NED 1981 Dutch Grand Prix The 1981 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Zandvoort on August 30, 1981.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings... |
ITA 1981 Italian Grand Prix The 1981 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on September 13, 1981.- Classification :-Trivia:*John Watson had a huge accident at the Lesmo curves when he went wide coming out of the second Lesmo curve, touched the grass and spun across the track, and his carbon-fibre... |
CAN 1981 Canadian Grand Prix The 1981 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 27, 1981, at Montreal. Jacques Laffite won the race driving for Ligier. It would prove to be Ligier's last race win for fifteen years, until the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix... |
CPL | 22* | 7th* | |||
| Elio de Angelis Elio de Angelis Elio de Angelis was an Italian racing driver who participated in Formula One between and , racing for the Shadow, Lotus and Brabham teams. He was killed during testing at the Paul Ricard circuit at Le Castellet in 1986... |
PO | PO | DNP | PO | |||||||||||||||||
| Nigel Mansell Nigel Mansell Nigel Ernest James Mansell OBE is a British racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the CART Indy Car World Series... |
PO |