The Lotus 88 is a Lotus Formula 1 racing car built on the innovative dual chassis principle, designed to perform in the 1981 season.
| Lotus 88 | |||||||||
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| Category | Formula 1 | ||||||||
| Developer |  Colin ChapmanMartin ogilvy | ||||||||
| Constructor | Team lotus | ||||||||
| Specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | Double chassis, monocoque from fibrocarbon | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Upper rocker arms, lower wishbones, springs and dampers inside the hull | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | as in front | ||||||||
| Engine | Ford Cosworth DFV, 3.0 l, 470 hp V8 , 90 °, atmospheric, | ||||||||
| Transmission | Lotus / Hewland FGA 400 5 speed manual | ||||||||
| Weight | 585 kg | ||||||||
| Fuel | Essex | ||||||||
| Tires | Michelin / Goodyear | ||||||||
| Performance history | |||||||||
| Teams | Team Essex Lotus | ||||||||
| The pilots |  Elio de Angelis Nigel Mansell | ||||||||
| Debut |  USA-West 1981 | ||||||||
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| Unless otherwise indicated, all data refer only for the scoring Formula 1 Grand Prix | |||||||||
Content
History
In 1981 , the FIA began a struggle with speeds that sharply increased with the use of the ground effect . Movable skirts on the sides of the body were banned, the clearance of cars was increased. To reduce the loss in speed, Colin Chapman came up with the design of the car body with a double chassis: one was built into the other.
A Formula One car should have the toughest suspension possible, resulting in a vibration that negatively affects the car’s units and the rider. Monocoque Lotus 88 was connected to the wheels with a soft suspension. At the same time, the car had a second, outer casing, which perceived aerodynamic loads and transferred them to the wheels using a separate, very rigid suspension.
However, after the appearance of the car on the track, other teams appealed to the FIA, which banned its use in races. The decision of the judges stated that the upper case is an aerodynamic element that is not rigidly fixed to the chassis of the car. In fact, this was not the case: radiators and other units of the vehicle were mounted in the upper case, so that it cannot be considered a “large wing”. Thus, Lotus 88 participated in only a few workouts before the Grand Prix.
The modified Lotus 88B at the British Grand Prix was able to pass technical control, but FISA representatives simply ordered the race organizers not to allow the car to start.
Some solutions in aerodynamics were applied in the design of the rather successful Lotus 91 , which appeared in 1982 .
Notes
Links
- Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lotus 88