Lotus 107

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Lotus 107
Lotus 107B
Lotus 107C
Alessandro Zanardi - Lotus 107 during practice for the 1993 British Grand Prix (32873601273).jpg
Alessandro Zanardi driving the 107B during the practice session for the 1993 British Grand Prix
Category Formula One
Constructor Team Lotus
Designer(s) Peter Wright (Technical Director)
Chris Murphy (Chief Designer)
Mark Hennings (Head of Aerodynamics)
Predecessor 102D
Successor 109
Technical specifications
Chassis Carbon fibre monocoque
Suspension (front) 1992-1993: Active suspension
1994: Double wishbone, pushrod.
Suspension (rear) 1992-1993: Active suspension
1994: Double wishbone, pushrod.
Engine 1992-1993: Ford HBA6 3,494 cc (213.2 cu in), 75° V8, NA, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted.
1994: Mugen-Honda MF-351HC 3,500 cc (213.6 cu in), ° V10, NA, mid-engine, longitudinally-mounted
Transmission Lotus / Xtrac 6-speed semi-automatic
Power700 hp @ 13,000 rpm (Ford-Cosworth V8), 725 hp @ 13,500 rpm (Mugen-Honda V10) [1]
Fuel BP (1992)
Castrol (1992–1993)
Mobil 1 (1994)
Tyres Goodyear
Competition history
Notable entrants Team Lotus Ford
Team Lotus Mugen-Honda
Notable drivers11. Flag of Finland.svg Mika Häkkinen
11. / 12. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Herbert
12. Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Zanardi
12. Flag of Portugal.svg Pedro Lamy
Debut 1992 San Marino Grand Prix
Last event 1994 Canadian Grand Prix
RacesWins Podiums Poles F/Laps
340000
Constructors' Championships0
Drivers' Championships0

The Lotus 107 was a Formula One car used by Team Lotus. Designed for the 1992 Formula One season, and used throughout most of 1992, 1993 and part of 1994, it brought in a final, albeit short-lived period of competitiveness for the team in Formula One.

Contents

Design

The 107 is attributed to the design work of Chris Murphy and his design team. [2] Murphy joined Lotus after Akira Akagi's arrest and the Leyton House team he owned was thrown into turmoil. Murphy had designed the 1991 car; the 107 looked very similar to his earlier design leading some to say that the new Lotus was simply a rebadged Leyton House. [3] The 107 was designed from the outset to run a ride height control system which Lotus described as "fast ride height". This used conventional helical spring/concentric damper units in series with single acting hydraulic actuators and should not be confused with the Lotus active suspension, pioneered by Lotus ten years before. [4] Whilst the "fast ride height" concept was good and copied by many other teams the following season, the 107 installation was fundamentally flawed and the car only ran in this form at its debut in Imola and practice in Monaco. After that it was disabled for the remainder of the season.

Unquestionably beautiful the 107 had smooth sweeping lines a world away from the long developed and antiquated Lotus 102D whose heritage can be traced to the 1990 Formula One Season. The installation of the Ford Cosworth HB V8 engines, of a similar - if older - specification to those being used by Benetton, was complete by the unveiling of the car at the 1992 San Marino Grand Prix.

Johnny Herbert liked the car very much, saying it was sublime to drive and responsive to set up changes, but admitted it was not reliable. [5]

Development

With a top notch driving squad of Johnny Herbert and a future double F1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen, the Lotuses were able to bring in some good results: at several races the twin cars were able to run in formation on the tail of the leading pack, at least in the early parts of the races. Reliability was limited. Häkkinen provided Lotus' best showing for several years at the Hungarian Grand Prix where he diced for the final podium position with Gerhard Berger's McLaren. In Portugal he ran as high as second before having to pit for new tyres late in the race. [6] A further potential podium place in Japan was also lost. [7]

Variants

The car was developed over succeeding seasons into B and C variants, the latter with Mugen-Honda power in place of the Cosworth. As was standard practice at the time, the team employed the active suspension technology that they had introduced to F1 back in 1987 on later variants, but the budget was not enough to make it really work, and besides, it was now far from being a unique capability. According to Alex Zanardi's autobiography My Story, the focus on this system was to the detriment of other aspects of the car. [8]

The team's financial difficulties dragged it under at the end of 1994. The Lotus 109, the last Formula One car of the team, which ran in the latter part of 1994, was a further derivative of this design.

Complete Formula One results

(key)

YearEntrantChassisEngineTyresDrivers12345678910111213141516PointsWCC
1992 Team Lotus 107 Ford HB
V8
G RSA MEX BRA ESP SMR MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR JPN AUS 13*5th
Mika Häkkinen RetRet46Ret46Ret5Ret7
Johnny Herbert RetRetRet6RetRetRet13RetRetRet13
1993 Team Lotus 107B Ford HB
V8
G RSA BRA EUR SMR ESP MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR JPN AUS 126th
Johnny Herbert Ret448RetRet10Ret410Ret5RetRet11Ret
Alessandro Zanardi Ret68Ret14711RetRetRetRetDNQ
Pedro Lamy 11Ret13Ret
1994 Team Lotus 107C Mugen-Honda V10 G BRA PAC SMR MON ESP CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR EUR JPN AUS 0-
Johnny Herbert 7710Ret
Pedro Lamy 108Ret11
Alessandro Zanardi 915

References

  1. "Engine Mugen Honda". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  2. "Chris Murphy". www.grandprix.com. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  3. "Marching to civil war". Motor Sport Magazine. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  4. "Active suspension". Motor Sport Magazine. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  5. "Great racing cars: 1992 Lotus 107". Motor Sport Magazine. 21 December 2015. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  6. "r/formula1 - Mika Häkkinen driving Lotus 107 at 1992 Belgian Grand Prix". reddit. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  7. "The last great Lotus driver". Motor Sport Magazine. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  8. "Lotus 107B". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 14 December 2019.