Lotus 91

Last updated

Lotus 91
Lotus 91 2018 (42512010201).jpg
Category Formula One
Constructor Lotus
Designer(s) Colin Chapman (Technical Director)
Martin Ogilvie (Chief Designer)
Predecessor 87B
Successor 92
Technical specifications [2]
Chassis Carbon fibre and Kevlar monocoque
Engine Cosworth DFV, 2,993 cc (182.6 cu in), 90° V8, NA, mid-engine, longitudinally-mounted
Transmission Lotus / Hewland 5-speed manual
Power480 hp (357.9 kW) @ 11,000 rpm [3]
Fuel Valvoline
Tyres Pirelli
Goodyear
Competition history
Notable entrants John Player Team Lotus
Notable drivers11. Flag of Italy.svg Elio de Angelis
12. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nigel Mansell
12. Flag of Brazil.svg Roberto Moreno
12. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Geoff Lees
Debut 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix
RacesWins Podiums Poles F/Laps
151200
Constructors' Championships0
Drivers' Championships0

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.

Contents

Design

After several uncompetitive seasons with experimental or uncompetitive cars, Colin Chapman went back to basics and designed the Lotus 91, based in part on the Williams FW07 and Lotus' own 88 design. Powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV and using a standard Hewland gearbox, the 91 was uncomplicated and easy to maintain. Following Brabham's lead, the new car was the first Lotus chassis to use carbon brakes, improving braking performance considerably.

After a design study by Chapman into new composite materials, the decision was taken to build the car in carbon fibre and Kevlar, making it, after the McLaren MP4/1 and Lotus 87, the third F1 car to race to be built from the material - the Lotus 88 not having raced before it was banned. [4]

Under the direction of Peter Warr, the team worked hard to make the car as competitive as possible. The lightweight chassis gave the 91 a fighting chance against the far more powerful turbo engined cars and Cosworth worked on a short stroke version of the DFV purely for Lotus' use. [5] The sidepods were full length units, extending to the very back of the car to take full advantage of the ground effect aerodynamics. However the 91 was quite pitch sensitive, making it tricky to drive. [6] The Lotus 91 was the basis for the Lotus 92 - which pioneered active suspension in Formula 1. This suspension was revolutionary, using an on-board system to control the ride height and behaviour of the suspension, thus the Lotus 92 was the first car to be fitted with active suspension. The system was partially controlled by computers but at this early stage was mostly operated by hydro-pneumatic valves. [7]

Racing history

Elio de Angelis used the car well but found the 91 was mostly competitive on ultra fast tracks like Hockenheim, Monza and the Österreichring. The latter track provided a thrilling final lap win for de Angelis against Keke Rosberg in the Williams. [8] That win, as well as several other consistent results by de Angelis and a podium place by Mansell, helped the team to fifth in the final standings in 1982, before ground effects were banned for the 1983 Formula One season and the 91 was replaced by the first Lotus turbo car.

The 91 was the last Lotus F1 car to win a race under Colin Chapman's rule before he died of a heart attack on 16 December 1982. [9]

The Lotus 91 without front wing Lotus 91 cropped.jpg
The Lotus 91 without front wing

Complete Formula One results

(key)

YearTeamEngineTyresDrivers12345678910111213141516Pts.WCC
1982 John Player Team Lotus Cosworth DFV
V8 NA
G RSA BRA USW SMR BEL MON DET CAN NED GBR FRA GER AUT SUI ITA CPL 305th
Nigel Mansell 37Ret4RetRetRet9Ret87Ret
Elio de Angelis Ret545Ret4Ret4RetRet16RetRet
Roberto Moreno DNQ
Geoff Lees 12

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosworth</span> British automotive engineering company

Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream automotive industries. Cosworth is based in Northampton, England, with facilities in Cottenham, England, Silverstone, England, and Indianapolis, IN, US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Chapman</span> English design engineer (1928–1982)

Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosworth DFV</span> Internal combustion engine

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 four valves per cylinder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elio de Angelis</span> Italian racing driver

Elio de Angelis was an Italian racing driver who participated in Formula One between 1979 and 1986, racing for the Shadow, Lotus and Brabham teams. He was killed in an accident while testing the Brabham BT55 at the Paul Ricard circuit, near the commune of Le Castellet, France, in 1986. De Angelis was a very competitive and highly popular presence in Formula One during the 1980s, and is sometimes referred to as Formula One's "last gentleman player".

Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar, and sports car racing. More than ten years after its last race, Team Lotus remained one of the most successful racing teams of all time, winning seven Formula One Constructors' titles, six Drivers' Championships, and the Indianapolis 500 in the United States between 1962 and 1978. Under the direction of founder and chief designer Colin Chapman, Lotus was responsible for many innovative and experimental developments in critical motorsport, in both technical and commercial arenas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 49</span> Formula One racing car

The Lotus 49 was a Formula One racing car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe for the 1967 F1 season. It was designed around the Cosworth DFV engine that would power most of the Formula One grid through the 1970s. It was one of the first F1 cars to use a stressed member engine combined with a monocoque to reduce weight, with other teams adopting the concept after its success. It also pioneered the use of aerofoils to generate downforce.

David Keith Duckworth was an English mechanical engineer. He is most famous for designing the Cosworth DFV engine, an engine that revolutionised the sport of Formula One.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 72</span> Formula One racing car

The Lotus 72 is a Formula One car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe of Lotus for the 1970 Formula One season. The 72 was a pioneering design featuring inboard brakes, side-mounted radiators in sidepods, and aerodynamic wings producing down-force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 88</span> Formula One motor racing car

The Lotus 88 is an innovative 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 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 Lotus 88 was not allowed to race, it was the first Formula One car to use a carbon fibre monocoque chassis and debut at a Grand Prix event. The carbon fibre McLaren MP4/1 made its first appearance at the third Grand Prix of the season in Argentina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williams FW07</span> Formula One motor racing car

The Williams FW07 was a ground effect Formula One racing car designed by Patrick Head, Frank Dernie, and Neil Oatley for the 1979 F1 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brabham BT49</span> Formula One racing car

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 1979 to 1982 Formula One World Championships and was used by Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet to win his first World Championship in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLaren MP4/1</span> McLaren teams Formula One racing car

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. It was the second Formula One car to use a monocoque chassis wholly manufactured from carbon fibre composite, after the Lotus 88, a concept which is now ubiquitous. The MP4/1 was first entered in a Formula One race at the third grand prix of the season in Argentina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 77</span>

The Lotus 77 was a Formula One racing car designed by Colin Chapman, Geoff Aldridge and Martin Ogilvie for the 1976 Formula One season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyrrell 012</span> Formula One racing car

The Tyrrell 012 is a Formula One racing car that was designed by Maurice Philippe for the Tyrrell team. It was introduced for the 1983 season, and was subsequently used in 1984 and the first few races of 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 81</span> Formula One racing car

The Lotus 81 was a Formula One racing car built by Colin Chapman's Lotus team for the 1980 Formula One season. Unlike many of forebears the 81 was not a terribly innovative or competitive car, coming as it did at a time when Chapman's interest in his racing activities was waning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 16</span>

The Lotus 16 was the second single-seat racing car designed by Colin Chapman, and was built by his Lotus Cars manufacturing company for the Team Lotus racing squad. The Lotus 16 was constructed to compete in both the Formula One and Formula Two categories, and was the first Lotus car to be constructed for Formula One competition. Its design carried over many technological features of the first Lotus single-seater, the Lotus 12, as well as incorporating ideas which Chapman had been developing while working on the Vanwall racing cars. Indeed, such was the visual similarity between the Vanwall and Lotus 16 designs that the Lotus was often dubbed the "mini Vanwall" by the contemporary motor sport press. Although the Lotus 16 only scored five Formula One World Championship points in the three seasons during which it was used, its raw pace pointed the way for its more successful successors, the Lotus 18 and 21.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 93T</span>

The Lotus 93T was a Formula One car with which the Team Lotus participated the first part of the F1 championship in 1983. It was the first Lotus car to use the Renault Gordini EF1 turbo engine and was the last F1 car designed by team founder Colin Chapman. In the championship the car was driven by Elio de Angelis, the other driver of the team, Nigel Mansell, raced with the Lotus 92, a car with the Ford Cosworth engine. The 93T was replaced in the course of the season with the Lotus 94T. Mansell drove the 93T car twice, in the 1983 German Grand Prix after he suffered problems with his 94T during the warm-up and had to revert to the older model and in a non-championship race, the 1983 Race of Champions. The 93T usually performed well in qualifying but suffered with reliability problems and came only once to the finish of a race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 92</span> Formula One racing car

The Lotus 92 was a Formula One racing car designed by Martin Ogilvie along with Team Lotus founder Colin Chapman before Chapman died in December 1982. The 92 was used by Lotus in the first part of the 1983 Formula One season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus 87</span> Formula One racing car

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.

9 Days in Summer is a promotional documentary film made by Ford that tells the story of the development of the Ford-funded Cosworth DFV and Lotus 49, the title coming from the nine Formula One races the car took part in the 1967 Formula One season, which are also extensively featured in the film.

References

  1. MACARONI ammonite: interview with Shunsaku Tamiya - in Japanese
  2. "Lotus 91". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  3. "Engine Ford Cosworth • STATS F1".
  4. "1982 Lotus 91 Cosworth - Images, Specifications and Information". Ultimatecarpage.com. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  5. "Cosworth DFV – Horses for courses". Motor Sport Magazine. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  6. "Lotus 91: The F1 Car That Sticks Like Spiderman". YouTube. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  7. "Lotus Active Suspension". gglotus.org. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  8. "Type 91". Lotus Cars. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  9. "For Sale: 1982 Lotus 91". Motorsport Retro. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2019.