Lotus 91 F1 car

Designer:	Colin Chapman  Martin Ogilvie  Peter Wright
Predecessor:	Lotus 88
Successor:	Lotus 92
Chassis:	Monocoque made of fibre-reinforced plastic
Wheelbase:	2794 mm
Mass:	580 kg
Tire:	Goodyear
Petrol:	Eleven
Drivers:	Elio de Angelis Nigel Mansell Roberto Moreno Geoff Lees

The Lotus 91 was a Formula 1 racing car of the British racing team Lotus, for the Formula 1 season in 1982.

History

After the Lotus 88 had been declared illegal by the FIA, team boss Colin Chapman had to contest the 1981 Formula 1 season with the Lotus 87. As a result, the results were below expectations. As a result, main sponsor Essex ended the arrangement with Lotus, which plunged the team into major financial problems. Only the successful negotiations with John Player Special led to an increase of the budget and enabled Chapman with the Lotus 91 to construct a new car.

The vehicle's monocoque was made of synthetic resin reinforced Kevlar, with carbon fibre designed by Colin Chapman and Tony Rudd. Outwardly, it was similar to its predecessor, but had been fundamentally revised aerodynamic findings and was considered one of the best chassis in the grid The main sponsor was the Tobacco Group owned cigarette brand John Player, which is why the vehicle was held in black with gold applications. Five chassis were built. However, the Lotus 91 fell short of expectations compared to the competition with turbo engines.

The vehicle was powered by a Ford Cosworth DFV engine, a water-cooled eight-cylinder V-engine with 90 ° bank angle and a displacement of 2993 cc. At a speed of about 10,750 rpm, this made about 490 hp (360 kW). Engine ignition and injection system came from Lucas. The manually shifted, longitudinally installed Lotus Hewland transmission had five forward gears and one reverse gear. The tank took 191 litres. All wheels were suspended individually on double wishbones This suspension had an on-board system to control the ride height of the suspension. The new car was also the first Lotus to use carbon brakes.