Lotus 91
Elio De Angelis
Lotus 91-1 by
David Freeman, on Flickr
Lotus 91-2 by
David Freeman, on Flickr
Lotus 91-3 by
David Freeman, on Flickr
Lotus 91-4 by
David Freeman, on Flickr
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 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, making it after the McLaren MP4/1 the second F1 car to race to be built from the material - the Lotus 86/88 not having raced because it was banned.
