Some cars leave a paper trail; the Lotus 80 left a name and a place in Lotus's list. What follows is what can be said with a source behind it. The shape is credited to Colin Chapman / Martin Ogilvie / Peter Wright / Geoff Aldridge.
Where it came from
The Lotus 80 was a Formula One car used by Team Lotus in 1979. The car, designed by Colin Chapman, Martin Ogilvie, Peter Wright and Tony Rudd, was an attempt to take ground effect as far as possible.
In context
In the Lotus line-up the Lotus 80 has a clear place: it replaced the Lotus 79; it handed the line to the Lotus 81. Nearby in the Lotus catalogue sit the Lotus 100T and the Lotus 101.