The Lotus 88 is one of the Lotus entries the open record knows by name, and by little else. That is not nothing: a name in the catalogue is where a car's story starts to be recoverable. Its designer of record is Colin Chapman / Martin Ogilvie.
How it came about
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, but was ultimately not allowed to race.
It still was the first Formula One car to use a carbon fibre monocoque chassis to debut at a Grand Prix event. The carbon fibre McLaren MP4 made its first appearance at the third Grand Prix of the season in Argentina.
Family and rivals
Where it sits in Lotus's history is not in doubt: the 81 / 87 came before it; the 91 followed it. Its Lotus stablemates include the Lotus 100T and the Lotus 101.