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Lotus 99T

The 99T ofAyrton Senna on display at the 2012 Autosport International
Category	Formula One
Constructor	Team Lotus
Designers	Gérard Ducarouge (Technical Director) Martin Ogilvie (Chief Designer) Mike Coughlan (Assistant Chief Designer) John Davis (Head of Aerodynamics and R&D) Tim Feast (Chief Engineer) Osamu Goto (Chief Engine Designer (Honda))
Predecessor	98T
Successor	100T
Technical specifications[1]
Chassis	Carbon fibre andKevlarmonocoque
Suspension (front)	LotusActive, double wishbones, coil springs
Suspension (rear)	LotusActive, double wishbones, coil springs
Axle track	Front: 1,791 mm (70.5 in) Rear: 1,641 mm (64.6 in)
Wheelbase	2,730 mm (107 in)
Engine	HondaRA166E, 1,494 cc (91.2 cu in), 80°V6,turbo (4.0 bar limited),mid-engine,longitudinally-mounted
Transmission	Lotus-Hewland 6-Speedmanual
Power	900–1,000 hp (671.1–745.7 kW) @ 11,000 rpm[2]
Weight	540 kg (1,190 lb)
Fuel	Elf
Tyres	Goodyear
Competition history
Notable entrants	CamelTeam LotusHonda
Notable drivers	11.Satoru Nakajima 12.Ayrton Senna
Debut	1987 Brazilian Grand Prix
First win	1987 Monaco Grand Prix
Last win	1987 Detroit Grand Prix
Last event	1987 Australian Grand Prix
Races Wins Podiums Poles F/Laps 16 2 8 1 3
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0

TheLotus 99T is aFormula One car designed byGérard Ducarouge for use byLotus in the1987 Formula One World Championship.

AfterRenault pulled out of F1 at the end of1986, Lotus signed a deal withHonda for use of theirturbocharged 1.5-litre engine. Due to Honda's existing deal withWilliams which allowed that team exclusive use of the 1987-spec RA167E unit, Lotus instead used the previous season's RA166E. As part of the deal, Lotus agreed to sign Honda's test driverSatoru Nakajima as teammate toAyrton Senna.

Lotus also had a new title sponsor and livery, with the black and gold ofJohn Player Special being replaced by the bright yellow and blue ofCamel.^[3]

The 99T was the second Lotus chassis to be fitted with electronicactive suspension after the team had experimented with the system on theLotus 92 used in the first part of the1983 season. The system's benefits of a consistent ride height with no pitch or roll in the chassis came at a cost, as the system added significant weight to the car (approx 25 kg or 55 lb), and also robbed the Honda turbo of approximately 5% of its power (the RA166E was rated at approximately 900 bhp (671 kW; 912 PS) with 1987s 4.0 Bar turbo-boost restriction). Ducarouge clawed as much performance back by spending many hours in the wind tunnel to compensate, although by the end of the season Senna was describing the car as nothing more than the previous year's98T with a Honda engine instead of the Renault. The 99T was generally regarded as the bulkier of the cars that won a Grand Prix in 1987 with theWilliams FW11B,McLaren MP4/3 andFerrari F1/87 all regarded as better aerodynamically than the Lotus. Despite this, the 99T (especially in Senna's hands) was often among the fastest cars in a straight line, though this was usually put down to the actively suspended Lotus being able to run less wing than its competitors rather than the overall aero effectiveness of the car.^[4]

After pre-season testing at theJacarepaguá Circuit inRio, Senna had insisted on the team using the active suspension throughout the season, feeling that the disadvantage of the older Honda engine would be offset by the benefits of the computer-controlled system, helping to keep Lotus at the front of the field (one of those benefits was that due to less tyre wear, the 99Ts were able to run less wing thus giving greater top speed). However, while the Brazilian was able to take wins on bumpystreet circuits at bothMonaco andDetroit, the car proved difficult to set up for other circuits.^[5]

The 99T proved to be competitive in Senna's hands; the Brazilian won twice and scored six other podium finishes during the season, helping him and the team to third in the drivers' and constructors' championships. Senna's win at theDetroit Grand Prix was the final ever Grand Prix win for the team. In Italy, Senna came within a handful of laps of winning the race but on badly worn tyres, he made a mistake which letNelson Piquet through to take the chequered flag.^[6] Senna would move toMcLaren (who had secured the use of the Honda engines to replace theTAG engines used from1983) for1988 and would win his first World Drivers' Championship. The season was also Senna's second-worst in terms of pole positions, scoring only one in Round 2 atSan Marino, his worst season being his rookie year in1984 withToleman.^[7]

Nakajima, who for his part very much overshadowed by his teammate, proved to be steady if the unspectacular driver. He openly admitted that he favored the faster circuits such asSilverstone,Hockenheim,Österreichring andMonza as well as his home track ofSuzuka, but was ill at ease on the tighter circuits. He qualified 17th in Monaco and finished 10th, 24th in Detroit before crashing out on lap 1, and 17th inHungary before suffering a broken driveshaft on the first lap. Nakajima's best finish in his first season was a 4th at Silverstone for theBritish Grand Prix. He finished the season in 12th place with 7 points scored. Nakajima's best qualifying performance came in Round 15 inJapan for what was the firstJapanese Grand Prix since1977. At the Honda-owned Suzuka circuit, Nakajima qualified in 11th place, only four places, and 0.962 seconds behind Senna. It was the closest he would qualify to his teammate all season (as it was his home track, Nakajima had actually completed more laps at Suzuka than the entire F1 grid combined). During the season, television viewers were able to get an up-close view of the Japanese rookie's driving as his car usually carried an onboard camera.^[8]

The 99T was updated for 1988 to100T specification; the car technically was virtually unchanged, except for a redesigned nose section, longer wheelbase, and tighter rear bodywork (helped by the reduction of fuel tank capacity from 1987s 195 litres to 150 litres), and the dumping of the active suspension for a more conventional setup. New team leader, 1987 World ChampionNelson Piquet (switching from Williams) used the car to score consistently but was unable to add any further wins to Lotus' score sheet, however, with three 3rd placings his best finishes.

Senna's 99T was included in the Japanese and American versions of the 2001 video gameGran Turismo 3 under the alias "F687/S". The F687/S was the second most powerful Formula One car in the game (next to theF686/M) producing 900 PS (888 hp). The 99T also makes appearances inRad Racer fromSquare andContinental Circus fromTaito, both released in 1987.

(key) (results inbold indicate pole position; results initalics indicate fastest lap)

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