The Lotus 100T was a Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 car designed by Gérard Ducarouge

Gérard Ducarouge

Gérard Ducarouge is a French former Formula One car designer. Like many designers, his background was based in aeronautical engineering...

 and Martin Ogilvie for Team Lotus

Team Lotus

Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...

, used during the 1988 Formula One season

1988 Formula One season

The 1988 Formula One season was the 39th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1988 FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on April 3, 1988 and ended on November 13 after sixteen races...

. The 100T was an update of the previous Lotus 99T

Lotus 99T

The Lotus 99T was a Formula One car designed by Gérard Ducarouge for Lotus for use in the 1987 Formula One season. After Renault pulled out of F1 at the end of 1986, Lotus signed a deal with Honda for use of their hugely powerful turbocharged 1500cc engine. As part of the deal, Lotus agreed to sign...

 model; the car technically was virtually unchanged, except for a redesigned nose section and rear bodywork. The car was powered by the same 1.5L turbocharged

Turbocharger

A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...

 Honda V6 engine

V6 engine

A V6 engine is a V engine with six cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of three cylinders, usually set at either a right angle or an acute angle to each other, with all six pistons driving a common crankshaft...

 that powered the McLaren

McLaren

McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...

 team to 15 wins in 16 races in 1988.

In common with its progenitor model, the 100T was fitted with electronic active suspension

Active suspension

Active or adaptive suspension is an automotive technology that controls the vertical movement of the wheels with an onboard system rather than the movement being determined entirely by the road surface...

, still an advanced system despite having been introduced the previous year. However, with the loss of Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time...

 to McLaren, and despite signing three-time and current World Champion Nelson Piquet

Nelson Piquet

Nelson Piquet Souto Maior , known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver. He was Formula One world champion in , and . He is one of eight drivers to win three or more world championships, the others being Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna , Alain Prost , Juan...

, Lotus were very much an also-ran team during much of 1988. Piquet picked up a number of points, including three third-placed finishes, during the season, but the car's lack of ultimate speed resulted in Lotus's first season without a win or pole position

Pole position

The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...

 since .

At the end of the 1988 season turbocharged engines were outlawed, rendering the 100T chassis obsolete. It was replaced by the conventionally aspirated Lotus 101

Lotus 101

The Lotus 101 was Team Lotus’s entry for the 1989 Formula One season. Gérard Ducarouge’s departure during 1988 had necessitated the former Williams aerodynamicist Frank Dernie to be appointed as Technical Director in November 1988. Despite his appointment the majority of the work for the 101 had...

 for the 1989 Formula One season

1989 Formula One season

The 1989 Formula One season was the 40th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1989 FIA Formula One World Championship, which commenced on March 26, 1989 and ended on November 5 after sixteen races...

.

During the 1988 season, former World Champion Jackie Stewart

Jackie Stewart

Sir John Young Stewart, OBE , better known as Jackie Stewart, and nicknamed The Flying Scotsman, is a Scottish former racing driver and team owner. He competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Championships. He also competed in Can-Am...

 test drove the 100T at the Snetterton Circuit

Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit

Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Norfolk, England. Owned by MotorSport Vision, it is situated on the A11 road some 20 km north-east of the town of Thetford and 30 km south-west of the city of Norwich...

 which was Lotus's test track at the time. Within a few short laps he identified the car's basic problems. He said that the car lacked rigidity despite its carbon fibre

Carbon fiber

Carbon fiber, alternatively graphite fiber, carbon graphite or CF, is a material consisting of fibers about 5–10 μm in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. The carbon atoms are bonded together in crystals that are more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber...

 and kevlar

Kevlar

Kevlar is the registered trademark for a para-aramid synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed at DuPont in 1965, this high strength material was first commercially used in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires...

 monocoque

Monocoque

Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...

 and that the chassis couldn't handle the abrupt power delivery of the turbocharged Honda engine which made the car difficult to drive, a complaint of Piquet, Nakajima and the teams test driver Martin Donnelly. He also noted how cramped the driving position was and that the steering wheel and instrument panel were so close together that it made the panel almost unreadable. He also said that "It was not a car that Nelson Piquet would have wanted to drive too many more times" and rated the car as "Perhaps one of the more disappointing cars I drove".

Complete Formula One results

Year	Entrant	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pts.	WCC
	Camel Camel (cigarette) Camel is a brand of cigarettes that was introduced by American company R.J. Reynolds Tobacco in the summer of 1913. Most current Camel cigarettes contain a blend of Turkish tobacco and Virginia tobacco. Early in 2008 the blend was changed as was the package design.-History:In 1913, R.J...  Team Lotus Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...	Honda RA168-E V6 V6 engine A V6 engine is a V engine with six cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of three cylinders, usually set at either a right angle or an acute angle to each other, with all six pistons driving a common crankshaft...  tc Turbocharger A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...			BRA 1988 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1988 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on April 3, 1988 at the Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet, Rio de Janeiro. It was the first race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Background:...	SMR 1988 San Marino Grand Prix The 1988 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Imola on May 1, 1988. It was the second round of the 1988 Formula One season. Ayrton Senna scored his first victory since joining McLaren at the start of the season. Turbocharged Honda powered cars swept the top 3...	MON 1988 Monaco Grand Prix The 1988 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 15, 1988 at the Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo. It was the third race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Qualifying:...	MEX 1988 Mexican Grand Prix The 1988 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 29, 1988 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City. It was the fourth race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Qualifying:...	CAN 1988 Canadian Grand Prix The 1988 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on June 12, 1988 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal. It was the fifth race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Qualifying:...	DET 1988 Detroit Grand Prix The 1988 Detroit Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on June 19, 1988 in Detroit, Michigan.__FORCETOC__-Summary:Ayrton Senna's third win of the season made it six out of six for McLaren in 1988, on the way to an unprecedented 15 wins and ten 1-2 finishes in 16 races...	FRA 1988 French Grand Prix The 1988 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 3, 1988 at the Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet. It was the seventh race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Qualifying:...	GBR 1988 British Grand Prix The 1988 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 10, 1988 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone. It was the eighth race of the 1988 Formula One season....	GER 1988 German Grand Prix The 1988 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 24, 1988 at the Hockenheimring, Hockenheim. It was the ninth race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Pre-race:At the midpoint of the season, pre-qualifiers were re-evaluated...	HUN 1988 Hungarian Grand Prix The 1988 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on August 7, 1988 at the Hungaroring, Budapest. It was the tenth race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Race summary:...	BEL 1988 Belgian Grand Prix The 1988 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on August 28, 1988 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was the eleventh race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Race summary:...	ITA 1988 Italian Grand Prix The 1988 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on September 11, 1988 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza. It was the twelfth race of the 1988 Formula One season...	POR 1988 Portuguese Grand Prix The 1988 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on September 25, 1988 at the Autódromo do Estoril, Estoril. It was the thirteenth race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Race summary:...	ESP 1988 Spanish Grand Prix The 1988 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 2, 1988 at the Circuito Permanente de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera. It was the fourteenth race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Qualifying:...	JPN 1988 Japanese Grand Prix The 1988 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Suzuka Circuit, Japan, on October 30, 1988. It was the fifteenth and penultimate race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Race summary:...	AUS 1988 Australian Grand Prix The 1988 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Adelaide Street Circuit, Adelaide, on November 13, 1988. It was the 53rd Australian Grand Prix to be held since the original 100 Miles Road Race was held in 1928, and it was the fourth race to be held on the streets of Adelaide as...	23	4th
				Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Souto Maior , known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver. He was Formula One world champion in , and . He is one of eight drivers to win three or more world championships, the others being Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna , Alain Prost , Juan...	3	3	Ret	Ret	4	Ret	5	5	Ret	8	4	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	3
				Satoru Nakajima Satoru Nakajima Satoru Nakajima is a former racing driver from Japan.-Career:Nakajima was born into a farming family living just outside Okazaki, Japan. He began driving cars in his early teens in the family's garden with his older brother giving him tips, careful that they were not caught by their father...	6	8	DNQ	Ret	11	DNQ	7	10	9	7	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	Ret