The Lotus 99T 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...

 for 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...

 for use in the 1987 Formula One season

1987 Formula One season

The 1987 Formula One season was the 38th season of Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1987 FIA Formula One World Championship for Drivers and Constructors which commenced on April 12, 1987 and ended on November 15 after sixteen races...

. After Renault

Renault F1

Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...

 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 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...

 as team mate to the mercurial 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...

. John Player Special

Imperial Tobacco

Imperial Tobacco is a global tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom. It is the world’s fourth-largest cigarette company measured by market share , and the world's largest producer of cigars, fine-cut tobacco and tobacco papers...

 were replaced by 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...

 as title sponsor.

The 99T was the first Lotus chassis to be 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...

. 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 and also robbed the Honda turbo of some power. Ducarouge clawed as much performance back by spending many hours in the wind tunnel to compensate.

The 99T proved to be competitive at the hands of Senna, who won twice and scored six other podium finishes during the season. The car was very good around slow and bumpy circuits like Monaco and Detroit (where Senna won both his races that year). This helped him and the team to third in the drivers' and constructors' championship. Senna also provided a poignant footnote that season, as his win at the United States Grand Prix was the final Grand Prix win for Team Lotus before he moved to McLaren for 1988.

The 99T was updated for 1988 to 100T

Lotus 100T

The Lotus 100T was a Formula One car designed by Gérard Ducarouge and Martin Ogilvie for Team Lotus, used during the 1988 Formula One season. The 100T was an update of the previous Lotus 99T model; the car technically was virtually unchanged, except for a redesigned nose section and rear bodywork...

 specification; the car technically was virtually unchanged, except for a redesigned nose section, longer wheelbase and tighter rear bodywork. New team leader 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...

 used the car to score consistently but was unable to add any further wins to Lotus' scoresheet however.

Senna's 99T was included in the Japanese and American versions of the 2001 video game Gran Turismo 3 under the alias "F687/S". The F687/S was the second most powerful Formula One car in the game (next to the F686/M

Williams FW11

The Williams FW11 was a Formula One car designed by Patrick Head and Frank Dernie as a serious challenger to McLaren and their MP4/2 car. The car took over from where the FW10 left off at the end of , when that car won the last three races of the season...

) producing 900 PS (888 hp).

Formula One World Championship results

(results in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Engine	Tyres	Driver	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 RA166-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 1987 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1987 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on April 12, 1987 at the Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet, Rio de Janeiro. It was the first race of the 1987 Formula One season.- Race summary :...	SMR 1987 San Marino Grand Prix The 1987 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 3, 1987 at the Autodromo Dino Ferrari, Imola. It was the second race of the 1987 Formula One season.-Race summary:...	BEL 1987 Belgian Grand Prix The 1987 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 17, 1987 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa. It was the third race of the 1987 Formula One season.-Race summary:...	MON 1987 Monaco Grand Prix The 1987 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 31, 1987 at the Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo. It was the fourth race of the 1987 Formula One season.-Race summary:...	DET 1987 Detroit Grand Prix The 1987 Detroit Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on June 21, 1987 in Detroit, Michigan.__FORCETOC__-Summary:Ayrton Senna repeated his 1986 win in Detroit and won his second 1987 race in a row, the first wins for a car with active suspension...	FRA 1987 French Grand Prix The 1987 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 5, 1987 at the Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet. It was the sixth race of the 1987 Formula One season.-Race summary:...	GBR 1987 British Grand Prix The 1987 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 12 July 1987 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone. It was the seventh race of the 1987 Formula One season.-Race summary:...	GER 1987 German Grand Prix The 1987 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Hockenheimring on July 26, 1987.- Classification :*Numbers in brackets refer to positions of normally aspirated entrants competing for the Jim Clark Trophy.-Standings after the race:...	HUN 1987 Hungarian Grand Prix The 1987 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Hungaroring on August 9, 1987.- Classification :- Notes :*Numbers in brackets refer to positions of normally aspirated entrants competing for the Jim Clark Trophy.-Standings after the race:...	AUT 1987 Austrian Grand Prix The 1987 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Österreichring on August 16, 1987.- Classification :- Notes :*Martin Brundle was disqualified from 14th place for a bodywork infringement after he crashed his Zakspeed on the first start and used the spare.*Nelson Piquet's average speed...	ITA 1987 Italian Grand Prix The 1987 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monza on September 6, 1987.- Classification :- Notes :*Numbers in brackets refer to positions of normally aspirated entrants competing for the Jim Clark Trophy.-Standings after the race:...	POR 1987 Portuguese Grand Prix The 1987 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Estoril on September 20, 1987.- Classification :- Notes :*Alain Prost eclipsed the previous record for most F1 World Championship victories at this race, and it was a record Prost held for 14 years until surpassed by Michael Schumacher...	ESP 1987 Spanish Grand Prix The 1987 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Jerez on September 27, 1987.- Summary :The 1987 Spanish Grand Prix was won fairly comfortably by Nigel Mansell who took pole sitter Nelson Piquet at the end of the first lap and was never headed...	MEX 1987 Mexican Grand Prix The 1987 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Mexico City on October 18, 1987.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings...	JPN 1987 Japanese Grand Prix The 1987 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Suzuka on November 1, 1987.- Race :The 1987 Japanese Grand Prix was the first race to be held in Japan since James Hunt won in his McLaren at Fuji, in 1977. This time, the Grand Prix circus utilised the Honda owned Suzuka circuit...	AUS 1987 Australian Grand Prix The 1987 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Adelaide on November 15, 1987.- Race :The third Australian Grand Prix to be held at Adelaide and the final round of the 1987 Formula One season proved to be another eventful race. Gerhard Berger started from his third pole position...	64	3rd
				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...	Ret	2	Ret	1	1	4	3	3	2	5	2	7	5	Ret	2	DSQ
				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...	7	6	5	10	Ret	NC	4	Ret	Ret	13	11	8	9	Ret	6	Ret