Chapman's F1 Lotus 88: The greatest car that never raced (Inc. Lotus 88B Ebbro 1/20 Kit Review).

A talk on the 40th anniversary of the development of the Lotus 88 back in 1981, a highly revolutionary ground effects F1 car, that was seen as so ground-breaking, it had the potential to dominate Grand Prix racing & threatened the status quo in F1 and even the sports ruling body, FISA.
We look into the history of the evolution of Formula 1 cars up to this point and the unfortunate events that unfolded during Colin Chapman's stuggle to attempt to get this car onto the grid, how it was ultimately banned & how some of these issues plus the Delorean scandal are thought to have led to Colin's untimely death in 1982, he was just 54 (even younger than the 58 I mistakenly suggest in the vid).
Very sad and a huge loss to both Formula 1 and the whole automotive world.
For further watching on the 1981 F1 season, see the Horizon BBC TV documentary about the experiences of the Williams team, in 'The Grid' here:
• The Grid (Williams F1 ...
This video is filmed at full length without any editing and is my last for a little while as I am taking a short break to get some modelling done!
Thanks for watching! :-)
If you enjoyed this vid, please see more similar content ‪@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab‬

[@pfsmodellingprojects]

Interesting subject, enjoyed that, looking forward to seeing the kit completed..

[@Russell-1]

Jean-Marie Balestre is the only person who by comparison could make Charles de Gaulle appear a paragon of humility & gratitude.

[@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab]

Lol, yes indeed...I think they were cut from the same cloth! 😆 Many fans will also remember Balestre for crossing the track at the start of the 1989 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, when he was lucky not to be hit by the Osella of Nicola Larini, which missed him by inches!

[@Russell-1]

@@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab - That’s the difference between a good F1 driver (Larini) & a great one such as Mansell. Mansell would have had better car placement skills to avoid missing.

[@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab]

@@Russell-1 😆😂🤣

[@russouk]

Ello pete came just from flroy live and thought check out yer reviews.... just subd...good stuf m8

[@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab]

Hi Russell, Thanks for dropping in. I have to be careful not to be seen to promote my channel too much on Flory's liive shows as I think Phil thinks I am on there just for that reason which isn't the case...but everyone recognises me and starts asking me questions about the channel...I think they even muted me last week! Lol...But I am just there to enjoy the shows and learn stuff & share experiences like everyone else. Hope you enjoy this one, it's one of my favourite subjects. 👍🏻

[@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab]

Hey Russell, I saw your question on Flory about Challenger 2 tank: Have you seen the RYEFIELD version? It's fantastic, I bought it for my brother in law at Xmas and he really enjoying the build...Check out Phil Flory's review on KZbin here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nWrYmJp3o65sjMU

[@peterpinto6513]

Totally agree with you Peter..todays F1 cars are ugly the Lotus 88 was a legal car which thier rivals and ballestre banned out of fear...Great video

[@thethirdman225]

This bandwagoneering is simply wrong. The Lotus 88 was banned, not by the FIA, as much as by the FIA court under pressure from FOCA. Got that? At Long Beach it was protested by something like 11 teams. I’m not even sure Ferrari was one of them. Of the British constructors, I believe only Tyrrell did not protest. Nothing to do with the (rightly) hated Balestre. The car was not legal under the rule that bans suspension mounted aerofoils. Chapman knew exactly what he was doing and was trying to circumvent the rules using word play.

[@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab]

Note: If anyone is wondering why Ronnie Peterson was driving the older '78 model in the fateful 1978 Italian GP, it's because they had some braking issues with his '79 race car in practice and had to swap him to the older spare car for the race, in which he sadly had his (ultimately fatal) accident.

[@INDIGOBLUE555]

Objectively talking,the tragedy mainly originated from the starter's negligence.Just take a look at some footages on YT.... you can judge yourself.

[@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab]

@@INDIGOBLUE555 Yes, I agree...though many people blamed Patrese at the time, including James Hunt.

[@INDIGOBLUE555]

@@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab Several cars still were approaching their place on the grid...in the meanwhile the race got started and as a consequence,in a quarter mile or so,too many cars were running side by side. A sort of traffic jam at around 200 km/h ... Yet being there such a plain video evidence the starter's mistake got ignored (however the body of evidence couldn't be disregarded...I remember some rumours were actually aired here in Italy about the starter's behavior).

[@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab]

@@INDIGOBLUE555 Yes, I do agree with you. It was very poor and disorganised. RIP Ronnie.

[@steviem8466]

Bastards! I agree with everything and your sentiments. I had also heard that other teams had complained about the 88. I think this all boils down to the fact that they knew Chapman had yet another winner on his hands and they were going to do anything the could to stop it! How contemptable to blackmail the RAC and threaten the British Grand Prix.

[@Commander-McBragg]

Great review. Just bought mine. This car scared he hell out of Ferrari, so they protested it. At the time, Lotus was the biggest winner next to the Ferrari empire. Colin is God.

[@thethirdman225]

Stop perpetrating this nonsense. The car was protested by no fewer than 11 teams at Long Beach and I’m not sure Ferrari was even one of them. It was banned by the FIA court under pressure from FOCA, i.e.: the British teams. Not Ferrari and not Balestre. According to the drivers it was a pile of poo. De Angelis, who was the quicker of the two Lotus drivers, said it would take at least another year to sort it and both drivers were happy to see it go. Chapman knew exactly what he was doing and the car was rightly banned under the rule that prohibits suspension-mounted aerofoils. He was playing word games.

[@lordsuch5762]

To me , calling the aero part of the car ,the primary chassis ',was never going to wash .The primary chassis has always been the main structure where the driver sits and rhe engine etc is attatched to. The bodywork moved relative to this chassis so was a moveable aero device , regardless of how big the aero structure was .

[@lordsuch5762]

The idea that the fan car through rocks out of the back was a ruse .T he stones/rocks were thrown sideways ....as Murray himself explained .

[@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab]

Yes, not sure anybody was convinced and Andretti himself pretty much admitted he was exagerating.😆

[@mirrorblue100]

Good explainer. Jim Hall actually pioneered the fan concept on the Chaparral 2J. The BT-46 fan car was on its face illegal - the fan was a movable aerodynamic device despite Murray's claim that it was an auxiliary engine coolant fan. F1 rules clearly forbid such devices - relic of the wing cars of 1969. The 88 is more difficult to pin down since the concept hinges on your definition of "chassis" - is it singular or plural? Your workbench is way too clean.

[@thethirdman225]

Jim Hall pioneered wings on a car but his version of ground effect had nothing to do with the current concept.

[@INDIGOBLUE555]

C.Chapman undeniably set a few landmarks in car racing history. A fairly common question is: was he actually so reckless as he has been portraited all his career through and still is up to our days ? I feel doubtful about it and I wouldn't be so negatively assertive.I do know that J.Rindt allegedly lost his life because of a suspension failure on his Lotus 72, and allegedly J.Clark suffered a similar problem on his F2 Lotus at Hockenheim, yet I honestly have no further recollection of fatal accidents being caused by Lotus cars' failures in a four decades long racing history.Just let me remark that GoodYear, Michelin,Firestone (and a few others) hyper sophisticated tyres did cause several accidents in F1and in car motoring history, in an equal time span,and sadly some of them were deadly accidents. Weird enough I never heard nor could read serious complains against tyre companies....

[@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab]

But both Rindt and Clark suffered major car failures without serious injuries before their respective fatal crashes. Hill did too. Rindt broke his nose at Montjuic in 1970 after both cars rear wings failed, but obviously Peterson's deadly crash wasn't a failure, just a very heavy crash.

[@INDIGOBLUE555]

@@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab You're right...To be fair I could read that J.Stewart got into touch with Lotus but his wife firmly dissented and Jackie himself was pretty much doubtful about joyning Chapman's team.A good reason was there for sure :-) Even more interesting for a F1 enthusiast is a letter J.Rindt wrote to Chapman asking for a more accurate check control job over several items and components which were infamously undersized and prone to crack on Chapman's cars. The letter was available on the internet, I perfectly recall it.Alas that was years ago and oresently I couldn't suggest anyp link or site were you interested in reading it.

[@steviem8466]

Whats that got to do with the 88!

[@INDIGOBLUE555]

@@steviem8466 Well it got to do with Lotus as a racing cars manufacturer and its boss' arguable approach about the research of max.performance. The 88 didn't actually race but Lotus F1 team drivers were seriously disappointed and scared about its peculiar behaviour.

[@nameless5413]

Term Grand Prix was used to denote some sort of championship prior to 50s, likely well into the era of large Bentleys with front turbos, possibly even Turin Beast. and if i recall correctly Monaco was first race of F1 under that title. Chapman was brilliant tho his designs were too uncompromising ("i'll either win title in lotus or it will get me killed" being famous quote on the subject). Enzo had, to be fair, made so many enemies that he single-handedly started at very least 2 car brands and multitude of F1 teams (Likes of Lamborghini, deTomasso, ATS (Italy) ). Winged cigar cars were in '68 (Lotus 49b, Ferrari 312), those were part of suspension - tho you are correct it was Jarma Spain when it happend. Seems like the tall wings were NEITHER Lotus nor Ferrari tho, i think that would be McLaren M7a maybe? It seems like '69 saw first wings as part of body pannels. before being widely adopted in 70. (no i know none of this i used wikipedia).

[@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab]

I was right the first time, it was on the Saturday 18th July (Not the usual Sunday) because Silverstone races were on Sat to avoid drowning out the Sunday church services!

[@adrianalbrecht3935]

Yes I was going to correct you, Silverstone GP was on a Saturday back then, Silverstone 81 was also my first GP, I was fortunate to go for all 3 days so saw the 88Bs running on the Thursday, It would have been the 87 you saw on the Saturday, which was the 88 primary chassis with conventional bodywork, not sure why Ebbro never did the 87 kit as they have 90% of the kit, did you ever build this kit?

[@DreadnoughtDan_1999]

I believe it is the lotus type 25 you are talking about when it comes to the lotus wiping the floor with the Ferrari team in 62' I think the 49 came along in 67'

[@thethirdman225]

That was in 1963, not ‘62.

[@juliataylor2623]

Colin should have hired Silverstone and broken the lap record by a couple of seconds just to prove his point.

[@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab]

Lol, agree with you there! 😬

[@thethirdman225]

Never going to happen. You need to read the real history of this car. At Long Beach it was 11 seconds off the pace. At Silverstone it was four seconds off. De Angelis reckoned it would have taken another year to sort it out. The car was protested by no fewer than 11 teams, most of them British. It was rightly banned under the rule that prohibited suspension-mounted aerofoils.

[@Duececoupe]

Ronnie Peterson, the best driver to never win the championship they say....then they had Gunnar Nilsson who passed away due to cancer not long after! Remember those Brabham F1 cars, always liked the BT44 best, even though their red and blue cars were beautiful, Alfa Romeo engines, right? 🤨🤔 Do you still remember that legendary Villeneuve vs Arnoux battle? Renault had some good looking cars as well, but those black and gold Lotus cars and Ferrari 312T's....be still my heart! Oh, back in the day, when being a snotty and cheeky wee monkey, my dad used to send me post cards, when away on courses, of F1 cars....can you even get that today, do people even send postcards these days!? All I've got to say is....Lotus 72! ❤😉😎

[@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab]

Was Ronnie better than Stirling though? 🤔 Mille Miglia drive from Moss was Epic...

[@Duececoupe]

@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab What the....and here I thought Stirling won the F1 Drivers Championship, just shows you....don't always trust your memory! 😳😲😉😆😂 Mille Miglia, indeed! I love watching old races, those cars, tires, tracks, minimum of safety, driving in shirt, tie and bonnet almost. As much respect today's drivers deserve, drivers back then were something else, they had balls the size of the Grand Slam bomb! 😉 We need to bring Stirling and Ronnie back, have a drive off, once in a Lotus 49 and then in a....Lotus 72(?), give both a fair chance! ....and after the dust have settled, a few pints at The Fox, right? 😉🍻

[@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab]

@@Duececoupe Brilliant plan! 🍻

[@leespender4774]

51:14 that is an epic short shot lol should not be a gap it the top cowl like that

[@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab]

Oh Heck! I did question that as I put it back in the bag...that is really bad!

[@leespender4774]

@@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab A shame that i only noticed that because i just got a MFH 1/43 Lotus 88B

[@juliataylor2623]

So the lotus 88 was banned because they believed it was slow=== De Angelis said it was nothing special. But i agree about todays F1 cars, they look atrocious, and those liveries!!!!

[@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab]

@Julia what you are saying is BLASPHEMY! 😨 Elio didn't actually spend much time in the car and as I said it needed development like the Lotus 78/79 did. The new 2022 cars do seem a little bit better though, I must admit.👍🏻

[@juliataylor2623]

@@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab i think it was banned because copying it would take too long, Brabhams system could be copied in two weeks so they did not object so strongly.

[@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-Lab]

@@juliataylor2623 Yes but they were unrelaible with broken skirts and horrible ultra firm ride. Alan Jones and others suffered back problems.

[@thethirdman225]

@@Peter-Oxley-Modelling-LabThat is not true Peter. De Angelis did much of the testing (I think Mansell was playing golf) and said it would take at least another year to develop. I still have all my GPI issues from the era which covered the case exhaustively.

[@thethirdman225]

@@juliataylor2623No Julia, it was banned because it contravened the rule that prohibits suspension-mounted aerofoils.