Lotus 107

Lotus 107

Mika Häkkinen during practice for the 1992 British Grand Prix
Category Formula One
Constructor Team Lotus
Designer(s) Chris Murphy
Predecessor 102D
Successor 109
Technical specifications
Chassis Carbon fibre monocoque
Suspension (front) 1992-1993: Active suspension
1994: Double wishbone, pushrod.
Suspension (rear) 1992-1993: Active suspension
1994: Double wishbone, pushrod.
Engine 1992-1993: Ford HB 3,494 cc (213.2 cu in), 75° V8, NA, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted.
1994: Mugen-Honda MF-351HC 3,500 cc (213.6 cu in), ° V10, NA, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted
Transmission Lotus / Xtrac 6-speed semi-automatic
Fuel BP (1992)
Castrol (1992-1993)
Mobil1 (1994)
Tyres Goodyear
Competition history
Notable entrants Team Lotus Ford
Team Lotus Mugen-Honda
Notable drivers 11. Finland Mika Häkkinen
11. / 12. United Kingdom Johnny Herbert
12. Italy Alessandro Zanardi
12. Portugal Pedro Lamy
Debut 1992 San Marino Grand Prix
RacesWinsPodiumsPolesF.Laps
340000
Constructors' Championships 0
Drivers' Championships 0

The Lotus 107 was a Formula One car used by Team Lotus. Designed for the 1992 Formula One season, and used throughout most of 1992, 1993 and part of 1994, it brought in a final, short-lived period of competitiveness for the team in Formula One.

Design

The 107 is often, mistakenly, attributed to the design work of Chris Murphy. However the majority of the 107 was heavily influenced by the Leyton House CG911 which had competed in the 1991 Formula One season and was largely designed by the team’s technical director Gustav Brunner. What facilitated this design migration was the collapse of Leyton House Racing following owner Akira Akagi’s arrest in September 1991 and the exodus of senior staff (including Chief Designer Chris Murphy and Jean Claude Martens, but significantly not Gustav Brunner) to Team Lotus.

Unquestionably beautiful the 107 had smooth sweeping lines a world away from the long developed and antiquated Lotus 102D whose heritage can be traced to the 1990 Formula One Season. Modification of the basic Leyton House CG911 to accommodate the Ford Cosworth HB V8 engines, of a similar - if older - specification to those being used by Benetton, was complete by the unveiling of the car at the 1992 San Marino Grand Prix.

Development

With a top notch driving squad of Johnny Herbert and a future double F1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen, the Lotuses were able to bring in some good results: at several races the twin cars were able to run in formation on the tail of the leading pack, at least in the early parts of the races. Reliability was limited.

Lotus 107B and 107C

Lotus 107C

The car was developed over succeeding seasons into B and C variants, the latter with Mugen-Honda power in place of the Cosworth. As was standard practice at the time, the team employed the active suspension technology that they had introduced to F1 back in 1987 on later variants, but the budget was not enough to make it really work, and besides, it was now far from being a unique capability. According to Alex Zanardi's autobiography My Story, the focus on this system was to the detriment of other aspects of the car.

The team's financial difficulties dragged it under at the end of 1994. The Lotus 109, the last Formula One car of the team, which ran in the latter part of 1994, was a further derivative of this design.

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Points WCC
1992 Team Lotus 107 Ford HB
V8
G RSA MEX BRA ESP SMR MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR JPN AUS 13* 5th
Finland Mika Häkkinen Ret Ret 4 6 Ret 4 6 Ret 5 Ret 7
United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Ret Ret Ret 6 Ret Ret Ret 13 Ret Ret Ret 13
1993 Team Lotus 107B Ford HB
V8
G RSA BRA EUR SMR ESP MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR JPN AUS 12 6th
United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Ret 4 4 8 Ret Ret 10 Ret 4 10 Ret 5 Ret Ret 11 Ret
Italy Alessandro Zanardi Ret 6 8 Ret 14 7 11 Ret Ret Ret Ret DNS
Portugal Pedro Lamy 11 Ret 13 Ret
1994 Team Lotus 107C Mugen-Honda V10 G BRA PAC SMR MON ESP CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR EUR JPN AUS 0 -
United Kingdom Johnny Herbert 7 7 10 Ret
Portugal Pedro Lamy 10 8 Ret 11
Italy Alessandro Zanardi 9 15
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