1981 Lotus Type 87 chassis 87B/3

The Type 87 design utilised an all-new carbon-composite monocoque

• The monocoque was constructed by folding a single sheet of carbon-Kevlar-skinned Nomex honeycomb sandwich
• 3-litre, V8 Ford-Cosworth DFV
• Horsepower: 500bhp
• Weight: 588kg
• Top speed: 180mph
• Drivers: Mansell, De Angelis
• The Type 87 was Team’s ‘fall-back position’ if there were any problems with the twin-chassis Type 88 being allowed to race
• The Type 87 used the Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 3-litre engine and ‘LB’ five-speed gearbox with a Lotus casing housing Hewland internals
• 87/3 became de Angelis’s regular car for the majority of the 1981 season
• Suspension followed the tried and tested combination of upper rocker arms and lower wishbones front and rear, with outboard discs front and rear
• The wheelbase was three inches shorter than the 79, 80 and 81
• For a test in mid-November 1981, 87/3 was converted to long wheelbase specification with a wide body. This was further refined as the ‘B’ specification at a test in December at Paul Ricard, where the swept back wide rear track suspension was added
• Revised 87Bs were used in the opening round of the 1982 season, featuring a wheelbase lengthened by three inches via a spacer between the engine and gearbox, as well as wider side-pods