1981 Lotus Type 88 chassis 88B/1

Team Lotus had tested the Type 88 in secret because it featured two distinct design revolutions.

The first was the adoption of Carbon-fibre used in the construction of the chassis.
The second being the twin chassis concept which the team were keen to keep both under wraps for as long as practical.
3-litre, V8 Ford-Cosworth DFV
Horsepower: 500bhp
Weight: 580kg
Top speed: 185mph
Drivers: Mansell, De Angelis
There has often been a friendly banter between Mclaren and Lotus about who was first with the composite monocoque Formula One car.
Team Lotus were concerned by McLaren promoting the story that they were first and that subsequently all the other F1 teams copied them. The McLaren MP4/1 was unveiled to the press at Silverstone on 6th March 1981; it did not run until after the launch
However, in the South of France, during February, Team Lotus had been conducting secret testing with its radical, composite chassis Lotus Type 88
The prototype 88 first appeared in testing, powered by the ubiquitous Cosworth DFV engine, driven by Elio de Angelis
The Type 88 went on to pass scrutineering and practice at the first GP of 1981 – the USGP East at Long Beach – before it was excluded due to politics. It also practiced at the Brazilian and Argentine GPs

Team Lotus brought four cars to the 1981 British GP at Silverstone. After overnight protests by some teams, the Type 88 ‘Twin-chassis’ car concept as it became known was banned with little or no real reason.