THE LAST BLACK AND GOLD LOTUS! The Story of the Lotus 98T (1986)
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- čas přidán 25. 06. 2024
- Senna is often associated with white and day-glo McLarens, but before that era, was the Black and Gold Lotuses.
Ridiculously quick, but fragile (what else is new), Lotus's 97 and 98Ts were often found at the front of the grid but would more often than not end up at the roadside due to them being... Well... Fragile.
So what made this thing what it was? And how good was Senna with it? Let's have a look.
Massive thanks to REC Watches for sponsoring this video, you can check out their projects and products here: www.recwatches.com/
Enjoy! And remember to like and subscribe for more!
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Just a reminder that none of Lotus's drivers from 1985-86 are still with us. It almost feels like we've lost a lot of Lotus's history from the view of the drivers because of this.
Atleast Mansell drove for lotus in 80-84 and he’s still alive and kickin
TIL Johnny Dumfries is dead
A lot of their management from the time is dead too. Chapman aside, Peter Warr is gone, Tony Rudd is gone. Team Lotus really are only a memory these days.
Elios death was just horrible, in that burning Brabham BT55
I always appreciate you emphasizing the difference between QUALIFYING ENGINE and RACE ENGINE.
Also, the reversion to 5-speeds in the Turbo era was always interesting. The Renault Works team actually did that too, as did Ferrari.
Nice to see a sponsor on here. Much deserved for him.
And it's an original and fitting sponsor as well. However, I do dread to think how much they cost though.
@@slaphead90 $3,195 with the discount, and $3,995 otherwise. £3,195 (£2,556 with discount) in our money.
Who's got deep pockets?
@@baronthorsteinn Thanks mate, I think I'll stick with Casio.
@@slaphead90 So will I. I've spent less than that on cars in the past.
More than 900 pre-orders are already secured, so there must be people out there with deep enough pockets to afford one of these watches. Most of them, I suspect, will go to the Emirates.
@@baronthorsteinn To be truthful 3 grand for a luxury mechanical watch is actually at the very low end of the scale.
An Omega Speedmaster will set you back about 7 grand, Rolex are into 5 figures for most of their range, as are a number of other watch brands.
And then you get to the really exclusive stuff such as Ricard Mille where they "retail" for up to half a million, but you can't just buy one, you have to be invited to own one, which means that they can fetch over 2 million on the pre-owned market.
Jim Clark was famous for being the only driver who could keep his Lotus from falling apart. I wonder if he would have had the magic touch with this car?
One of the most beautiful looking cars ever in F1
The '86-'88 Turbo cars are my favourites, style wise.
possibly best livery of all
Agreed, but for me not even the most beautiful car that season. Gordon Murray's 'proto-MP4/4' Brabham BT55 was jaw-dropping. Less because of the livery, more just because of the shape of the thing.
I was not around to watch Senna drive this car personally but learning about this era of f1 and rewatching the poles he achived in the 98t is what I can say made me fall in love with the sport
12:47, a very nice nod to His Comentating Holiness Murray Walker.
i'm getting interviewed for a position as a tour guide out at dumfries' family house this time next week, and luckily i got to meet him once when i was younger and learn of many connections my family had to johnny before he passed away. so glad that i finally get to cement SOME sort of connection to F1 in my life, and hopefully i'll be able to use some of this info to educate visitors!!!
I hope you get the job! Good luck, mate! 🍀
And legend has it that the John player livery was what inspired GM/Pontiac to make the Bandit's "78 firebird black & gold. Another story time gem Aidan !
Thanks .🇬🇧🏁🇺🇸
GM actually owned Lotus in 1986, funnily enough.
dont forget the "JPS" capris though i doubt you had them in America.
@@uv77mc85 We had the Capri until 1978 but correct, not that model. (1979-1986 Capris were rebadged Fox Mustangs unrelated to the European Capri.)
@@uv77mc85 probably not, although it may have been under a different name.
But yeah, come to think of it; I do remember capris in black & gold.
I've been watching your channel for a while now. I just wanted to say thanks. No one is so thorough. We appreciate you, brother.
Much love from Virginia.
Didn't expect you to put LFA in your pantheon of lottery dream. That car is just pure engineering feast for the senses. One day I have to have a go in it...
Have you ever done an in depth on Prost? Why he was much better than he gets credit for?
That 98T was one of my earliest memories of an F1 car. We had picked up cable tv so we could catch the races on ESPN, and Senna’s JPS really stuck out in my 6 year old mind as being “COOL” 🤩😎🏁🙌
I remember that in the 1986 F1 review video, while speaking about Senna’s drive to victory at Detroit, Clive James described the Lotus as “functioning like a watch”.
Seeing your sponsor here immediately reminded me. Beautiful synchronicity!
I still remember the Clive James quote "but some people said his whole car resembled a qualifying tyre".
😅
I remember that too.
Clive James was a genius with his witty quips.
Aidan, there is also a Road Legal Mid-Engined 205 T16 with an active suspension, a single one. Lotus-fettled too.
Quite the sponsor Aidan! 🇩🇰 Speaking of Lotus, I’ve noticed in recent years that every Coca-Cola or Pepsi bottle in the “Caffeine Free” range resembles an F1 Lotus livery; Coke Zero CF resembles Rindt’s red/gold Lotus, Pepsi Max CF resembles JPS Lotus, then Diet Coke CF looks like a slightly darker tint of the Camel Lotus! Just need Coke Life back on shelves in CF form with green packaging & a yellow stripe!
Glad to see a sponsor. Well deserved for one of the best F1 Channels on CZcams. Love to see it🏎🍻
Thank you for pointing out the quali vs race engine.
The amount of people (likely in their 20s like myself) claiming "old f1 was just better, they had more power, the cars didnt have any assists" (they did lol, traction/launch control, etc were around in the 80s/90s, not now) and quoting "bmw 1,800hp, raaah!"
Like no, they were not racing with 1400hp, the engines were actually fairly similar in power output to now from some figures I've seen.
Just now realising that I’ve never heard anyone talk about the Lotus part of Senna’s career ever,
very well done on the sponsorship
Everything about motorsports of that era is amazing including the 500gp bikes
Coincidentally, The Mobile Chicane did a video on Senna's Lotus years recently. Like his other videos well worth watching. In that video, it is mentioned that Senna's typical throttle blipping style might have contributed to his high fuel use.
Such a pretty car, one of the most beautiful of all time
A CZcamsr pedaling a watch company that legitimately makes watches with quality parts. What alternate dimension have I stumbled into.
Also the JPS livery is one of the best liveries to ever grace a car, fight me.
I have to agree with you on the JPS livery. For me there are one other livery and that of the Marlboro McLarens. Those color schemes for me defined my teenage years of F1 racing.
One of the best F1 cars, and surely a weapon that looked like a weapon , I nominate the Brabham BT52.
Actually a interesting and relevant brand integration. I deffo approve of adverts like that.
ive been ripping this car around a lot lately in assetto corsa, this video is well timed
same but in ams2
Gugelmin was Senna's best friend. They were sharing Senna's house in Esher in 1986.
Anyone remember Andy Burtons Peugeot Cosworth?
All too clearly. I drove in the RF1.0 class in BTRDA rallying at that time, and on the 2011 Quinton/Nicky Grist Stages, I put my little Micra into a ditch, causing me to run at the back of the 1400 field. As I sat at the start line of the next stage, Burton's Peugeot Cosworth pulled up behind me, a frightening image in my rear view mirror.
I must have confirmed with the marshals a dozen times that there would be a 10 minute gap between us!!!
Thanks!
Seems to always have been a characteristic of Lotus (Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious) that they lost more championships than they won due to ‘fragility’. From the early years Jim Clark could quite possibly have been 5 times WC before his death had his Lotus been more reliable. Indeed Jim and Jochen might possibly still be with us if their machinery had been more robust. It’s conjecture I know, but a shame such an innovative team could and should have still been with us, if only it had been robust, as well as fast.
The Lotus team was an embodiment of Chapman - both strengths and weaknesses. Brilliant ideas, but lacked some follow-through to ensure they worked.
There were 2 Championships that Clark was winning in the last race only to have minor parts in the oil system work lose and stop the car - 1962 and 1964.
There was also the 1964 Indy 500, where he was the fastest runner when the suspension failed. The failure was caused by Dunlop tires that weren't up to the stresses of the Indy oval (see; MIchelin at the 2006 USGP). All the US teams ran Firestone tires, but Dunlop offer Chapman more money to run their tires in the race.
1986 was the firat season I remeber watching.
I was spoilt with a smorgasbord of gorgeous cars I didn’t appreciate at the time
What a gorgeous car!
I saw one, in real life racing. Driven by Senna, on Rundle Strait, Adelaide, 1986, with my girlfriend, who was wagging school that day.
@9:18 "This is the year that the BMW's were thought to be outputting around 1400hp, a number that goes up by 100hp about every 10 years" .....indeed....my prized March, 1987 issue of Road and Track, the one with the Benetton B186 test, lists qualifying output as 1050hp. Best road test EVER!
Its interesting to note that by the end of 1987, right after it was known he had signed for McLaren from 1988, Senna was saying that the 1987 model 99T was nothing more aerodynamically than a 98T with a Honda instead of a Renault engine and active suspension.
Lotus didn't make a lot of technical progress over those years. Getting the Honda engine made that obvious - Williams embarrassed them in 1987.
The first F1 car I ever saw as a small kid. It was the coolest thing I'd ever seen.
I know it's ciggies and tobacco bad, but that JPS livery was always my favourite and is still the best one ever, IMO.
Also back in 86 that car was suspected of having flexi floors. I have the foca annual for that year.
From memory - no google, no Reddit, nothing - what I remember is not that the car was fragile but the engine had more boost that it could handle and would either blow off or run out of fuel because of that.
But it was also the reason Senna was THE fastest one on track as he was willing to gamble and not finish but put up a show of skills while the car was still running.
And it arguably worked - he made his name and everyone talks about his stint in Lotus till today!
Rumors were that he did it similar on Toleman - huge turbo boost even if it meant he wouldn't finish the race as long as it allowed him to overtake big names with lower boost in the first few laps (before the engine lets go)
Groupe B cars are not dead, as I recently learned, after their ban from WRC, people started using them in Rally Cross and those modern 600hp awd turbo monsters are their descendants.
Good to see you have a sponsor, shame they cut up unique classic cars to make their things
No cars are harmed in the making of those watches.
Next time Aidan mentions 80's turbo engines in qualifying mode, they will be 1500hp.
I'd like to see you feature the McLaren MP4/2. 3 Drivers titles and 2 Constructor titles in 3 years of competition....and yet it rarely makes it into top 10 lists.
Ahh yes, The yellow RS1 Teapots. There was always time for tea while the mechanics were servicing the 98T during quali since the Turbo's were literally melting with the boost cranked to 11. But Senna re-energized Lotus much like Michael&Co focused Ferrari
WRT to the 99T, it was actually running the now boost-limited 1986 spec Honda RA166E with the FW11B had the new for 1987 Honda RA167E designed to take advantage of the new 4.0 Bar boost limit.
The 80s and 90s were a wonderful time. Florida had the most beautiful, pure snow!
Like, snow that falls or snow to sniff?
The second g in Gugelmin is a soft g - he does the Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation on the American ESPN channel in the 80s "but the English end up saying Goojilmin."
Worth seeing that video just for Christian Danner do his best London estuary accent to say "the correct pronunciation of name is Christmas Dinner"
the brand deal is good, well done.
Say what you want about tobacco money, that JPS paint job was a thing of beauty.
The classic and still best ever looking F1 car
Lol was just thinking about this car after watching that video about Senna's time at Lotus.
Jeez, a matter of minutes and the bots have already struck!
Those watches look awesome. Just wish I could afford one 😢
JP Lotus will always be up there as one of the best and most beautiful of all time. Pity they were as reliable as a SpaceX rocket...
And yes, a video of the most beautiful liveries would be sweet!
An iconic car and in the hands of Senna very fast over one lap especially, however, in your video I think you are underplaying the sheer pace of the Williams FW11 in the 1986 season.
I did watch a similar video a few days ago about the legacy of Ayrton Senna and Lotus
One of my favourites to drive on asseta corsa
I was going to drive it but between the heat in this room, other stuff I've had on today and my AC being a PITA in 64bit mode, I didn't.
It is fun to slide out of corners and play with the turbo lag.
@@AidanMillward oh definitely I've tried multiple times doing that
try to get a period mod of Adelaide and stiffen the rear ARB
it doesnt go in a straight line if you push
The next video has to be about the BMW M12/13 engine, 1500bhp at 5.5 bar boost...
Never mind the Benneton BMW and its paltry 1400bhp, I have it on good authority that the Brabham BMW was churning out 1900bhp in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix in 1986. Only one Brabham started the race that day because the other one hit a bump, took off and ended up in orbit.
While any 'Greatest' 'Best Of' list is subjective until last year's RB 19 the winningest GP car of all time was the Lotus 72. Unequalled 2 Driver's and 3 Constructor's Championships plus 20 Race Wins over 6 seasons. This cannot be ignored. And as much as I love the 79 it would have been trounced if the BT 46B was not withdrawn.
In 80s Rallying the turbo was turned up to 11. In 80s F1 it was turned to 12.
4:09 We could say Senna's car was strong as a wristwatch.
The Lotus 98T, or as I call it, Big Bag Car Mk3. The 72 is Mk1, and the 79 is Mk2.
Why "Big Bag Car"? I'm not so sure myself, but when I was very much smaller when watching F1, I used to point disdainfully every time a Lotus was on the TV screen and scream out "Big Bag Car!" Whether it actually meant "Big Black Car" because of that iconic JPS livery, or "Big Bad Car" because they tended to monster the opposition (especially the 79) - the reasons have been lost in the mists of time.
Even now, whenever I see any Lotus in the JPS colours - even the limited edition road cars - I have to point at it and say "Big Bag Car!!" I just have to.
And I have a special name for the 98T's successor, when RJ Reynolds took over from John Player - "Big Banana".
About the Group-B rally cars, the Peugeot 205 GTI never competed in Group-B rally it was the hot hatch for the public. The Group-B 205 monster was the TI16. The GTI had a 1.9 8 or 16 valve front mounted NA engine. The turbo ones are conversions.
The 205 T16 is very much a production car, and there are road legal versions. Sure they are "conversions", but it was a factory-approved conversion done by Heuliez.
@@palm92
From the TI16 there were 50 road legal examples a year build to comply with the rule book. Those cars are not called GTI, the GTI was just a consumers car witch was raced and rallied in Group-A and Group-N.
@@palm92he CLEARLY says GTI. He is correct. The GTI was not the grpB car (aidan says 205 gti grpB which was incorrect).
I’m curious to hear the reasoning behind not having the W05 Hybrid (2014) on his “greatest” list. Yeah I get it, it’s an opinion but I am curious to know the why behind it.
I still say the McLaren Honda MP4/4 was the greatest F1 car in history. Seriously, had Senna not got himself tangled with Jean-Louis Schlesser at Monza ... its probable he would have gone on to win. He had already lapped Gugelmin immediately prior to his tangle with the Williams ... Berger didn't lap Gugelmin. In fact, the March actually went about 1 second from being lapped. Gugelmin crossed the line for his last lap 1 second before Berger took the flag.
So if not for Senna effectively being the fool who rushed in where angels fear to tread ... the MP4/4 would have won all 16 races that year. It was driver error that robbed the car of a perfect season. It was never a car problem.
Seeing that picture of John Watson in the number one McLaren at Brands Hatch in 1985 makes me wonder was that the last time someone who wasn’t defending world champion ran the number 1 in a Grand Prix?
The mid-80s Lotus cars are my favorite F1 cars that aren’t from the early 2000s or later.
Please do a video on Nakajima San he is a legend to all Japanese and I’ll go as far as all Asians!
I want to hear your opinion on Rallycross
If we want to be brutally honest here, Senna veto-ing Warwick probably saved poor delboy from utter embarrassment in 86 and allowed his F1 career to meander on and on to 93, achieving not very much.
I was searching for the MP4/20 in that list.
And the P34 by Tyrell
Damn that watch sounds great but nearly $4000 rrp, and still over $3000 with the preorder discount. I could buy a car for that money 🤣🤣
Renault engines that wouldn’t last a race distance. After this year’s Le Mans, it’s like nothings really changed in 38 years.
(Yes I know that the engine in the Alpine A424 was technically Mecachrome, but that’s close enough)
One wonders what the 98T would have been like with the Honda engine...funnily enough, Warwick turned down the Williams drive for 1985 in favour of Renault. Whoops.
Snowboarding....aka "Shenanigans"
omg, Senna mentioned
come to Brazil Aidan
If I can wear my t shirt that shows Hamilton overtaking Glock
@@AidanMillwardSHOTS FIRED! SHOTS FIRED!
I thought Piquet passed senna for the lead in brazil on lap 3
Sorry Ducarouge was at Lotus since 84
From the second half of 1983, actually.
What 'bout the last Lotus ever?
The E23, which is also largely black-and-gold.
That was a Lotus as much as you're going to find a real superhero at a cosplay convention.
Turbo was the buzzword of the 80s? Was?
There are no turbines or forced induction on my razor blades but they still say _turbo_ on the packet!
Can I get a watch made from McLarens Beryllium engine block?
APPLAUSE
8 poles and a title fight whilst Nelson Piquet had 9 poles and only 2 wins in 1984.
To be fair, I am watching '84 now again and it was due to the BMW M12 in the Brabham being a grenade. Piquet started the season with 6 straight DNF's, followed by a win in Canada, his first points finish.
I was hoping for a Raid Shadow Legends sponsor read. It could be worse,it could be B×tt÷rHea^^£.
Ahh, Team John Player Special Lotus...
Johnny Dumfries #11
Ayrton Senna #12
Both no longer with us...
But ze BrawnGP car!
Even the greatest driver arguably was paranoid about a quick team mate
Racing drivers are an insecure bunch.
Renault might have pioneered turbocharging but they've never won an F1 title with one. Deja Vu
They really whiffed '81, '82, and '83.
Yeah one more finish 82 or 83 and prost has another 2 titles (when they finished they were on the podium).
Collossaly!😂
Only $3200 if you pre-order.
I said it was cool, not that people should buy one 💁🏻♂️
Do sponsor at the start or end. Otherwise not bothered watching and goodbye.
Oh no!
Anyway.
I'm inspired by the courage displayed in sharing vulnerabilities and uncertainties.🍓
An iconic car and in the hands of Senna very fast over one lap especially, however, in your video I think you are underplaying the sheer pace of the Williams FW11 in the 1986 season.
Seeing that picture of John Watson in the number one McLaren at Brands Hatch in 1985 makes me wonder was that the last time someone who wasn’t defending world champion ran the number 1 in a Grand Prix?