Following Renault’s withdrawal from Formula One at the end of 1986, Lotus secured a deal with Honda for the use of their turbocharged 1.5-litre engine. However, due to Honda’s existing agreement with Williams, Lotus received the previous season’s RA166E engine, rather than the updated RA167E unit used by Williams in 1987. As part of the engine supply deal, Lotus signed Honda’s test driver, Satoru Nakajima, to partner Ayrton Senna. Concurrent with the engine change, Lotus gained a new title sponsor in Camel, replacing John Player Special and resulting in a new yellow and blue livery.
The 99T was the second Lotus chassis to incorporate electronic active suspension, building on experiments with the Lotus 92 in 1983. The active suspension aimed to maintain a consistent ride height and minimize chassis pitch and roll.
The RA166E Honda engine was rated at approximately 900 bhp (671 kW; 912 PS) with the 4.0 Bar turbo-boost restriction mandated for the 1987 season. The active suspension system, while beneficial, added approximately 25 kg (55 lb) of weight and reduced the engine’s power output by around 5%. Gérard Ducarouge worked to mitigate these drawbacks through extensive wind tunnel testing. Despite these efforts, Senna later described the 99T as essentially the previous year’s 98T with a Honda engine. The 99T was considered a relatively bulky car compared to its competitors, including the Williams FW11B, McLaren MP4/3, and Ferrari F1/87, which were regarded as aerodynamically superior. However, the Lotus was often fast in a straight line, attributed to the active suspension allowing it to run with less aerodynamic downforce than its rivals.
Ayrton Senna proved highly competitive with the 99T, securing victories at the Monaco and Detroit Grand Prixes, as well as achieving six additional podium finishes. At the Italian Grand Prix, Senna nearly won but a mistake on worn tires allowed Nelson Piquet to pass and take the victory. Senna moved to McLaren for the 1988 season, where he would win his first World Drivers’ Championship, utilizing Honda engines secured by the McLaren team. The 1987 season also marked Senna’s second-worst in terms of pole positions, achieving only one at the San Marino Grand Prix.
Satoru Nakajima, Senna’s teammate, had a less successful debut season. He preferred faster circuits like Silverstone), Hockenheim, Österreichring, and Monza, as well as his home track of Suzuka), but struggled on tighter circuits. His best result was a 4th-place finish at the British Grand Prix. He finished the season 12th in the championship with 7 points. Nakajima qualified closest to Senna at the Japanese Grand Prix, held at the Honda-owned Suzuka) circuit, qualifying 11th, only 0.962 seconds behind his teammate. Television viewers often had an up-close view of Nakajima’s driving, as his car frequently featured an onboard camera.
[unverified] The corpus does not contain information about any regulatory outcomes resulting from the Lotus 99T.
The 99T was updated for the 1988 season to become the 100T, with modifications including a redesigned nose section, a longer wheelbase, tighter rear bodywork (facilitated by a reduced fuel tank capacity from 195 to 150 litres), and the removal of the active suspension in favor of a conventional setup. Nelson Piquet, the 1987 World Champion, joined Lotus as the team leader and scored consistently with the 100T, achieving three 3rd-place finishes but no wins.
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