RED BULL LEGENDS PARADE 2026: LOTUS 88 TWIN CHASSIS (1981)

The Lotus 88 was designed to consist of two nested twin chassis sections with largely independent suspension. The inner primary chassis housed the cockpit, the engine and gearbox unit, whilst the outer secondary chassis – actually part of the bodywork – regulated the airflow via the side skirts. Both were connected by springs. At high speeds, the airflow pressed the secondary chassis against the road surface, creating a strong suction effect and enabling higher cornering speeds.

The downforce was so high that the front wing could largely be dispensed with, whilst the rear wing consisted merely of a simple end plate. At lower speeds, the car would automatically return to normal ride height. Ferrari and Williams lodged a protest, claiming that the car fell well short of the prescribed minimum clearance of 60 mm between chassis and the track surface. The requirement was met when stationary, but not whilst being driven. A dispute lasting several weeks ensued, and the car never made it to an actual race. Despite attempts to make changes, Chapman eventually conceded defeat. The car ended up in a museum and remains an attraction at Legends Parades to this day.

Elio de Angelis and Nigel Mansell – two drivers for whom the Österreichring has played a major role in their careers. Englishman Mansell drove his first Grand Prix in 1980 in a third Lotus bearing the number 43. The Italian, who was also famous for his piano playing, celebrated his first victory in the 1982 season.

Much like Tyrrell and Brabham, Lotus also found themselves at the back of the grid following a long period of decline. Later, under different ownership, the brand returned to Formula 1 and even won again, courtesy of Kimi Räikkönen.

Without ever having covered a single kilometre in a race, the Lotus 88 became a legend in racing car engineering – a fascinating testament to innovation and the courage to push boundaries, or at least to rethink them. Like no other designer, Colin Chapman embodies the fusion of genius and eccentricity in the motorsport of the last century. Designers were on the lookout for new solutions or even loopholes in the regulations. So, in the most British of all teams, the rulebook – written in French – was studied in minute detail. The relevant passage simply stated that every aerodynamic part of the car had to be fully attached to the ‘chassis’. It was unclear, however, whether this referred to the singular or plural form of the noun. Chapman and his brilliant engineer Peter Wright exploited this slight ambiguity.

Colin Chapman (born 1928 in Richmond, Surrey) stood out even as a boy for his mechanical talent and his unusual ideas, making his mark in a soapbox race with a revolutionary suspension system. Later, as a student, he imaginatively converted a single-seater car into a two-seater. In motor racing, his cars were radically innovative and highly dangerous. Jochen Rindt’s famous quote (“In a Lotus, I will become world champion, or I will die.”) was prophetic in more ways than one. Chapman himself died in 1982 under mysterious circumstances shortly after witnessing the last Lotus victory (courtesy of Elio de Angelis at Spielberg).

To the delight of many fans, the Tyrolean is back in action at the Red Bull Ring. The man who once beat a certain Michael Schumacher to become German Formula 3 champion and who competed in 41 Grand Prix races had previously shone as a young driver at the Österreichring. After Gerhard Berger, he was the first driver to be brought into the highest echelon of the sport by Helmut Marko, who would later go on to discover multiple world champions.