Enjoy some V12 F1 action…

A quick post from me before we get going on the Belgian Grand Prix. Last weekend I was at Brands Hatch for the Lotus Festival, and very good it was too!

In between the packed race schedule, a few ex-Formula 1 cars were on hand to perform a few screaming laps for the fans around the circuit. The headline car was the Lotus Type 102 from 1990. More about it:

“The Type 102 is an exciting combination of two great marques, Lotus and Lamborghini and interestingly it is the only Lotus ever to run a V12 engine. Designed under the technical direction of Frank Dernie the 102 represents about 150,000 hours of R&D, wind tunnel, continuous engineering and design time from concept to racing car.”

Please crank the volume up and enjoy the video!

What do you think? Do you miss those type of engines in F1 or is it right to progress to the current 1.6 Hybrids?

More about the Type 102:

“All composite manufacture was undertaken in-house at Ketteringham Hall. (The Team even made a super light carbon fibre helmet for Warwick and knuckle protectors for Donnelly.) The engine is a 3.5 litre 80 degree 48 valve V12 which gave the team a competitive 650 plus horsepower, from a strong and practical unit. The gearbox is a 6 speed (+ reverse) transverse unit designed by Team Lotus and incorporating Lamborghini internals.”

“The 102 was raced in the 1990 F1 World Championship by Derek Warwick and Martin Donnelly. They achieved some good points finishes in a competitive season for Team Lotus, thereby preserving the team’s vital top 10 status. Martin Donnelly suffered a big accident at Jerez. Johnny Herbert deputised for Martin for the rest of the season, making his Grand Prix début at the Japanese GP.”

Info was from: http://www.lotus-festival.com/news/lotus-type-102-confirmed-for-festival-2795/

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