neilwhitedesign

Thanks very much. If you are interested, I would be happy to send you a PDF copy of the first chapter covering the 1983 season. If you would like to read this (in exchange for some general feedback) just send me a private message containing your e-mail address, as I'm not sure if PDFs can be sent through the forum. kind regards Neil

Thanks very much for providing clarification, it's good to know I'm not missing out on anything. Thanks to fellow forum member Mark Blanchard, I currently own all but a handful of issues of 'Lotus World', and was very kindly sent scans of the Team Lotus related info from the issues I don't have, so I believe I am sorted in that respect, but thanks for the offer. I don't presently have the race report card information I was sent to hand, but I believe I have scans of most, if not all of them (I will have to double check though). Team Lotus and Formula One fans on various forums have been incredibly generous in providing all sorts of valuable information from a wide range sources and what I have written wouldn't be anywhere near as detailed without their help. My aim (since I began the project back in 2012) is for my book to be the definitive reference for the often neglected 1983-1994 period of the team's history and as such contains information about all 192 race weekends with details where possible of every practice, qualifying and warm-up session. I have also created illustrations to accompany technical details of each car raced, as well as 3D CAD models of three unbuilt designs; the 103, 112 and the radical 10X (the latter two after being in touch with Chris Murphy). The text content of each chapter is currently being reviewed and appraised by Ibrar Malik, author of the recent book about the conspiracy theories surrounding the 1994 Grand Prix season. As a result it has benefitted greatly from his insight as a successful published author, with extra detail being added where deemed necessary. After more than seven years working on this book in my spare time, I hope I am reaching a stage where I feel I can submit it to a publisher, but numerous times previously I have received or being directed to information which has gone much deeper into the story and led to me undertaking literally years of further research. First and foremost I am a fan, and have felt passionately enough about the subject to spend all that time trying to do the story justice. kind regards Neil

Hello While carrying out research for my book on Team Lotus covering the 1983-1994 period, I was very kindly sent scans of some team promotional printed material which included race report cards from the 1990 and 1991 seasons (please see examples below): I was wondering if anyone knew if these were produced right through to 1994, as they provide far more detailed information about the race weekends (from a Team Lotus perspective) than the comparable issue of Autosport or Motorsport magazine. Thanks Neil White

Hello I am currently undertaking additional research for the book I am writing about Team Lotus covering the seasons 1983-1994. I recently came across a selection of issues of Lotus World magazine hosted on the fantastic Elio De Angelis tribute website (http://www.eliodeangelis.info) which contained some fascinating information that I wasn't previously aware of. To avoid missing out on further important information, I am now on the lookout for the remaining issues of the magazine and was wondering if anyone either had scans of issues or copies for sale. Thanks Neil White

Thanks for your comments Buddsy and Dixie237 I've used surface modelling in the past, most notably in Rhino when I designed the overcab pod of the current Endeavour model during my time at RS Motorhomes. Back in 2002-2003 I also created a Rhino model of an Esprit re-design that was the final year major project of my Transport Design degree course: For my Lotus 112 model, I chose solid lofting in Solidworks as I find it easier and quicker to go back to the sketches that make up the solid for tweaking the shape.

A couple more images of my 3D model...

Thanks very much for the kind comments. In answer to your questions, the model was made using the 3D package Solidworks. it was constructed by creating sketches on various planes and then either extruding them (the rear wing for example) or sweeping between them (the chassis tub) to create solid objects. The solids were then cut away to create the parts such as the cockpit. It was initially built up as a half, then once all the details were added, mirrored. As I only had those two grainy images of the wind tunnel model to refer to, there was a LOT of trial and error to get a shape that looked something like. I did actually get in touch with Chris Murphy before I started and he very kindly replied, but sadly computer technology has moved on too much since 1995 to be able to access the CAD data he has. Regards Neil

As requested Stuart, please find some more images below...

Hello Over the past year or so I have been building a 3D model of the unraced Lotus Type 112. I plan to feature this in the book I have been writingin my spare time since 2012; tentatively titled "The Chequered Years - The Team Lotus Story 1983-1994). Please find below a rendering of the 3D model in front of Ketteringham Hall, a superb photo of the hall kindly taken by fellow forum member Jonny Stocken (aka Bravo73). If you would like to see more images of the car, please let me know and I will post them. I would particularly appreciate feedback on the livery, as this is just my interpretation on what it could have been if the team had competed in the 1995 season. Below are the two images of the wind tunnel model which were the only reference I had available when building my model... Thanks Neil White

Thanks everyone for all the info and kind comments. After seeing 1994's superb images of the 107C I have tweaked the shade of green on my illustration slightly, as well as adding the headrest and gearchange blister (see below): I would love to do an illustration of the 102C with the Isuzu engine. I know there were bodywork changes to accommodate the engine, but I've no idea what they were, so anything I created would be pure guesswork unfortunately. Also, here's the Type 103 in front of Ketteringham Hall. I e-mailed the hall asking if they had any high quality images of the building they could send me, but I never received a reply, so this is the best I could come up with from a Google search: I agree with you completely Bravo 73, it's a crying shame the car never hit the track. Enjoy! Neil

Voila!

Hello Vulcan Grey, thanks for your message and the wonderful photos. The Tommy Hilfiger logo on the side of the cockpit was much smaller earlier in the season. I've based my illustration on the car as it was in the San Marino GP, which is also why the Komatsu logo is a different font. I'll post a photo later.

Thanks for your reply Ben I never noticed the gearchange blister on the 107C, mind you the best quality side views I had of the car were of the other side, so that's probably why I missed it. I definitely add that detail now, along with the headrests, which would also need adding to the 101 and 102 series come to think of it. If you're interested in a copy of the artworks, send me a message and I'll see what I can do. The 103 was designed during the 1990 season, so would have been the work of Frank Dernie and Frank Coppuck. Work on the car was stopped due to lack of money after a full mock-up was built, along with production patterns of the monocoque, nose section and front and rear wings. My interpretation comes from a general arrangement drawing I was sent, along with photos of a scale model. For the parts that the drawings and images didn't show (basically the rear view) I looked at the 102 and Frank Dernie's 1992 Ligier design for inspiration. Hope you like it... My next project is the Type 112 that would have raced in 1995. Regards Neil

Hello Thanks to you all for your kind comments about my illustrations. Since my original post back in February I have managed to recreate all the numbers, so please find the finished cars below: Type 92 Type 93T Type 94T Type 95T Type 97T Type 98T Type 99T Type 100T Type 101 Type 102 Type 102B Type 102D Type 107 Type 107B Type 107C Type 109 I have also built a 3D model of the unraced Type 103 design if anyone is interested in seeing it. Thanks Neil

Hello Over the past few months I have been creating illustrations of the F1 cars raced by Team Lotus during the 1983-1994 seasons for a book I have been writing on the team covering that period. While I have been able to find (or recreate) all the relevant sponsor logos, I am struggling to find which fonts were used for the race numbers during that period. Can anyone out there help me with this??? Type 92 Type 93T Type 94T Type 95T Type 97T Type 98T Type 99T Type 100T Type 101 Type 102 Type 102B Type 102D Type 107 Type 107B Type 107C Type 109 Thanks Neil White

Thanks very much for your reply Sapphire. I tried looking on the Autosport archive but it only seems to go back to 1995. I then tried Motor Sport Magazine, but nothing of relevance came up. If the people you spoke to are confident that the car never ran with Judd power, then as you say it is likely to be an error, someone getting confused over 1991 and 1992 I'm guessing. Neil

Thanks for the insight, Trevor. I can see the logic in not wanting to pay Cosworth (especially as the bills and debts were racking up by this point), but it seems a strange decision to convert the car to accept a 2 year old Judd engine for such an insignificant event.right at the end of the year. I know that that the initial intention was to use the Judd engine in the 107 before the Cosworth HB deal was struck, so I can only imagine that all the required bits were there gathering dust. Neil

Thanks for your reply Exploded. After submitting my post I actually managed to find some footage of the event on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iQfLYJ4Fsg. The quality isn't great, but you can clearly see the Ford logo on the engine cover in the same place it was during the 1992 season. This would lead me to believe that there wasn't an engine change for the event. Neil

Hello I'm hoping someone out there can help me with information. I am currently writing a book on Team Lotus covering the post Colin Chapman seasons of 1983 to 1994 and looking for more information on the team's participation in the Formula One Indoor Trophy ( or Trofeo Indoor Formula One) at the Bologna Motor Show in 1991 and 1992. From the research I have conducted so far, in the 1992 event it seems that the team entered a 107 for Johnny Herbert that was powered by a Judd engine (see extract from Wikipedia below): "Johnny Herbert represented Lotus, as he had in 1991, continuing the role he had carried out during the season alongside Mika Häkkinen. Oddly, however, he was using a Judd engine as opposed to Ford unit the team had used during the season and would continue to use in 1993." Is this an error, or can anyone actually confirm this? If it is true, I would be fascinated to know the decision behind it and what modifications had to be made to the 107 to accomodate the engine. I hope someone out there can shed some light on this.... Thanks Neil White

Hello This is my first post on the Lotus Forums. Since early 2012 I have been researching and writing a book on the story of Team Lotus after Colin Chapman's death which covers the final years of the team between 1983 and 1994. Though the team's championship winning days were long gone by this point, I feel there is still an interesting story to tell. Other than some background detail to add, I am now at a stage where I am looking for people who would be interested in reading a chapter and passing on their thoughts. Is there anyone out there who would be interested? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Neil White