Team Lotus was in a difficult situation in 1990. While the Lotus 102 was a decent design in base, the Lamborghini V12 was far from performing. In fact is was unreliable and underpowered. The results were only three points for the team, the lowest amount since 1958. To make matters worse the team lost their title sponsor Camel at the end of the season. Concerns were if the team would still be on the grid in 1991 and if so in what condition. While the team unsure about it’s future Frank Dernie worked on the design for their new challenger the Lotus 103. The car, that was to appear in 1991, though never saw the light.
Early December 1990, the announcement was made that Team Lotus was saved, well they had a new day to day management. A consortium led by Peter Collins(manager Team Lotus), Peter Wright(engineer) and Horst Schübel(Formula 3) had purchased the team while the Chapman family would retain the ownership over the team itself. There was a huge project ahead as many key staff members already had left the team and the financial situation was far from stable.
Therefore would Peter Collins would oversee the day-to-day running, Peter Wright would lead the development and research department while Horst Schübel would do the marketing for the team. One of the first things the team did was to attract Mika Häkkinen as one of their drivers for 1991 and 1992. According to Mika himself he was overwhelmed by the deal as well, his manager Keke Rosberg only told it him the night before it was made publicly on 7 December 1990. A bit out of the blue you could say, though Mika was in 1990 the British Formula 3 Championship. Team Lotus had also Martin Donnelly under contract, though he was recovering from a massive crash. Julian Bailey, Johnny Herbert and Michael Bartels drove with the second Lotus in 1991.
To prepare for the new season the team purchased a batch of Judd V8 engines. They came from the Brabham team, the engines were reliable. However, there was a chance the team would race the first few races of the season again with the Lamborghini V12 engines as they needed time to prepare their car. Because there was an issue, due to the situation with the team earlier they had to push hard to prepare themselves. It meant that the team was working on an updated Lotus 102, the Lotus 102B. The design work on the 103 was delayed.
When Mika was announced as one of their drivers on 7 December 1990 the team also revealed the Lotus 103. Well they revealed the 40% wind tunnel model. Santa Claus revealed the 103 by opening a package. Frank Dernie started working on the new design earlier in the season, though like many other staff members he left the team to start working at Ligier. Frank Coppuck would continue working on the Lotus 103 while a new technical director had to be contracted. A week later the team announced that Enrique Scalabroni would fulfil the position of technical director. Scalabroni himself split with the Ferrari team mid-season.
The Lotus 103, for so far you can say from a wind tunnel model, was elegant shaped and had a similar high-nose as Tyrrell had introduced in 1990. It eyed also slightly slimmer than the Lotus 102 from previous year. There was nothing to mention about the livery as it was white with -Team Lotus- on the side pods and FIA on the rear wing. In January the team was working around the clock on the new Lotus 103 as it was well behind schedule. The meantime the team was also working on an updated Lotus 102 the Lotus 102B.
The 26th of January 1991 Mika would test for the first time for Team Lotus. He tested with the two year old Lotus 101 at Silverstone to get some milage under his belt. It was only two months left before the start of the 1991 season. There was still no car ready for 1991. Eventually, the team completed the design on the Lotus 102B which would be fitted with the new Judd engines.
The team stated that they would continue working on the Lotus 103 design. The planning was that it would be completed in May so it could made it’s debut in mid-season. It was said that the car would also be fitted with active suspension. However, the Lotus 103 would never be completed. While the financial situation was still bad for the team they would eventually shelve the plans for the 103. For 1992 they decided to keep on developing the 102.
In between the team used one of their cars to give the Isuzu V12 engine a try, this was the Lotus 102C. The results with the engine were poorly and the team ditched this “project” soon. Their focus was on the 102D which would appear on the grid during the first five races of the season before their new challenger the Lotus 107 would appear. Did the team some of the 103 design for the 107. Probably they had. Though it is really a shame we would never see the car on the grid.
