With the Lotus T128 LMP2 car nearing its first days of track testing, the Lotus brand appears to be solidifying its mark after returning to the world motorsport stage.
Although financial uncertainty remains a stark reality for the manufacturing side of Lotus Cars, licensing deals have seen the black and gold livery succeed in pinnacle motorsports series, including Formula 1, and the FiA World Endurance Championship Lotus LMP2 and series' winning Rebellion Racing team.
Owned by Kodewa GmbH, the Lotus LMP2 team is the current rights holder of the Lotus name in endurance racing. Using a current Lola B12/80 Coupe powered by a Lotus V8, the company hired ADESS AG to design a new car for the upcoming WEC season.
Featuring a wealth of experience including Pescarolo, Peugeot Sport, and members of the Toyota, Ligier, and Sauber F1 outfits, ADESS used the latest HyperWorks technology to develop the new car.
In an interview with LeMans.org, ADESS owner, designer, and chief aerodynamicist Stéphane Chosse said that the technology allowed the company to limit development costs for the CFD (computational fluid dynamics) model as they awaited customer interest.
While Kodewa only approached the firm in March for the 2013 car, ADESS had already began developments on a Le Mans prototype in 2011, he said during the interview.
While Kodewa will own the rights to the car and the Lotus manufacturing badge, they said the the T128 will be readily available to endurance customers throughout the European, Asian, and American Le Mans series.
The T128 is also built according to 2014 LMP1 regulations, meaning a potential for the car to compete both as an LMP1 and LMP2 entry after developments are finalized.
“A group of people will start working on this project in a fortnight,” Chosse said in the LeMans.org interview. “The LMP2 version already includes certain requirements stipulated by the LMP1 regulations of 2014, such as the driver position higher and more forward than it is on the current prototypes. This constraint penalizes aerodynamics somewhat, but improves visibility for the driver.”
With the recent buyout of Lola Cars by Toronto-based Multimatic after months of struggle, the Kodewa group is hoping to take advantage of customer teams looking for alternatives. They are the first confirmed team to move away from their current Lola model and into the T128.
Photo courtesy of Lotus-LMP2.com
