In 1985 Lotus had returned to their winning ways for the first time since the sudden death of company founder Colin Chapman in 1982. The Lotus 98T was the further evolution of 97T from the 1985 season, designed by Gerard Ducarouge. For 98T the French designer created a more compact monocoque using for the first time a one-piece moulded composite structure. The front double wishbone suspension was carried over from the previous cars with a heavily revised geometry. At the rear an adjustable ride-height system was used for most of the races. Another novelty was the implementation of a six-speed gearbox. The car was powered by the new Renault EF15B turbocharged V6 engine which produced around 900 bhp in the race format. In the qualification form the new Renault was capable of 1150 bhp. After the withdrawal of the works Renault team, in 1986 Lotus had a privileged position with their French engine supplier over Renault’s other customer. Lotus was effectively the works team and received all the latest developments. The combination of the 98T chassis, Renault twin-turbo engine and talented Ayrton Senna as the driver #1 resulted in two Grand Prix victories, 8 pole-positions and 3rd place in the Constructor’s Championship. Senna finished the season on the 4th place in the Drivers’ standings while his team-mate Johnny Dumfries scored only 3 points. The 98T was the last Lotus car in the famous black and gold colors of John Player. With Camel as the new sponsor, Lotus car would get yellow and blue scheme for the next few seasons. The scale model from Eaglemoss Lendas Brasileiras do Automobilismo Collection represents Senna’s car from Braziliano GP 1986.
| Season | Series | Event |
| 1986 | F1WC | Brazilian GP |
| Driver | No. | Entrant |
| Ayrton Senna | 12 | John Player Special Team Lotus |
| Scale | Manufacturer | Collection |
| 1:43 | IXO | Lendas Brasileiras do Automobilismo |
| Cat. No. | Quality | Rarity |
| Ed. 23 | 
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