Moulded carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb composite monocoque, manufactured by Lotus F1 Team and designed for maximum strength with minimum weight. Installing the engine as a fully stressed member.
Suspension (front)
Carbon fibre top and bottom wishbones operate an inboard rocker via a pushrod system. This is connected to a torsion bar and damper units which are mounted inside the front of the monocoque.
Suspension (rear)
Carbon fibre top and bottom wishbones with pull rod operated torsion springs and transverse-mounted damper units mounted in the top of the gearbox casing.
Despite the perpetual troubles the team experienced with the "passive Drag Reduction System" device on the E20 chassis, which spent most of the 2012 season in development without ever being raced,[10][11][12] the E21 was launched with a passive DRS device of its own.[13]
Following criticism of the cars raced in 2012 for being "ugly" because of a visible step in the design of the nose,[14] the 2013 technical regulations allowed teams to use a "modesty panel", or a small piece of carbon fibre designed to cover the nose of the car for aesthetic purposes.[15] However, the E21 was launched without a modesty panel, as the team felt that it offered no aerodynamic benefit, and that the aesthetic qualities it offered were not worth the added weight, however slight the weight gain might be.[16]
Season summary
The E21 proved to be a competitive car across the 2013 season with one victory at the season opener at Australia, and the car would claim 14 podiums by the end of the season. Eventually, the team finished 4th in the Constructors' Championship with 315 points.
Livery
Lotus F1 went into the 2013 season with subtle livery changes. While the overall design was similar, the only difference was an additional red accents.
^Collantine, Keith (9 October 2012). "Lotus focus on exhaust after Double DRS problems". F1 Fanatic. Keith Collantine. Retrieved 28 January 2013. Allison admitted the team had run into difficulty with its Double DRS, which has appeared several times in practice but hasn't been raced yet [...] "We're going to take it away, have another think and most likely give it another go in the Abu Dhabi Young Drivers' Test where we'll have more time to develop it in a systematic fashion."