"Compared to the 80 the 79 will look like a double-decker bus." So Colin Champman when presenting the F.1 designed for the following season in December 1978. The exceptional successes of the 79 predicted a dominance of Lotus also for 1979 but this was not the case. The car represented an extreme development of the 79 but the best is not always a friend of the good! The Lotus 80 was used, only by Andretti, in no more than three Grands Prix. The car was equipped with the classic 8-cylinder Cosworth engine, with a power of 490 horsepower at 10500 rpm.