The 98T/4 is a limited edition Swiss-made chronograph crafted from the Lotus 98T chassis no. 4, the last black and gold JPS car driven by Ayrton Senna in the final eight races of the 1986 F1 season. Developed in collaboration with Classic Team Lotus, each timepiece incorporates reforged aluminum from the car’s original plenum tubes.
Encased in a sleek “glass box,” the design captures the essence of this historic racing machine. Team Lotus, once a dominant force in Formula 1, won 71 World Championship races across 19 seasons. However, by 1986, the team was striving to provide Senna with a competitive car following Colin Chapman’s passing in 1982.
The 1986 F1 season saw regulations that widened the performance gap between race and qualifying trims. Qualifying sessions featured unrestricted boost engines exceeding 1,000 bhp, the highest in F1 history. This era, marked by manual gearboxes and the absence of power steering and traction control, was challenging due to significant turbo lag and engine power surges.
Today, chassis no. 4 is privately owned in the UK and competes in historic races. When the plenum tubes needed replacement, the originals were provided to REC Watches for the 98T/4 timepieces. Delivery begins in March 2025.
