Lola T70
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Lola T70 is a
sports prototype A sports prototype, sometimes referred to as simply a prototype, is a type of race car that is used in the highest-level categories of sports car racing. These purpose-built racing cars, unlike street-legal and production-based racing cars, are n ...
developed by British manufacturer
Lola Cars Lola Cars International Ltd. was a British race car engineering company in operation from 1958 to 2012. The company was founded by Eric Broadley in Bromley, England (then in Kent, now part of Greater London), before moving to new premises in S ...
in 1965. Lola built the
aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...
chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
, which were typically powered by large American V8s. The T70 was quite popular in the mid to late 1960s, with more than 100 examples being built in three versions: an open-roofed Mk II
spyder The SPYDER ("Surface-to-air Python and Derby") is an Israeli short and medium range mobile air defence system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems with assistance from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Rafael is the prime contractor a ...
, followed by a Mk III
coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
, and finally a slightly updated Mk IIIB. The T70 was replaced in the
Can-Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an Sports Car Club of America, SCCA/Canadian Auto Sport Clubs, CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987. History Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two r ...
series by the lighter Lola T160.


History

Early success for the Lola T70 came when
Walt Hansgen Walter Edwin Hansgen (October 28, 1919 – April 7, 1966) was an American racecar driver. His motorsport career began as a road racing driver, he made his Grand Prix debut at 41 and he died aged 46, several days after crashing during testing for ...
won the
Monterey Grand Prix The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey is an IndyCar Series race held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey, California. The event dates back to 1960, and became an American open wheel race in 1983. The race was part of the CART/Champ ...
, at
Laguna Seca Raceway Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and M ...
, on 17 October 1965, driving John Mecom's Lola T70-Ford. In 1966, the hot setup for the Can-Am was a T70
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
, winning five of six races during the year. John Surtees was the champion and Dan Gurney drove the only Ford powered car ever to win a Can-Am race. In 1967, no one could compete with the new M6 McLaren. When the
FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backst ...
changed the rules for
sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...
for the 1968 season, limiting engine size of prototypes to three liters, sportscars with up to five liter engines were allowed if at least fifty were made. This
homologation Homologation (Greek ''homologeo'', ὁμολογέω, "to agree") is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would normally work fr ...
rule allowed the popular yet outdated
Ford GT40 The Ford GT40 is a high-performance endurance racing car commissioned by the Ford Motor Company. It grew out of the "Ford GT" (for Grand Touring) project, an effort to compete in European long-distance sports car races, against Ferrari, which wo ...
and Lola T70s to continue racing. The Fords won
Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...
again in 1968 and 1969, while the T70's only big endurance win was a one–two finish in the 1969
24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...
when the Sunoco Lola T70-Chevrolet of
Mark Donohue Mark Neary Donohue Jr. (March 18, 1937 – August 19, 1975), nicknamed "Captain Nice," and later "Dark Monohue," was an American race car driver and engineer known for his ability to set up his own race car as well as driving it to victories. D ...
and
Chuck Parsons Charles W. "Chuck" Parsons (February 6, 1924 – January 3, 1999) was an American sports car racing driver. Parsons drove in SCCA and USSRC competition, then became a driver in the Can Am series. Like many drivers of the era, he participated in mu ...
. headed the American International Racing entry of Ed Leslie and Lothar Motschenbacher. When the minimum number was lowered to twenty five for 1969, the more modern
Porsche 917 The Porsche 917 is a sports prototype race car developed by German manufacturer Porsche to exploit the regulations regarding the construction of 5-litre sports cars. Powered by a Type 912 flat-12 engine which was progressively enlarged from ...
and
Ferrari 512 Ferrari 512 S is the designation for 25 sports cars built in 1969–70, with five-litre 12-cylinder ("512") engines, related to the Ferrari P sports prototypes. The V12-powered cars were entered in the 1970 International Championship for Makes ...
were homologated and outran the older Lolas and Fords. Chevrolet powered coupes tended to suffer reliability problems when racing in Europe, in part due to the grade of fuel allowed. When forced to run on commercially available "pump fuel", with a lower octane rating than the "
Avgas Avgas (aviation gasoline, also known as aviation spirit in the UK) is an aviation fuel used in aircraft with spark-ignited internal combustion engines. ''Avgas'' is distinguished from conventional gasoline (petrol) used in motor vehicles, w ...
" permitted under American rules, engine failures were common. In modern historic racing, these engines show much improved reliability due to parts unavailable in the 1960s and better fuel quality than the historically poor petrol supplied by the ACO. An
Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...
powered coupe was entered by Lola for Le Mans in 1967. Even with drivers such as
John Surtees John Surtees, (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver. On his way to become a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, he won his first title in 1956, and followed with ...
, it was a disaster. The Aston Martin V8 engine failed after short runs, attributed to inadequate developmental funds. During the filming of
Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...
's ''Le Mans'', Lola chassis were disguised as the Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512s that crashed in the film. It is claimed chassis T76/141 originally campaigned by
Ulf Norinder Ulf Norinder (19 May 1934 – 14 November 1978) was a racing driver from Sweden who competed in multiple classes including non-championship Formula One and the Le Mans 24 hour race in the 1960s and 1970s. Career Early years Norinder began ...
and
Jo Bonnier Joakim Bonnier (31 January 1930 – 11 June 1972) was a Swedish sportscar racing and Formula One driver who raced for various teams. He was the first Swede to both enter and win a Formula One Grand Prix. Early life Jo Bonnier was born in Stockh ...
was used for the wrecked Gulf Porsche. A T70 coupe also appears as a car of the future in
George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
' first commercial film, ''
THX 1138 ''THX 1138'' is a 1971 American social science fiction film co-written and directed by George Lucas in his directorial debut. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola and co-written by Walter Murch, the film stars Robert Duvall and Donald Pleasence, wit ...
''. A T70 Mk. IIIB driven by Mike D’Udy was used to set a South African land speed record, with a two-way average of 191.80 MPH and one-way best of 195.96 MPH, on 13 January 1968. The required runs were made on a section of the R45 between
Vredenburg Vredenburg is a town of the Cape West Coast in the Western Cape province of South Africa. "Vrede" is Afrikaans for peace. It is the transportation and commercial hub of the West Coast area and administrative centre of the Saldanha Bay Local Mun ...
and Hopefield in the
Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
province, and were completed despite an early mechanical failure in which the car's fifth gear was irreparably damaged. This record would stand until November 1988, when a new two-way average of 224.30 MPH was set by an
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...
5000CS driven by Sarel van der Merwe with official backing from
Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
South Africa. In 2005, Lola Cars announced a revival of the T70 MkIIIb in "an authentic and limited continuation series" of the original racer. 7 were produced before Lola Cars went defunct in 2012.


Replicas

A UK company,
Gardner Douglas Gardner Douglas is a British low volume sports car manufacturer, based in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. Their models include replicas of the AC Cobra and the Lola T70. History and development Just 26 MkIII 289 Cobras were made before AC colla ...
, produces the T70 Spyder with styling inspired by the Lola car, and using a tubular
spaceframe In architecture and structural engineering, a space frame or space structure ( 3D truss) is a rigid, lightweight, truss-like structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with ...
chassis with GRP panelling. Another British company, Broadley Automotive, makes T70 Mk3B replicas using original moulds and drawings. So authentic they have been granted FIA Historic Technical Passports (HTPs), a number of these Broadley T76s can be seen racing in the FIA Masters Historic Sportscar Championship, where they regularly compete alongside original T70s, Ferrari 512s and Porsche 917s for outright victories. A US company, Race Car Replicas, produces an authentic looking replica of both the MkII and MkIIIB T70 using an aluminium
monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...
chassis. A South African company, Universal Products, produces a tubular spaceframe-chassis version, clad in aluminium, of the T70 MkIIIB. Swiss car manufacturer
Sbarro Sbarro, LLC is an American pizzeria chain that specializes in New York-style pizza sold by the slice and other Italian-American cuisine. In 2011, the company was ranked 15th in foreign sales among U.S.-based quick-serve and fast-casual comp ...
produced 13 T70 MKIII.


References


Notes


Bibliography

* {{Aston Martin Sportscar Racers Sports prototypes T70 Can-Am cars 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars Group 4 (racing) cars