1972 Lola T292

The British based Lola Company was founded in 1961 by engineer and entrepreneur, Eric Broadley, who would design and create some of the most influential designs of the post-war era.

The international racing career of the Lola T70 abruptly came to an end with the arrival of the full works Porsche 917s and subsequent Ferrari 512s. So the British manufacturer turned their attention to the European 2 Litre Sports Car Championship. Lola shocked the racing community in 1970 with the introduction of the all-new T210. With open coachwork, it was lighter by 70 kg than the Chevron B16 coupe. Lola used an aluminum sheet monocoque with rear subframe for the engine, unlike its competitors who typically used a spaceframe design.

In response to the open coachwork, Chevron responded by building a B16 spyder using the shape of the Porsche 908/3 that Brian Redman had driven to victory in the Targa Florio in 1970. The season's constructor's championship came down to the final race, with Lola, Chevron and Abarth all in contention. Chevron with their new B16 spyder was able to capture victory at the season finale at Spa-Francorchamps, giving them the title.

The success and competitive of the Lola T210 attracted privateers, and by the end of 1970, Lola had sold 16 examples. On the off-season, the T210 was further refined and evolved into the T212 of which 22 examples were built.

Group 5 regulations changed ahead of the 1972 season, effectively eliminating the big-bore sports racers from competition. Lola capitalized on these changes by developing a new car that could accept two- and three-liter engines. The two-liter cars were known as the T290 and the three-liter versions were the T280. Bob Marston, assisted by Patrick Head and John Barnard were the individuals in charge of the design.

Both the T280 and T290 used an aluminum monocoque chassis with independent suspension and outboard disc brakes at all four corners. In the front were double wishbones while the back used reversed lower wishbones, twin trailing arms and top links. Fiberglass was used for the bodies and a small wing was placed at the rear to provide downforce.

Many of the roughly 34 examples of the T290's were sold through European representative Jo Bonnier, who also fielded some of the cars with works support. Despite being quick, the cars were often plagued by poor engine reliability. The Abarth-Osella team with driver Arturo Merzario won the 1972 European Championships.

For the 1973 season, Lola introduced the T292 which had gained a larger rear wing and inboard mounted rear brakes. With the help of the BDG engine and with Chris Craft performing driving duties, the T292 captured the European Two-Liter Sports Car championship and Lola was that year's constructor's champion.

As before, the T292 was designed to carry a variety of four-cylinder engines, and thus specifications vary. Several of the T290s were updated with T292 bodywork and as many as 29 examples of the T292s were built or modified.

For the following season, Lola further refined the T292 into the T294. The Renault-engined Alpines with works support would complete dominate the 1974 season, and with little competition, the championship was cancelled in 1975.

by Dan Vaughan

In 1961 Eric Broadley formed the Lola Racing Car Company. The first cars were front-engined sports cars followed by Formula Junior racers. Soon, Lola was one of the top chassis suppliers in sports car racing.

In 1965 the Lola Racing Cars Group introduced the T70. During its lifetime from 1965 through 1969 over 100 examples were produced in three versions. They were designed for endurance racing with excellent aerodynamics and flowing lines. The chassis was constructed of aluminum monocoque that was both lightweight and rigid. The project was undertaken by Eric Broadley of Lola Cars with assistance from F1 world champion John Surtees. Originally, Broadley had been considered by Ford to build a racer that could defeat Ferrari at LeMans. Colin Chapman of Lotus and Cooper were also considered. After some consideration, the project was given to Broadley of Lola. Ford had been impressed with the Lola Mark VI mid-engined racer which was powered by a Ford 4.2-liter engine and produced around 350 horsepower. The sleek body had been created by John Frayling and utilized some of the most exotic materials available. By 1965 Ford had their Ferrari slayer and Broadley was ready to again work under his own supervision. He was not fond of how the GT40 had progressed and felt that it had gone in too many directions with each decision being analyzed by a committee. Work began on the T70 which would share many similarities to the GT40. In a sense, the Lola T70 was a result of Enzo Ferrari, since the GT40 had been created to defeat Ferrari at Le Mans. The first version was the MKII open-roofed version. The second version was the MKIII Coupe-version followed by the MK IIIB.

The straight back end soon gave it the nickname of 'breadvan' as it resembled delivery trucks of that era. The rear body shape was the result of lessons learned from the GT40 project and its handling on the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans. It was designed to eliminate some of the lift created at high speeds. The GT40 created 300 kg of lift at speed while the Lola T70 only created 200 kg of downforce though it did increase drag.

Though designed for endurance racing, the T70 proved most potent on the short sprint races where its lightweight body and superior handling made it very competitive. Reliability issues plagued the car on races of more than three hours. The Chevrolet small-block power plant was unsuitable to utilize the high-octane fuels which powered other racers. The engine was unable to fully utilize European fuels and as such, did not perform as well as intended in international competition.

The T70 MKII was entered in the competitive and newly formed CanAm series where it dominated at nearly every race it entered, winning five of the six rounds. John Surtees won the title after winning three of those races in a factory car. The cars were also successful in Group 7 racing until the series came to a halt in 1966. 1966 was the final year for a successful season for the Lola T70s in CanAm racing as McLaren would dominate the following year. The T70 would win only one CanAm race in 1967. The powerful McLaren M6 racers easily overpowered the T70. In retaliation, the T70 IIIB was introduced which improved power and performance. The front was improved to separate the airflow between the bottom and top of the car, thus, minimizing pressure underneath the vehicle. Power came from a 327 small-block Chevrolet engine which was later upgraded to a 350 cubic-inch unit. It would go on to win many international endurance races. One of the most famous of its victories was the 1969 Daytona 24 Hours driven by Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons. The demise of the racer occurred when rule changes that limited the size of the engine made it obsolete. This benefited the Ferrari 312 and Porsche 917 as their F1 engines were appropriate and highly tuned.

By 1968 a new car was needed; Lola introduced the T160 which was lighter and more powerful than its predecessor. Various other Lola cars were created for Group 6 Competition including the T212, T28x, 29X, 38X, and 39X. When the CanAm Series was revived in the late 1970s, the Lola cars dominated the sport.

In the early 1980s, Lola introduced their T600/T10 range which was intended for IMSA GTP competition.

by Dan Vaughan