1968 Lola T140

Lola cars claimed three Indy 500 victories, 12 LeMans class wins, seven IndyCar titles, and four LeMans Series class titles along with five American Le Mans Series.

In the 1960s, Group 6 regulations for GT cars were changed, leaving Lola with a large stock of components for their cancelled T70 GT. Lola boss Eric Broadley soon announced plans to build a Formula A car using the T70 suspension and powered by an American 5-liter V8 engine. Initially, Lola planned on building 15 T140 models but eventually produced 17 plus one built using a Lola T70. All but five examples went to the US. Of those twelve that went to the US, eight are known today.

From 1968 to 1982, the Formula 5000 series was a single seater, open wheel auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world. It was designed as a low-cost series for open-wheel racing cars that no longer fit into any particular formula. Rules dictated a maximum engine capacity of 5 liters, thus the '5000' denomination. For 1968, the Formula A category of the SCCA Grand Prix Championship (the Formula A category was later renamed to Formula 5000) was dominated by the Chevy V8 powered Eagle MK5 driven by George Wintersteen and Lou Sell. Sell and Wintersteen claimed the first and second position in the Championship results, with the next four positions claimed by drivers in Chevy-Powered Lola T140 models. Jerry Hansen was able to win the Badger 200 at Road America driving a Lola T140.

by Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2019