1970 Lola T165

The British based Lola Cars International Ltd. Company was founded by Eric Broadley in 1958 and was in operation until 2012. Its existence began from humble beginnings, building front-engined sports cars, then Formula Juniors, before entering a wider range of sporting vehicles. They became one of the top chassis suppliers in the 1960s, building cars that raced in Formula One, Formula 5000, USAC/CART/Champ car, Formula Two, Formula 3000, CanAm, and many other series. Among its most memorable and successful cars were the T70s that won the inaugural Can-Am Challenge Cup with driver John Surtees in 1966.

The CanAm series became very popular with manufacturers and spectators, as the nearly wide-open formula had very few restrictions, allowing technology to quickly evolve, and top speeds reach new heights. The highly experimental nature of the Group 7 competition was a proving ground for cutting-edge technology, where the world's top drivers brought the car's to its limits, offered their design feedback, resulting in further improvements. While the T70 was very successful during the 1966 season, it became obsolete a year later by new racecars from other manufacturers. Broadley continued to fill customer orders for the Roadster and Coupe version of the T70, while concurrently developing a new racecar for the 1968 season. The car, dubbed the T160, was a new design that continued to utilize many of the design principles of the T70. A new big-block V8 engine was installed in the aluminum monocoque chassis and clothed with a fiberglass body featuring a 'Kamm' tail.

Twelve examples of the Lola T160 were built and although an improvement of the T70, they were not to the same level as the works McLarens. Steady improvements resulted in the T162, followed by the T163 for the 1969 season. Chassis modifications of the T163 allowed the engine to rest an inch lower in the chassis, improving the car's center of gravity resulting in better handling and performance. A much taller rear wing was installed to increase the downforce at speed. The McLarens featuring the 'Bruce and Denny show' continued their race-winning ways, but the T163 proved to be a worthy adversary, with Chuck Parsons in the Simonz backed car providing many notable finishes.

For the 1970 season, new rules were introduced which prohibited large wings, prompting Lola to make revisions and further evolve the design, resulting in the T165. These changes were made concurrently with the development of an all-new T220 for the works team. The T165 was the final evolution of the T160 series and four examples were built. Many of the prior T160 series cars were upgraded to the new specification and bodywork.

The Chevrolet-powered V8 engine had an aluminum block and head and a displacement of 427 cubic-inches. Fitted with Lucas fuel injection, the overhead valve engine developed upwards of 650 horsepower. It used ventilated disc brakes, a Hewland LG600 five-speed gearbox, and a suspension comprised of double wishbones in the front with coil springs and anti-roll bars. The rear setup used reversed lower wishbones, anti-roll bars, coil springs over dampers, twin trailing arms, and top links.

The T165 was the final evolution of the T160 series and approximately 25 examples of all T160 versions were built.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2020