LOT 80
1966 LOLA T70 MK II SPORTS-RACING SPYDER Chassis no. SL71/28 (see text)
Sold for US$110,000 inc. premium
Lot 80
1966 LOLA T70 MK II SPORTS-RACING SPYDER
1966 LOLA T70 MK II SPORTS-RACING SPYDER
Chassis no. SL71/28 (see text)
Chassis no. SL71/28 (see text)
366ci OHV Chevrolet V8 Engine
4 Weber Twin-choke Carburetors
est. 500bhp at 7,000rpm
5-Speed Hewland LG500 Transaxle
4-Wheel Independent Suspension
4-Wheel Ventilated Disc Brakes
*Raced at prestigious tracks in period and in recent years
*Offered with FIA Historic Technical Passport
*A front-runner on most grids in capable hands
*Eligible for many prominent vintage racing events
Previewing at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California by appointment. Please contact [email protected] for scheduling.
THE LOLA TYPE 70
In the song from the 1955 musical Damn Yankees "Lola gets, whatever Lola wants", Eric Broadley had that hit song in mind when he christened his first sports-racing car built for customer sale the Lola Mark I. That little front-engined 1100cc sports-racing car proved itself more than capable of enabling its drivers to achieve their competitive aims, and through 1958 the Lola put the renowned Lotus 11 very much in the shade.
While the little Lola was incredibly pretty, its lightweight aluminum bodywork exquisitely well-proportioned, Broadley's new company – Lola Cars Ltd – went from strength to strength. By 1962 it was producing Formula 1 cars driven by legendary seven-times Motorcycle World Champion John Surtees, and in 1963 Broadley produced the compact, rear-engined Lola GT with American Ford V8 power to tackle the Le Mans 24-Hour race. That design – together with Broadley's services – were then snapped up by the Ford Motor Company as the foundation of its Ford GT program for 1964. The objective being victory at Le Mans.
It didn't quite work out that way. Broadley did not settle well into the ways of a gigantic corporation, and into 1965 he reclaimed his independence. And one of his first new designs was the big, American V8-engined, Lola T70 sports-racing car based upon the kind of aluminum-skinned monocoque chassis he had spent months trying to persuade Ford to adopt, instead of their GT design's heavy steel-skinned tub.
The Lola T70 followed the tradition established by Broadley's initial series of Mark I cars, in that its body design was sleek, streamlined, beautifully proportioned – and utterly gorgeous. The initial Lola T70 Spyder cars used Ford and Chevrolet V8 engines and contested contemporary FIA International Group 7 'unlimited-capacity sports-racing car' events, initially in the UK but very quickly within the USA. Lola's racing program was spearheaded by the quasi-works Team Surtees organization, with drivers John Surtees and Jackie Stewart contributing enormously to the sleek new design's development. Into 1966 John Surtees would win the inaugural Can-Am Championship title in the US and Canada in his spearhead Lola-Chevrolet T70. In 1967 a closed-cockpit Coupe version emerged as the initially Aston Martin V8-engined Lola T70. The design would be further developed into 1968-69 with the T70 Mark III in both open Spyder and closed forms. Lola T70s contested both the Can-Am and FIA World Championship endurance races, plus innumerable US Road Racing Championship, Nordic Cup and British and European Championship events over several seasons.
THE MOTORCAR OFFERED
According to a letter on file from Mr. Larry Webb - crew chief for legendary race car driver Jerry Grant at Dan Gurney's All American Racers team in 1966 - Mr. Webb picked up Lola T70 Mk II Spyder chassis no. SL71/28 from the US Lola distributor, John Mecom, sometime around February of 1966. The AAR Team would affix its own chassis number to the car, and then go on and race it with Jerry Grant at the wheel. According to Mr. Webb, Jerry Grant raced the car at several USRRS racing events during 1966, and after an accident at Mosport in June of 1966, the Lola T70 was rebuild with a new chassis tub acquired from Lola. The Lola continued to race, and indeed gained more success on the track, while also getting bruised up in other accidents. The Lola has seen use on the North American vintage racing circuits in later decades, at events such as the Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival, Toluca Lake Historics and Monterey Historic races. As with many racing cars of this era, there are other Lolas in existence carrying the same chassis number as this car.
Powerful and very competitive, these Lola T70 sports-racing cars made their mark on their era and gives the new owner an entry to a very competitive and exciting racing grid. As always, a mechanical safety check would be advised before driving the car to its limits again. This Lola is offered with its FIA Historic Technical Passport.
Footnotes
Offered on bill of sale
Saleroom notices
Please note this lot is offered on bill of sale
Additional information
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