Lola at 60 with the very first and last cars ...
Sixty years ago, Eric Broadley built the very first of what would become a long line of hugely successful racing cars. Dubbed the Lola Mk1, Broadley had built the car for himself to race and not long after the small sports car made its debut, he scored the first victory. Production versions of the Mk1 followed and close to three dozen examples were built of that very first design. The Prototype is still around and the current owner does it justice by frequently racing it with considerable success. Its most recent outing during Lola's 60th anniversary year was at last week's Spa Six Hours and as fate would have it, the event also featured the very last Lola built; the B12/60 Mazda. This particular car was not raced until the 2013 season and as such actually debuted after Lola had already folded. One of two built, it was raced in the American Le Mans Series where its sister car won a race in 2012. Chassis B1260-HU02 could do no better than a pole position and no fewer than five second place finishes out of nine starts. It is today raced with considerable verve in the new Masters Endurance Legends series.
Another Lola in action at Spa was this very rare T390. This was the two-litre version of the T380 sports racer and was produced in 1975 only. Five cars were built and the featured example is one of only two known to have survived.
Enjoy the links:
2012 Lola B12/60 Mazda - Images, Specifications and Information
1975 Lola T390 Ford - Images, Specifications and Information
1958 - 1961 Lola Mk1 Climax - Images, Specifications and Information
If you should see a man walking down a crowded street talking aloud to himself, don't run in the opposite direction, but run towards him, because he's a poet. You have nothing to fear from the poet - but the truth.
(Ted Joans)
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