T70 sportscar
In some ways the T70 was a failure. It only won one world sportscar championship race – a fortuitous success courtesy of Penske in the 1969 Daytona 24 Hours – and in coupe form it never fulfilled its potential. But the T70 is iconic, the machine most think of when the name Lola is mentioned, and is widely regarded as one of the best-looking sports-racers of all time.
Although initially involved with Ford’s GT project, which eventually led to the GT40 and four Le Mans victories, Eric Broadley soon fell out with the management. His vision was rather different and the lighter T70 was closer to what he had in mind than the GT40, notwithstanding the fact his Lola Mk6 formed the basis of Ford’s programme.
Things started well with the early Spyder versions. John Surtees (above) took the inaugural Can-am crown in his T70 and Lola won all bar one race of that 1966 season. Thereafter, however, Mclaren gained the ascendancy.
In coupe form the Mk3 was a fine customer sportscar and took many domestic successes. On the world stage, however, it was overshadowed. Surtees’ 1967 Aston Martin-engined version was a disaster and, while Chevrolet V8s ultimately proved to be better, no Lolas could consistently get among the Ford v Porsche fight in ’68.
The MK3B was a significant redesign, arguably requiring a new designation but for the need to meet homologation rules. Privateers occasionally showed flashes of the stiffer car’s potential – most notably at the 1969 Spa 1000Km (where Paul Hawkins took pole ahead of all the Porsches) and Osterreichring 1000Km (where Jo Bonnier/ Herbert Muller battled the new Porsche 917) – but the theft of Penske’s T70 denied the car its best chance for international success. It had qualified second at Sebring after taking its Daytona win, behind only Ferrari’s new 312P and ahead of all the Porsches and GT40S. Otherwise, the T70 never had a top-level outfit, such as the JW Automotive team that kept the GT40 competitive.
By 1970 the T70 had been left behind by Ferrari’s 512 and the 917, but Brian Redman, who raced both T70 and 917, is in no doubt about its abilities: “The 917 in its original form with a 4.5-litre engine produced a reliable 570bhp, compared to the Chevrolet’s unreliable 500bhp. I have no doubt that if the MK3B had the power and reliability of the Porsche the T70 would have been a very formidable competitor. It had no real weakness, apart from the damn engine!”
“IT GOES LIKE STINK IN A STRAIGHT LINE. IT’S GOT DOLLOPS OF POWER BUT THAT POWER IS ACCESSIBLE. IT DOESN’T FEEL LIKE IT’S GOING TO KILL YOU”