Ben Adams driving his 1961, Lola Mk1 down the Wellington Straight, at Silverstone during the Stirling Moss Trophy for Pre '61 Sportscars
Lola Cars International Ltd. was a racing car engineering company founded in 1958 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon, England. Enduring more than fifty years, it was one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of racing cars in the world. Lola Cars started by building small front-engined sports cars, and branched out into Formula Junior cars before diversifying into a wider range of sporting vehicles. Lola was acquired by Martin Birrane[1] in 1998 after the unsuccessful MasterCard Lola attempt at Formula One. Lola Cars was a brand of the Lola Group, which combined former rowing boat manufacturer Lola Aylings and Lola Composites, that specialized in carbon fibre production. After a period in bankruptcy administration, Lola Cars International ceased trading on 5 October 2012.[2] Many of Lola's assets were subsequently purchased by a partnership composed of Multimatic Engineering and the Carl A. Haas Automotive company. The Mk 1 was an elegant design comprising a multi-tubular chassis constructed from bronze-welded 20-gauge square steel tubing, it weighed only 60 lbs (27 kg). The front suspension consisted of wide-based fabricated double wishbones with Morris Minor uprights and a BMC steering rack. At the rear the driveshaft acted as the transverse link which together with a trailing arm gave the effect of an upper wishbone whilst the lower wishbone was fabricated from three tubes and the use of eccentric joints allowed for adjustments to both camber and toe in/out. 15" Cooper wheels were used whilst Triumph TR2 drum brakes fitted with Alfin drums were utilised front and rear with the rear inboard to take care of stopping the Mk1. Finally an Austin A30 gearbox with Lotus close-ratio gears and a BMC :1 differential were fitted. Maurice Gomm built an attractive aluminium body to clothe the chassis, a Climax FWA unit was purchased for £250 and in July 1958 the first true Lola was registered as 600 DKJ and was ready to race.
Size: 4785px × 3314px
Location: Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 8TN
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1216cc, 61, 1961, 2019, adams, ben, black, broadley, car, cars, chassis, class, classic, cockpit, eric, helmet, historic, international, lola, mk1, moss, motosport, multi-tubular, pre, race, s1, silverstone, sports, sportscars, stirling, straight, track, trophy, wellington
