Younger motorsport fans might only know the Lola name as a Formula E team, but from 1958 until 2012 it was a famed manufacturer of racing cars, constructing their own sports cars and F1 entries along with building vehicles for various other teams and manufacturers. And now the Lola T70 Mk3B is added to Project Motor Racing.
The history of the company is worth checking out, after founder Eric Broadley built his first car in 1956 and was asked to build copies for other racers due to the immediate success it found. And one of the most iconic cars they produced in their original heyday was the Lola T70 Mk3B GT.
Developed in 1965, the T70 took drivers to 91 pole positions, 348 podiums and 232 wins including taking first and second at the 1969 24 Hours of Daytona. The aerodynamic shape and monocoque steel tube construction was usually home to a 5 litre Chevrolet small-block V8, which was the configuration taking five out of six wins during the inaugral 1966 Can-Am season. Champion John Surtees took three wins, with the other Lola victories taken by Mark Donohue and Dan Gurney.
Rule changes and the availability of higher octane petrol used in America meant that the cars weren’t as successful in European racing, and an Aston Martin V8 failed to provide a good solution. But with homologation rules meaning more than 100 examples were built to continue racing through the late 1960s, the availability of the T70 meant various cars were disguised as Porsche 917s and Ferrari 512s for the 1970 Steve McQueen film Le Mans, and one also appeared in George Lucas first commercial film THX 1138.
Replaced by the Group 7 Lola T160 and T165, the Lola T70 Mk3B GT is instantly recognisable as a 1960s endurace car, still capable of reaching more than 200mph and 0-100kmh in 3 seconds during an era when drivers had no aids to help them get to the finish line.
The Lola T70 Mk3B GT is the first car to be added into the Sports Car 70 class, with at least one more coming for the release of Project Motor Racing for PC and consoles later in 2025.
Keep up with the latest Project Motor Racing news and updates here, along with the Project Motor Racing car list and track list so far.
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