1965 - 1966 Lola T70 Mk2 Spyder Ford - Images, Specifications and Information

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Having received no formal automotive engineering training, the former quantity surveyor Eric Broadley relied very much on his intuition and logic when designing his Lola racing cars. He had been so successful that Ford acquired his services to develop what would ultimately become the GT40. Discussions over the materials used for the monocoque chassis eventually made Broadley realize that he much rather built cars on his own; Ford insisted on using steel to make a production version of the racing car easier to build, whereas Broadley wanted to go for a much lighter mix of steel and aluminum.

Halfway through 1964 and less than a year after joining Ford, Broadley was on his own again. He looked closely at the state of motor racing and concluded that building a 'Group 9' racer was the best option. This virtually unlimited class for two-seater sportscar was quickly growing in popularity in Great Britain and North America. The likes of Chaparral and Lotus had already taken an interest in the class, which was mostly filled with backyard specials powered by American V8s. The most famous and successful of these was the Cooper based 'Zerex Special' that was built by Roger Penske and later modified by Bruce McLaren and fitted with an Oldsmobile V8. It would form the basis for a complete range of McLaren racing cars.

Realizing the potential, but also the high level of competition, Broadley started the development of a brand new Lola racing car for 1965. Dubbed the T70, it featured full length and width monocoque similar in design the one used for the Lola Mk VI. To get a good mix of light weight and rigidity constructed of a mix of 60% steel and 40% aluminum. Suspension was independent all-round with double wishbones at the front and at the rear by lower wishbones and top links with twin trailing arms to cope with the engine's torque. The chassis was designed to take any of the American small-block engines, with a displacement of up to six litre. Hewland provided their brand new LG 500 gearbox with four forward gears.

Clothed in a particularly attractive glass reinforced plastic (GRP) body, the Lola T70 was first shown to the world at the 1965 Racing Car Show in London. Lola teamed up with John Surtees and Team Surtees would serve as the Works Team for the coming years. Surtees tested the car, which proved faster than any of the contemporary F1 cars straight out of the box. McLaren also fielded a new car for that season and together with Lotus, the three teams fought for victories during the first half of the season. Surtees quickly scored the T70's maiden victory at Mosport in Canada, showing off the car's capabilities to the most lucrative market. Not surprisingly Lola received well over a dozen orders for the new racer. Broadley was not satisfied and while the first cars were constructed he was already well under way with the design of a new version.

Broadley's biggest concern with the original T70 was that it was too heavy; there was still too much steel in the chassis. The Mk2 T70's monocoque was outwardly very similar to the first design, but other than the cross bracing consisted almost entirely of aluminum. More weight was saved by riveting the sheets together instead of welding. Broadley estimated at least 100 pounds was shaved off the total weight thanks to the new chassis. Detail changes to the suspension and radiators were also carried. After just fifteen T70s tubs were constructed and not even six months after its launch the T70 Mk2 hit the track. Surtees soon showed what the car was indeed a major improvement by scoring a landslide win at the Guards International Trophy at Silverstone. He beat Bruce McLaren by one and a half minute.

In 1966 the T70 Mk2 was the dominant force in sportscar racing, especially those powered by the small-block Chevrolet engine. In England Denny Hulme proved particularly successful in the Sid Taylor entered example. In North America the popularity of the 'big banger' sportscar racers led to the introduction of a brand new championship; the Canadian American Challenge Cup or Can-Am. The new series was a big success, attracting massive crowds and top level entries including the new McLarens and the revolutionary Chaparral 2E. Surtees won the first race and scored another two wins to clinch the title. Two of the other three races were also won by T70s with Dan Gurney scoring the only Can-Am win ever for a Ford-engine.

In Great Britain the spectacular and very fast sports racers were quickly growing in popularity and the organizers feared that they would become too much of a rival for Formula 1. This led to the much criticized decision to cancel all Group 7 & 9 races for 1967. It forced Broadley to once again adapt the design of the T70 to make it suitable for Group 6 endurance racing class and possibly even for the Group 4 GT class, which required a minimum production of 50 cars for homologation. Having sold 47 examples in the past two years, Broadley believed it would not be impossible at all to meet the homologation requirements. A Group 6 version of the T70 would be eligible to run at Le Mans where Broadley would face his previous employer.

Broadley's solution for most of the problems was to offer the Mk3 T70 as a Spyder and a Coupe with both bodies easily interchangeable. The Coupe body was required to be elligible for the Group 6 class. Mechanically the Mk3 was fairly similar to its predecessor. The suspension geometry was altered to suit the new generation of much wider tyres. The Mk3 also sported larger brakes and the five speed LG 600 was available as an option. Many of the British customers replaced the open T70s with the Mk3 Coupes and Denny Hulme was again among the most successful T70 pilots. The Works Coupes were equipped with the new Aston Martin quad-cam V8, which proved to be an absolute disaster.

To defend the Can-Am title, Lola prepared four special lightweight Mk3s for 1967. Close to 50 kg was shaved off the weight by drilling many holes in the front and rear bulkheads. The lightweight cars also were adapted to fit even wider tyres. Known as the Mk3b Spyder, these were raced in the Can-Am by among others Surtees and Roger Penske's prot�g� Mark Donohue. Although obviously a major step forward from the 1966 cars, neither the standard Mk3 or the lightweight Mk3b were capable of taking on McLaren's new M6 in the hands of Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme. It was the start of the Bruce and Denny show; Lola's days were numbered in the Can-Am.

In 1968, the T70 Spyder was replaced by the T160, which was again very similar in design to the original T70 introduced some three years earlier. In Coupe form the T70 was raced for another three seasons with an overall win at the 1969 Daytona 24 Hours as an absolute highlight. In an amazingly short time Eric Broadley created a race winning machine almost from the ground-up and with very limited resources. There is no doubt that the T70 was an essential and highly successful chapter in Lola's rich racing history. Today many examples are still actively raced and needless to say with great success. The demand for them is so high that Lola has recently introduced continuation version of the Coupe.

As mentioned earlier Dan Gurney's win at Bridgehampton in September of 1966 was the only one for a Ford engine. While the blue oval's small block was considerably lighter than the Chevrolet's, its smaller clearances meant that there was little room for expansion. Gurney had to make do with a displacement of five litres, while the competitors were running nearer to six. Thanks to the aluminum heads supplied by Harry Weslake, the V8 produced an impressive 520 bhp, but rarely very reliably. Apart from that win, Gurney managed to place his 'Bardahl Special' Lola on pole twice and also two fastest laps. A year later Gurney campaigned a Ford engined Mk3b and was often the best of the rest behind the two Works McLarens.

Like many of the Spyders, Gurney's old T70 was converted to a Coupe. In recent years it has been fully restored to its original configuration complete with Ford/Weslake V8 engine. Today the historic machine is owned by a great Lola enthusiast, who takes it out quite regularly. It is pictured above at the 2007 Goodwood Festival of Speed by Lola Heritage's Glynd Jones.