Page 1 of 2 Next >> The arrival of the full works Porsche 917s and subsequent Ferrari 512s effectively prompted the end of the international racing career of the new-for-1969 Lola T70 Mk3Bs. Instead, the specialist British manufacturer based in Slough set their sights on the European 2 Litre Sports Car Championship set to start in April of 1970 at Paul Ricard. The new series was run for Group 6 prototypes, which meant Lola did not have to worry about homologation issues.
Rivals Chevron and Abarth relied on tried-and-true space frame chassised cars. Having vast experience with similar cars on both sides of the Atlantic, Lola opted to go instead for a sheet-aluminium monocoque, effectively creating a downsized version of the company's latest Can-Am car. This yielded a performance advantage as a monocoque was lighter and more rigid than a space frame, which in turn was slightly cheaper to build and easier to repair.
At the front, the double wishbone suspension was bolted directly onto the monocoque, while at the rear a steel subframe was fitted to support the engine, gearbox and multi-link suspension. The engine of choice was the Ford Cosworth FVC, which was effectively one half of the DFV V8 used in Formula 1. Displacing just under 1.8 litres, it produced an impressive 245 bhp and was mated to a Hewland gearbox. Clothed in a open fibreglass body, the new Lola T210 tipped the scales at just 550 kg. Page 1 of 2 Next >>