Technology in race cars (10): Lola Mk6 GT - race car blueprint for the future

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Technology in race cars (10): Lola Mk6 GT - race car blueprint for the future

Created on November 10, 2021

Text:

Gerhard Schütz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Robin Adams - Courtesy of RM Auctions

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Archiv Gerhard Schütz

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Archiv

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Lola MK6 GT (1963) - Plateau 4 - Le Mans Classic 2016

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Lola GT (1963) - there are still parts of the new racing car outside the workshop

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Lola GT (1963) - the car with the Ford 4.7-liter engine under construction

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Lola GT (1963) - Broadley (center) seems to be wondering if the gearbox will last

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Lola GT (1963) - Eric Broadley (center) discusses the problems with the Colotti gearbox with an employee

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Lola GT (1963) - the similarities with the later Ford GT are not coincidental - seen here at the first public presentation at the London racing car show in 1963 - also drove with starting number 6 at Le Mans 1963

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Lola GT (1963) - the new GT from Broadley appeared a few days after opening at the 1963 London Racing Car Show - with Richard Attwood as driver, it was then also at the start of the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans

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Lola GT (1963) - View of the spartan interior, seen at the London Motor Show 1963

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Lola GT (1963) - the water cooler and the spare wheel are located at the front

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Lola Mk6 GT (1963) - the cockpit of the restored prototype

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Lola Mk6 GT (1963) - The V-8 engine is supported by two box-shaped extension arms of the central monocoque chassis

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Lola Mk6 GT (1963) - see-through drawing - full transparency

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Lola GT (1963) - Eric Broadley supervises the completion of his sports car

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Lola GT (1963) - at its first outing on the Nürburgring

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Lola GT (1963) - at its first outing on the Nürburgring

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Lola GT (1963) - with hand-painted start number, as was customary at the time

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Lola Mk6 GT (1963) at Le Mans 1963 - Lola owner Eric Broadley (left) in conversation with race control - the ultra low-slung Lola still had to undergo some modifications

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Lola Mk6 GT (1963) at Le Mans 1963 - Before the race, the Lola Mk6 is ready for inspection by the race organizers

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Lola GT (1963) - Rear axle and the stubborn gearbox

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Lola Mk6 GT (1963) at Le Mans 1963 - Richard Attwood and David Hobbs retired after about a third of the race distance.

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Lola Mk6 GT (1963) - the accident at Le Mans caused hardly any damage to the monocoque

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Lola GT (1963) at Le Mans in 1963 - the lost rear hood after the accident in the "S" of Tetre Rouche

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Ford GT 40 (1964) - John Wyer, Eric Broadley (Lola) and Roy Lunn proudly show off the new GT shortly before loading it for transportation to the New York Auto Show; it will later show off its talents at the Nürburging

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Ford GT 40 (1965) - the shape of the first versions is still very reminiscent of the Lola GT

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Lola Mk 6 GT (1963) - Chassis LGT-2 - offered at the RM Auction Monterey on August 15/16, 2014

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Lola Mk 6 GT (1963) - Chassis LGT-2 - offered at the RM Auction Monterey on August 15/16, 2014

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Lola Mk 6 GT (1963) - Chassis LGT-2 - offered at the RM Auction Monterey on August 15/16, 2014

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Lola Mk 6 GT (1963) - Chassis LGT-2 - offered at the RM Auction Monterey on August 15/16, 2014

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Lola Mk 6 GT (1963) - Chassis LGT-2 - offered at the RM Auction Monterey on August 15/16, 2014

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Lola Mk 6 GT (1963) - Chassis LGT-2 - offered at the RM Auction Monterey on August 15/16, 2014

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Lola Mk 6 GT (1963) - Chassis LGT-2 - offered at the RM Auction Monterey on August 15/16, 2014

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Lola Mk 6 GT (1963) - Chassis LGT-2 - offered at the RM Auction Monterey on August 15/16, 2014

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Lola Mk 6 GT (1963) - Chassis LGT-2 - offered at the RM Auction Monterey on August 15/16, 2014

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Summary

With the Lola Mk6 GT, Eric Broadley developed the model for many successful sports car GT prototypes of the second half of the sixties: aluminium monocoque, mid-engine, lightweight plastic body, optimized aerodynamics. The Ford GT40 can also be seen as a further development of the original Lola GT and shows that the concept was right. This article from the series "Technology in racing cars from 1958 to 1978" describes the design of the Lola Mk6 GT from 1963.

This article contains the following chapters

Accident at Le Mans
The little ones show the big ones
Pioneer

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The years 1958-1978 were the two most creative decades in the history of racing technology. This series portrays the most innovative, pioneering and exotic designs of Formula 1, Indy cars, sports cars and CanAm, and at the same time traces the major lines of development that still have an impact today. The series started with Lotus, one of the most important innovation drivers of these two decades. And the series will also finish with Lotus: With the first ground-effect Formula 1 to win a world championship in 1978, the Type 79. A saloon lion as a gene pool for a Le Mans winner? What a career! When the Lola Mk 6 GT appeared at the "Olympia Racing Car Show" in January 1963, it looked absolutely futuristic at the time. The public and the press were electrified: "The Lola makes a Ferrari Berlinetta look like a truck", "the obvious potential of the car takes your breath away" - the press struggled for words.

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