Lot 220: 1966 Lola T70 Spider Mark II - FiA Papers - Ex John Mecom and Jim Hall

From the design of its very first car, it was clear that in founder Eric Broadley Lola had indeed a talented designer at its helm. The Lola Mk 1 of 1958 - following Broadley's first car, a 750cc Formula, Ford 1,172cc engined special built two years earlier - was to dominate 1,100cc sportscar racing in the late Sixties, and it was the attention that it drew that led to numerous requests for replicas. By the 1970s this most prolific of racing car manufacturers could supply anything from Formula Ford single-seaters and sportscar club racers to international GT and Formula One machines. Following the 1963 launch of the beautiful Lola GT sports-prototype, with aluminium monocoque chassis and powered by a mid-mounted 4.2 litre Ford V8 engine, the American giant couldn't help but take notice and duly commissioned Broadley to design the fabulous GT40, the Lola GT essentially being the basis from which the famous Ford was developed. After the end of Broadley's involvement with the GT40 project and his relationship with Ford, whose management style he didn't agree with, Lola then produced its second GT/sportscar, the formidable T70 of 1964, as a direct result. Initially the car was built only as an open spider and John Surtees, who had been involved with the car's development with the blessing of Ferrari, to whom he was contracted to race in Grand Prix and sportscar events, duly took the Lola to outright victory in the inaugural CanAm Series the following year. A logical carry-on from the GT40, the large capacity V8-powered T70 was hugely popular and successful in America, initially in spider form but also as a closed coupe. In either guise, its bulbous but sensuously curved, fibreglass body was aerodynamically effective, which together with a predictable and safe handling chassis made the Lola a big hit with drivers from the top echelons of motor racing. The T70 in coupé form went on to enjoy great success in long distance, GT and sportscar endurance events in the late 1960s, and on every continent, usually with Chevrolet but sometimes with Ford V8 power mated to its Hewland transaxle - although Team Surtees' own project using two cars powered by Aston Martin's then new V8 was unable to fulfil the promise of its qualifying pace due to a severe lack of development - and the remarkable Lola was still winning internationally in Mk IIIB form in 1970. It remains a formidable force in historic motor sport throughout the world today and is rightly regarded as an absolute icon of sportscar racing. When production ceased in 1967, some 100 Lola T70s had been built. Manufactured in 1966, this superb T70 Spider Mk II was exported to the United States when new and sold by Chaparral-founder Jim Hall through North American Lola distributor John Mecom, whose eponymous racing team was also an entrant in the CanAm Series. After competing in America for one season, it passed to a new owner in South Africa at the end of the year where it remained until 1986. Chassis SL7½8, one of some 35 T70 Mk II Spiders produced, then returned to Great Britain and in 1991 it was acquired by Luxembourg resident Jean-Paul Bertrand. The Lola then underwent a two year restoration before being purchased in 1998 by G. Diefemthal in Germany. Subsequently the car was raced in the French Resistance Championship between 2001 and 2005. Finished in yellow, and fitted with a 5.7 litre Chevrolet V8 and Hewland LG600 transaxle, it comes with a comprehensive spares package, including body panels, engine block and crankshaft, pistons, cylinder heads, valve gear, manifolds, distributor, exhaust system, clutch assembly, gear ratios, suspension springs, steering rack, brake discs, calipers and pads, gasket sets and much more. Complete with FIA papers, FSA Technical Passport, and a Certificate of Conformity for its bag fuel tank valid until February 2011, this fabulous Lola is offered in excellent condition and ready to race.