Lot 207: Lola T70 Mark III Spyder Replica Rolling Chassis

By the end of 1964 American V8-engined cars were dominating unlimited-capacity sports car racing not only within the US but also in the UK and Europe. The Lotus-Ford 30 had emerged to its troubled debut in England and America while Bruce McLaren�s new team had developed its prototype McLaren-Oldsmobile M1A. Such existing British chassis as the Cooper Monaco and the Lotus 19 had been modified to accommodate Detroit V8 engines, while such American home-grown products as the Scarab and particularly Jim Hall�s new �plastic fantastic� Chaparrals could offer formidable opposition.

Eric Broadley of Lola Cars Limited in Slough, England, was completing his consultancy period with Ford Advanced Vehicles � the programme which produced the Ford GT and GT40 models � and he conceived the Lola T70 as a dual purpose open or closed car.

It would appear that in period at least 15 Lola T70 Mark I Spider cars were produced and sold by the Slough-based manufacturer, followed by at least 33 Lola T70 Mark 2 chassis through 1966-67. Another 35 further-refined and improved Lola T70 Mark 3s then followed in 1967-68 � of which some authorities contend that 19 were Spiders and 12 enclosed-cabin endurance-racing T70GT Coup�s. This whole family of mouth-wateringly beautiful, supremely high-performance rear-engined sports-racing cars is completed by a further four T70 Mark IIIB open-cockpit Spider cars constructed in 1967 and (arguably) 23-25 T70GT Mark IIIB Coupes built into 1970-71.

This particular car � in rolling chassis guise - is a beautifully-fabricated replica of a Lola-Chevrolet T70 Spider in effective Group 7 CanAm competition guise Lola and has been on long-term display. It was manufactured by the noted specialist company of Sbarro in Switzerland, whose proprietor Franco Sbarro was of course prominent within the world-famous Scuderia Filipinetti organisation during its long frontline competition career with Ferrari and Porsche cars during the 1960s and �70s.

Since the FIA governing body of motor sport changed Historic racing acceptance regulations to accept such replica cars, this would be � when completed - a raceable proposition providing a new owner with an effectively �as-new� road racing machine of the most stupendous potential!