The Lola MK1 is one of the Lola Cars entries the open record knows by name, and by little else. That is not nothing: a name in the catalogue is where a car's story starts to be recoverable. Eric Broadley (chassis) / Maurice Gomm (coachwork) drew it.
How it came about
The Lola Mk1 is the first sports racing car made by Lola, under the leadership and guidance of Eric Broadley, in 1958. The body was designed and developed by chief stylist Maurice Gomm, made out of a steel or fibreglass tubular spaceframe chassis, covered in a low-profile, sleek, aluminium skin. The 80 hp (60 kW), 1,098 cc (67.0 cu in), Coventry Climax FWA four-cylinder engine was designed by Harry Mundy and Walter Hassan.
The car used a 4-speed manual transmission, and was lightweight, weighing in at 812–840 lb (368–381 kg). It won its class at the 1960 12 Hours of Sebring, being driven by Charles Vögele and Peter Ashdown. At least 32 cars were known to have been built, but the actual number is believed to be between 38 and 42.
The hardware
NNN hp is the published figure. It weighs 812-840 lb. The wheelbase is 75-85 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Its family tree is legible: its successor was the Lola T120. Its Lola Cars stablemates include the Hill GH1 and the Lola B02/50.