The Lola T70S, a reborn Can-Am racer, is a sight to behold, with its sleek design and powerful 5.0-litre, race-built small-block Chevrolet V8 engine. When the engine roars to life, it’s surprisingly quiet, thanks to the strict noise limits at the MIRA test track in Warwickshire.
This car is not actually from the late 1960s, but a brand new, inch-perfect recreation, built to the exact specifications of the original. Lola’s comeback was spearheaded by a Formula E entry, but this is something more akin to what it’s best known for.
A Faithful Recreation
Only 16 of these cars will be built, split between a track-only racing version and a road car, which will get a few more nods to modern usability and be powered by a different, emissions-compliant 6.2-litre Chevy V8. This prototype, though, is the racer, and it’s so faithful to the original that it gets a full FIA Historic Technical Passport.
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Despite its vintage design, the T70S features ultra-modern construction that emphasizes sustainability. The body panels are made from a new, patent-pending material called Lola Natural Composite System (LNCS) constructed from flax fibre and volcanic basalt rock.
Testing the T70S
Lola has enlisted Johnny Herbert, a three-time F1 race winner and once a teammate to Michael Schumacher at Bennetton, to handle the T70S’s testing. Now 62 and retired from professional racing, Herbert appears to have lost none of his racing driver instincts.
As I watch him thrashing the T70S around MIRA’s handling circuit, snatching big handfuls of opposite lock and having a couple of big, smoky lockups, it’s clear that this car is a real racing machine. When I get the chance to ride shotgun, I’m struck by the car’s savagely fast acceleration and its keenness and agility in the corners.
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The T70S feels every bit as fast as you’d expect a sub-tonne, 530bhp racing car to feel. It corners with a real keenness and agility. The brakes will lock up, the back end will break loose, and it will punish the unwary and the overzealous.
Sustainability and the Future
The most fascinating part of this project is the sustainability aspect. The car industry of the future might be able to benefit from a project very much rooted in a celebration of the past. Matt Faulks, Lola’s executive innovation director, says they are already in talks with several others about using LNCS, although it’s not quite ready to talk about who yet.
If they can truly scale up some of the eco-friendly innovations at play here, then the car industry of the future might be able to benefit from a project like the T70S. Now, they just need to have a listen to it somewhere with less strict noise limits, to really experience its full potential.
