Lola Cars are one of the most storied automotive brands in the world and is not a name that can be revived without context. Founded in 1958, the British manufacturer built race cars that competed at the highest levels of motorsport across Formula 1, endurance racing, and Can Am, driven by icons like Surtees, Andretti and Stewart. Similar to Lotus founder Colin Champan's philosophy of "less is more," Lola cars also focused on weight reduction, engineering machines with a singular purpose, to win. In fact, the Lola Mk6 GT prototype, is what made the first GT40 possible.
It is that intent shaped both its reputation and its legacy. Now, after years of relative silence and a formal revival in 2022, Lola has chosen to return with one of its most recognizable creations, unveiling the T70S at an intimate gathering in London last week and introducing it what its describing as a sustainable classic.
To understand the significance of the T70S, it helps to revisit the origins of the original T70, which first appeared in 1965 as a design by Eric Broadley which followed a straightforward but highly effective formula. It combined a lightweight British chassis with a potent American V8, resulting in a car that delivered substantial power. It proved competitive almost immediately and by 1966, the T70 had was an established in the Can Am championship. By 1969 it secured one of its most important victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona, where the Mk3B driven by Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons finished ahead of the Ford GT40 and Porsche 908, both of which were widely regarded as benchmarks at the time.
The new T70S continuation is available across two distinct variants, remains closely aligned with that history, and Lola has approached its development with a level of precision that reflects both respect for the original and an understanding of modern expectations. The company began by scanning archival drawings and period-correct cars before rebuilding the entire vehicle digitally in CAD, creating an exact three-dimensional reference point from which the car could be re-engineered.
The T70S retains the same power output, the same weight, and the same mechanical configuration as the original car, while benefiting from modern manufacturing tolerances that engineers in the 1960s could only approximate. The result is a pure form that appears, nearly identical to its predecessor with some truly exquisite period-correct details like the wheels, headlights and mirrors. With its long tail, enclosed wraparound cockpit, and compact footprint, it is just over 166 inches in length, and is noticeably smaller than most contemporary performance cars.
The T70S retains the core mechanical philosophy that defined the original car, with the track focused version powered by a naturally aspirated 5.0 liter Chevy small-block V8 mounted behind the driver and producing 530 horsepower and 425 pound-feet of torque. Power is delivered through a five speed manual gearbox supplied by Hewland, with no electronic systems intervening, which places the emphasis firmly on mechanical connection and driver input. With a dry weight of just 1,896 pounds, the performance figures reflect that simplicity, 0 to 60 mph time takes 2.5 seconds and a top speed of 203 mph.
For context, that works out to roughly 617 horsepower per tonne, a figure that places the T70S firmly in modern hypercar territory despite its fully analog layout. A Ferrari LaFerrari delivers about 600 horsepower per tonne, while a McLaren P1 sits close at roughly 605 horsepower per tonne, both relying on hybrid systems to reach those levels
The second variant, the T70S GT, offers a version adapted for road use (approved in the U.K.) while maintaining the same underlying structure, featuring a larger 6.2 liter V8 that puts out 500 horsepower and 455 pound-feet of torque along with a modest increase in weight to about 1,962 pounds. 60 mph takes just under 3.0 seconds and top speed is a healthy 200 mph. The interior features Alcantara trim and revised ergonomics, including climate control, while remaining largely minimal in its execution. Both versions share an aluminum monocoque chassis with double wishbone suspension at the front and rear, along with 12-inch brakes and four-piston calipers that reflect the car’s origins in competition. In spirit, Porsche's 1-of-1 street-legal 917 built for Count Rossi comes closest.
Where the T70S differs most clearly from its predecessor is in its construction, as Lola has introduced what it calls the Natural Composite System, a material that replaces conventional petrochemical resins with a combination of flax and basalt fibers bonded by a resin derived from sugarcane waste. The company states that this approach can reduce carbon dioxide emissions during production by up to 54 percent, and it extends beyond the bodywork to include magnesium components produced through lower-impact processes involving seawater extraction. Each car is made up of more than 1,900 individual components, a detail that reflects the level of precision involved in its assembly and the extent to which modern manufacturing has been applied to a historic design.
Development of the T70S was overseen by former Formula 1 driver Johnny Herbert, who focused on refining the tactile aspects of the driving experience, including gearshift feel, seating position, and steering feedback. As Till Bechtolsheimer, the chairman of Lola Cars, noted, the T70 remains one of the most iconic racing cars ever built, and the T70S is intended to preserve that identity while adapting it to a different context.
Production will be limited to just 16 examples across both variants, and while pricing has not been disclosed, it is expected to place the car within the upper tier of the collector car market. For Lola, the T70S is an effort to reconcile a legacy built on mechanical simplicity with a contemporary focus on materials and manufacturing, creating a car that carries its history forward without attempting to reinterpret it.
