It isn’t hard to be swept up in the idea of racing a classic sportscar. The romance of the era is undeniable, when the great names of the past would wrestle with wild machines on iconic circuits in the name of sport. And a jolly good time. For all the advances made in racing in the decades since, there’s something about the '50s and '60s that remains so enchanting, when top-level GT cars were road-ready as well. Just look at how popular the RAC TT Celebration is at Goodwood; those cars are beautiful, and seriously fast, but also relatively simple by the standards of what followed.
All looks tremendously good fun, although the racing spectacle of course overlooks all the hassle that must go into campaigning a 50-year-old competition car. Support for historic racing is probably better than ever now, but imagine how hard certain parts must now be to get hold of for really special stuff. Before even thinking about the cost. Must take some of the fun out of racing, even for the super-rich, if every minor fix becomes an expensive one.
Which is why the Lola T70 always had (and continues to hold) so much appeal. Because as well as being ruddy fast and properly competitive against its rivals (a one-two at the Daytona 24 hours in 1969 was the most memorable T70 triumph), they’re relatively simple beasts even by the standards of the era. A small block V8 maybe didn’t have the prestige of a V12, but it meant dependable power now and then. There’s surely a lot to be said for that when you want to race a car as much as possible. This one has a 5.7-litre Chevrolet V8 with 450hp; more than enough in something that’ll weigh as much as a toboggan.
This T70 has period-specific racing history, too; chassis SL73/104 was built in 1967 and raced during that year and the 1968 season of the United States Road Racing Championship. In that time this very car secured podiums at Laguna Seca and Bridgehampton, which certainly can’t be said for every old racing car. The Lola even ran in some Can-Am events. It was restored during its time in a collection during the early '00s, and features in John Starkey’s book “Lola T70: The Racing History & Individual Chassis Record”. It’s a proper piece of '60s sportscar racing history.
While later T70 coupes will be even faster around a track, there’s something incredibly evocative (not to say a little bit scary) about the purity of these Spyders. It’s you, the honking great V8, a chassis with a very pretty body on top… and that’s it. The power and the challenge of it have drawn people back to T70s for decades. The Lola’s reputation certainly won’t have been harmed by just how perfect it looks, either.
This Spyder is especially interesting as a road-registered example, and a T70 on the public highway promises to make most new supercars feel a tad sterile. It’s really intended to race, though, and Le Mans Coupes - selling this Lola on behalf of a customer - can detail what’s required for a new Historic Technical Passport. With one of those it’ll be eligible for competition across the globe, and what a privilege that’ll be. Easily worth whatever getting a new HTP will cost. Racing something like a T70 will never be a truly affordable endeavour, though it’ll surely offer spectacular value for the exhilaration on offer. It’s Price on Application for the moment; best pick up the phone for a 2025 classic racer before somebody else does.
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