Lola Mk1

The Mk 1 was an elegant design comprising a multi-tubular
chassis constructed from bronze-welded 20-gauge square steel tubing, it weighed
only 60 lbs (27 kg). The front suspension consisted of wide-based fabricated
double wishbones with Morris Minor uprights and a BMC steering rack. At the
rear the driveshaft acted as the transverse link which together with a trailing
arm gave the effect of an upper wishbone whilst the lower wishbone was
fabricated from three tubes and the use of eccentric joints allowed for
adjustments to both camber and toe in/out. 15" Cooper wheels were used
whilst Triumph TR2 drum brakes fitted with Alfin drums were utilised front and
rear with the rear inboard to take care of stopping the Mk1. Finally an Austin
A30 gearbox with Lotus close-ratio gears and a BMC 4.55:1 differential were
fitted. Maurice Gomm built an attractive aluminium body to clothe the chassis,
a Climax FWA unit was purchased for £250 and in July 1958 the first true Lola
was registered as 600 DKJ and was ready to race. Construction of the car took
place in the Bromley garage of a friend of Eric's Rob Rushbrook who had some of
the machining facilities necessary in the construction of the car. On
completion of the car Rob became a frequent helper at the race meetings where
Eric was racing the new Mk1.

Right from the start the Mk1 proved
an immediate success with Eric finishing second at Snetterton in only the Mk1's
second race and a win followed immediately when Eric won his heat in a
sportscar race at Brands Hatch by some 24 seconds and the Mk1 became the first
sportscar to lap the Club Circuit in less than a minute. To further underline
the promise of the new car on the same day Eric finished fourth in the race for
sportscars up to 1500cc despite starting from the back of the grid. 

It wasn't long before the requests to
buy a MK1 began and using the proceeds of selling the first car and a loan of
£1000 from his father Eric founded Lola Cars Limited. Setting up shop at
Maurice Gomm's workshop in Byfleet, Surrey an initial run of three cars was
undertaken for the 1959 season, one to be the works car, the other two to be
sold, one to America. These first three production Mk1s bore the BY prefix (for
Byfleet) to their chassis numbers. The works car would be driven by Peter Ashdown
who was offered a run in the Mk1 when Eric was testing it at Brands, after
being conclusively faster than it's designer Eric sensibly decided that his
talents were better suited to design rather than race driving. 

For the 1959 season success followed
success with a 1-2-3 in the Chichester Cup at Goodwood and a victory at
Clermont-Ferrand as well as a class win in the RAC Tourist Trophy. Eric was
finding travelling from his home in Orpington to West Byfleet to be too
time-consuming and at the end of 1959 new premises were built next to Rob
Rushbrook's Bromley premises. During 1960 19 Mk1s would leave the Lola shop all
bearing the BR prefix to indicate their Bromley parentage. A number of
improvements were included in the 1960 models including the adoption of a
Specialised Mouldings fibreglass body, power was also boosted with the Mark III
FWA producing 90 bhp at 7,200 rpm. The 1960 Autosport Sports Car Championship
saw a Mk1 1-2 in the 1150 cc class with Peter Ashdown's works car heading Alan
Rees, Ashdown would repeat this success in 1961. Internationally there were
class wins at the Sebring 12 Hours and the Nürburgring 1000km for Charles
Vögele and Peter Ashdown, both of these events were rouns of the Woirld Sports
Car Championship. There was another class win at the 1961 Nürburgring 1000km
for Chris Kerrison and Peter Sergent as well as at the Sebring 12 hours for
Charlie Kurtz and Millard Ripley . 

Production of the Mk1 continued through to 1962 with 7 more
Mk1's being built in 1961 and a further 3 in 1962 as well as the one-off Mk1A (q.v.). Further small
modifications were made and the cars were offered in an almost bewildering
number of permutations with differing brake specifications, a choice of
gearboxes from Ford and BMC dependant on engine choice. Possible engine choices
included the Ford 105E or 109E, Coventry Climax 1100cc FWA or 1216cc FWE. Final
specifications at the end of the Mk1 development even offered a 1470cc engine
with a claimed 120 bhp on tap, which engine this was isn't clear since the Climax
FWB was a 1460cc, 100 bhp unit. 
(Courtesy Lola Heritage)