Page 1 of 2 Next >> At the end of the 1969 season, Lola's Eric Broadley realised the Group 5 T70 Coupe was no match for the might of Porsche and Ferrari, so instead he switched his attention to the two-litre Group 6 class. This was quickly gaining interest and for 1970 a European Sportscar Championship was established especially for these prototypes. Lola developed the highly sophisticated T210 and in 1971, the T212 evolution won the Championship, beating closest rivals Chevron.
When the Group 5 regulations were drastically changed ahead of the 1972 season, effectively banning the existing big banger sports racers, the Group 6 class became even more important. This prompted Lola to develop a brand new car for the ground up that could be used as two-litre (T290) but also in three-litre (T280) form. In charge of the design was Bob Marston, assisted by Patrick Head and John Barnard, who would go on to become leading racing car designers in their own right.
Like the T210, Lola's second generation Group 6 car was built around an aluminium monocoque chassis with independent suspension and outboard disc brakes on all four corners. The front suspension was by double wishbones while the rear used a reversed lower wishbones, top links and twin trailing arms. The car was clothed in a straightforward fibreglass body, which compared to rivals Chevron and Abarth was relatively curvaceous. Downforce was provided at the rear by a small wing that was mounted at the trailing edge and almost flush with the engine cover. Page 1 of 2 Next >>
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At the end of the 1969 season, Lola's Eric Broadley realised the Group 5 T70 Coupe was no match for the might of Porsche and Ferrari, so instead he switched his attention to the two-litre Group 6 class. This was quickly gaining interest and for 1970 a European Sportscar Championship was established especially for these prototypes. Lola developed the highly sophisticated T210 and in 1971, the T212 evolution won the Championship, beating closest rivals Chevron.