Today, the Lola T70 is enjoying a second, very active life in historic races.
They are the centrepiece of sports car events such as Classic Endurance Racing and the Masters races. Its lines remain an unmistakable signature and it delivers high performance. It is a very popular choice with the fastest drivers.
Our car was delivered new in March 1966 to Phil Scragg in the form of a T70 spider MkII, equipped with a Ford V8 289 cid (4.7 litre) engine. Entered in hill climbs in the British RAC championship, it was an immediate success, winning at Craigantlet in Northern Ireland and at Prescott, Phil winning his class twelve times out of thirteen starts that year.
In 1967, it underwent a profound transformation by Williams and Pritchard, receiving a unique ultralight spider body with profiled wings, as well as modifications to the chassis and suspension by Felday Engineering. In this new configuration, Scragg again dominated his category from 1967 to 1969, accumulating 36 victories in 40 races, with notable successes at Prescott (1967) and Scarborough (1968). In 1970, the car passed into the hands of Tony Harrison, who in turn won several victories, notably at the RAC events at Perton and Blackpool.
Subsequently, it had several owners, including David Preece and Terry Smith, the latter fitting it with a 5-litre Chevrolet V8 engine and a Mk IIIB coupe body in 1986. After being in the possession of French collector Yvan Mahé, it was acquired in 1998 by Dennis Galland, who continues to enter our car in European historic races. It changes hands again in France, and will be fully restored on a new chassis to its current configuration as a Lola T70 MK III, original chassis deliver by side.