Racing royalty isn’t a phrase that needs to be thrown around. There are important elements to racing, sure, and they are worthy of their own moment in the sun, but “royalty” should be reserved for the rare, the capable, the enviable. Richard Petty is racing royalty. The Ford GT40 is racing royalty. And by default, the Lola Mk6 is racing royalty. Lola has been known for building some of the world’s most premier chassis and racing vehicles, but in 1962, when the Mk6 project was first conceived, the company had only been around for five years. The Mk6 was designed to take full advantage of rewritten FIA rules for the Experimental Grand Touring class and was one of the first Grand Touring cars to attempt a mid-mounted design that used a large-displacement V8, in this case the Ford 260ci V8. Backed to a Colotti four-speed tranaxle and weighing in at 2,100 pounds, the Mk6 had plenty of potential. There was no frame…instead, two of the three cars used an aluminum monocoque (the prototype used a steel monocoque) and with 350 or so horsepower pushing them along, the sleek Mk6 could run. Even with the wrong gears in the car at the 1963 24 Hours of LeMans, a certain major manufacturer was paying close attention to the little Lola: Ford.
In case you haven’t made the connection, the Lola is the inspiration for the GT40. Ford bought the car and brought on the car’s chassis designer, Eric Broadley, into the GT40 project early on. Broadley managed to get out of his contract and in 1965, brought out the Lola T70, one of Lola’s most successful sports cars. The GT40’s history is well known as well, but as for the three Mk6s…well, they don’t see the light of day much, but Allen Grant brought this car for Leno to check out. He’s owned the car since 1965 and has taken great care of the machine, which is fresh from a recent restoration.
A auto paleontologists “missing link”.
Absolutely stunning!