Guide: Lola Mk6 GT
Background
Lola’s first sports racing car, the Mk1, had proven an enormous success. Powered by an 1100cc Coventry Climax engine, it won multiple titles including the BRSCC Sports Car Championship in 1959, 1960 and 1961.
By late 1962, Mk1 production had ended and Lola’s F1 sponsor, Bowmaker, had withdrawn from motor racing.
Lola boss, Eric Broadley, decided to quit top flight single seater racing and embark on a major Sports car programme for 1963 instead. His pioneering Mk6 GT was the result and, in true Lola fashion, it mixed cutting edge design with handsome looks.
The Mk6 was the first GT racing car to employ a mid-mounted American V8.
The Ford engine Broadley selected was fitted to a state-of-the-art monocoque and draped with a lightweight fibreglass body.
So impressive was the concept that, after the Ford Motor Company failed in their bid to buy Ferrari, they acquired the Mk6 GT project while still in its infancy. This ultimately spawned the legendary Ford GT40 which finally broke Ferrari’s stranglehold at Le Mans.
The 1963 World Sportscar Championship comprised two separate contests: the International Championship for GT Manufacturers and the International Trophy for GT Prototypes.
To qualify for the International Championship for GT Manufacturers, a production run of at least 100 identical vehicles had to be built in a twelve-month period. Racing variants could then be equipped with special bodies and a stiffened but not lightened chassis.
By contrast, the International Trophy for GT Prototypes had no such restrictions.
As an experimental GT with no hope of meeting the 100-car homologation requirement, the Mk6 GT would run as a Prototype. It would be pitched against top flight cars from Ferrari, Aston Martin, Maserati and Lister.
Chassis
To save time, the first Mk6 GT monocoque was built from steel whereas the two subsequent examples were aluminium.
Other than Jaguar’s E-type, practically all Lola’s competitors relied on a tubular spaceframe chassis.
Broadley’s monocoque had a short 7ft 8-in wheelbase and was based around two large side members that acted as sills for the doors. These were sufficiently large to hold 15 gallons of fuel; the inner faces were steel and the outer faces were duralumin. No bag tanks were used so each sill was sealed with rubber compound.
For safety, the cockpit roof had a steel frame that increased protection in the event of a roll.
Tubular subframes were attached to both ends of the monocoque; at the back, the Ford engine and Colotti gearbox acted as a stressed member just like contemporary Formula 1 machinery.
Suspension was fully independent with unequal length wishbones at the front and a lower wishbone, transverse links and forward-facing radius rods at the rear. Coil springs and adjustable Armstrong telescopic dampers were fitted to each corner and anti-roll bars at either end.
Outboard 11-inch disc brakes were supplied by Girling.
The centre-lock cast magnesium wheels had a 15-inch diameter. They measured 6-inches wide at the front and either 7 or 8-inches wide at the back. Dunlop R6 Racing tyres were normally used.
Engine & Gearbox
The engine fitted to the prototype Mk6 GT (chassis LGT-P) was in a conservative state of tune.
LGT-P was built as a road car and came with a 260 cubic-inch all-iron pushrod Ford V8. It displaced 4262cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 96.5mm and 72.9mm respectively.
A 9.2:1 compression ratio was employed along with a four-barrel Holley carburettor. In this configuration, peak output was 260bhp at 6500rpm and 269lb-ft at 3600rpm.
Subsequent competition variants would get high compression 4.7-litre 289s with four Weber carburettors and around 400bhp.
Transmission was via the latest Colotti Type 37 non-synchromesh four-speed gearbox with a twin-plate clutch and limited-slip differential.
Bodywork
Broadley commissioned John Frayling to design a low-drag body for the Mk6 GT.
Frayling produced one of the best-looking British sports cars of the 1960s.
Manufactured from glass-reinforced-plastic by Specialised Mouldings in London, the Mk6 GT was sleek and small; about the same size as most 1500cc Sports racing cars of the time.
Overhangs were minimal and there was a distinct lack of downforce-inducing addenda.
The recessed headlights were mounted under Plexiglas covers and the nose intakes were split in two as favoured by legendary Ferrari designer, Carlo Chiti.
The doors extended into the roof to ease cockpit access and there was also a roof-mounted duct to feed the engine.
A large rear windscreen put the back end on full display. The Kamm tail incorporated Ford’s iconic ‘Ban the Bomb’ light clusters.
To permit access, the front and rear body sections were hinged at either end and could quite easily be removed altogether.
LGT-P was painted silver to contrast the vivid and unusual shade of turquoise that Lola chose for the chassis.
Interior
Inside, two buckets seats were upholstered in turquoise to match the exposed chassis elements.
The simple black dash housed an aluminium fascia. Directly behind the three-spoke steering wheel was a 7000rpm Smiths tachometer. There were also Smiths gauges for fuel level, water temperature, oil pressure and oil temperature.
All three cars were built in right-hand drive with a central gear shift.
Weight / Performance
Because of a minimum 875kg weight regulation, around 100kg of ballast had to be added.
Performance was astonishing for its time. Even in road-going configuration with ‘just’ 260bhp, a top speed in excess of 170mph was possible. 0-62mph required in the region of five seconds.
Launch
The first Mk6 GT sketches were released to the press in early January.
On the 26th of that month, chassis LGT-P was unveiled at the London Racing Car Show. At this time, it was still to be fitted with a drivetrain but that didn’t stop the new Lola becoming star of the show.
1963 Silverstone International Trophy GT Race
Three-and-a-half months later, LGT-P was ready to make its competition debut.
It came in a twelve lap race for Unlimited Sports cars at the Silverstone International Trophy meeting on May 11th.
Having driven for Lola in Formula 1 during 1962, John Surtees drove LGT-P on the opening day of practice. However, as he was contracted to Ferrari, the Italian team refused permission for him to race the Lola.
Tony Maggs stepped in at the last moment and started from the back of the grid having never even sat in the Mk6 before.
43 cars lined up for the race. The British Racing Partnership Lotus 19 Climax of Innes Ireland was on pole.
Despite being forced to start dead last, Maggs took the Lola round in fine style and picked up nine places on the first lap. He continued to progress through the field and routinely lapped at an average speed of over 100mph.
Even though the 4.2-litre engine was still in road tune, Maggs eventually finished ninth overall and fifth in the over two-litre class.
1963 Nurburgring 1000km
One week later, LGT-P was racing again, this time at the Nurburgring 1000km World Sportscar Championship event (May 19th).
Maggs was co-driven by Bob Olthoff and, against a stellar field that included works cars from Ferrari, Porsche and Abarth, they qualified ninth. Pole went to John Surtees in the Scuderia Ferrari 250 P.
Unfortunately, after the promise of qualifying, the race ended in disappointment.
Maggs had to stop at the end of lap one for the rear wheel nuts to be tightened up. He then retired on lap four with a broken distributor.
Surtees and Mairesse took victory in the Ferrari.
Racing Version Completed
After its appearance at the Nurburgring, LGT-P was retired from competition duty because the two new racing cars with aluminium monocoques were nearing completion.
Both were equipped with the latest dry-sumped competition-spec. Ford 289 motors. These engines were bored from 96.5mm to 101.8mm, the extra 465cc took overall displacement to 4727cc.
Compression was increased from 9.2 to 12.0:1 and four twin-choke Weber 48 IDM carburettors were installed. The result was a dramatic jump in output with 400bhp at 7000rpm and 341lb-ft at 4000rpm.
Chassis LGT-1 was to be Lola’s works car while LGT-2 was ordered by Texan industrialist and racing team owner, John Mecom Jr.
1963 Le Mans 24 Hours
Despite lodging two entries for the 1963 Le Mans 24 Hours, only LGT-1 was finished in time to race.
Painted green with a pale blue centre stripe, it arrived in France on British trade plates; Broadley had driven the car from Slough as it wasn’t ready until the last moment.
Scrutineering was held on the Wednesday before the race but Lola missed the deadline.
Fortunately, the ACO permitted the car to be checked on Thursday once it had shown up. However, Lola’s entry was turned down as the Mk6 GT was deemed to have insufficient rear visibility.
Lola were forced to ditch the offending roof-mounted engine cooling ducts and cut inlets from each flank to cool the motor instead. With much time lost, the team were finally cleared to race albeit after most of practice had been missed.
Richard Attwood and David Hobbs qualified 22nd out of 47 starters, but it turned out the car had the wrong gear ratios and there was no time to change.
This meant, in addition to being 30mph slower than anticipated, the drivers couldn’t go full throttle down the Mulsanne Straight for fear of over-revving the engine.
Nevertheless, despite losing time for a slipping dynamo belt to be fixed, Attwood and Hobbs spent the first four hours of the race running just outside the top ten.
Five hours in, the race was marred by the fatal accident of works Alpine driver, Christian Heins.
When the engine in the Bruce McLaren / Innes Ireland Aston Martin DP214 blew, it caused 20-litres of oil to spill out over the track. Roy Salvadori hit the slick in his Jaguar E-type Lightweight which flipped onto its roof and burst into flames.
Jean-Pierre Manzon’s Rene Bonne Aerodjet LM6 then hit the Jaguar in the middle of the track. In an attempt to avoid the stationary cars, Christian Heins swerved and hit another vehicle which caused his class-leading Alpine to flip end-over-end at 120mph. It then hit a lamp post and burst into flames. Poor Heins was killed instantly.
By 2am, the Lola had climbed into the top ten, but it then began experiencing gearbox difficulties.
LGT-1 did resume after a two hour stop, but the ‘box was still highly suspect and around 90 minutes after Hobbs had emerged from the pits, the Lola jumped out of gear heading into Tertre Rouge.
The car left the road and crashed into the barriers with enough force to dislodge the front and rear bodywork. Hobbs was unhurt but it was a sad end to a splendid effort.
Ford Comes On Board
Lola’s progress was noticed by Ford who had been rejected in their bid to buy Ferrari and were now planning a sports car programme of their own. They considered the Ford-powered Mk6 GT to be the perfect foundation and approached Broadley with a view to taking over the project.
Ford purchased chassis LGT-P and LGT-1 to act as mobile test beds for what would become the GT40.
Broadley was given a two-year deal to work as part of the GT40 design team alongside John Wyer and Ford engineer, Roy Lunn.
All this left John Mecom Jr.’s soon-to-be-delivered Mk6 GT as the only example that would see any further race action.
1963 Brands Hatch Guards Trophy
LGT-2 made its competition debut on August 6th in the Brands Hatch Guards Trophy. It was part of a two-car Mecom Racing Team entry that also included the Climax-engined Zerex Special for Roger Penske.
The Lola would be driven in the 50 lap race by Augie Pabst.
However, the new blue and white car was delivered late and Pabst wasn’t able to set a time in practice which meant he started from the back of the grid.
Things did not improve in the race; Pabst retired on lap four with no oil pressure.
By contrast, Penske led the race from start to finish after beginning fourth.
Once it was shipped out to the US, the Lola’s Ford engine was replaced with a Traco-tuned six-litre Chevrolet V8 producing around 530bhp at 6500rpm.
1963 Goodwood Tests
Back in England, the now Ford-owned Lolas ran at Goodwood throughout October. They were driven by Tony Maggs and Jack Sears with John Wyer, Roy Lunn and Eric Broadley overseeing the operation.
1963 Bahamas Speed Week
The season-ending Bahamas Speed Week saw John Mecom Jr.’s team win all three of the major events held on the 4.5-mile Oakes Field circuit.
The young Texan took no less than six Chevy-powered cars out to Nassau: the Lola Mk6 GT, three Corvette Grand Sports, a Scarab MkIV and a Cooper T61 Monaco. His roster of drivers included Roger Penske, Jim Hall, Augie Pabst, Dick Thompson and AJ Foyt.
First up was the 25 lap Tourist Trophy for Sports cars on December 1st. Augie Pabst was entered to drive the Lola.
Pabst had already won the five lap Preliminary earlier in the day. He backed this up with another storming performance in LGT-2.
The first five laps saw Mecom’s Corvette Grand Sports of Dick Thompson and Jim Hall lead with Pabst third. This trio then started switching positions until lap ten when Hall retired out on the circuit with rear end trouble.
Thompson’s Corvette thereafter trailed the Lola for several laps but never looked like taking the lead.
When the second Corvette retired on lap 16, Pabst was left with a commanding enough lead that he could open his door to clean the Lola’s oiled up windscreen.
Race control concluded proceedings early after 22 laps due to failing light. This handed the Lola Mk6 GT its first international victory. Pabst had also set a new lap record at an average speed of 87.353mph.
Later in the week, AJ Foyt won the 25 lap Governor’s Trophy and the 60 lap Nassau Trophy in John Mecom Jr.’s Scarab MkIV. Roger Penske also won the five lap Nassau Classic in Mecom’s Cooper T61 Monaco.
With the enormous prize fund on offer, it had been a successful and lucrative week for the American team.
Ford GT40 Breaks Cover
In early January 1964, the first sketches emerged of Ford’s new GT40 Prototype. It showed a distinct resemblance to the Lola Mk6 GT from which it had been developed.
Ford hoped the first car would be ready by spring with a full team expected for Le Mans in June.
1964 Sebring 12 Hours
The next outing for John Mecom Jr.’s Chevy-engined Mk6 GT came at Sebring on March 21st 1964.
Augie Pabst and Walt Hansgen would drive the Lola while AJ Foyt and John Cannon were entered in one of the Mecom Racing Team’s Corvette Grand Sports.
For the first time at Sebring, timed trials determined grid positions which was unfortunate for the drivers who had trouble during the session. The Lola failed to set a time and would start back in 63rd position.
On lap four, electrical problems stranded Pabst out on the circuit. Co-driver Hansgen and a Mecom mechanic went off to help and eventually got the stricken Lola going again.
However, soon after half-distance, the Lola was abandoned when the engine seized.
Mecom’s Corvette made it home in 23rd overall and fifth in the over three-litre Prototype class.
1964 Player’s 200, Mosport
Following the debacle at Sebring, the Lola was next seen again on June 6th when it appeared with a freshly rebuilt engine.
As part of the Canadian Sportscar Championship, the Mosport circuit in Ontario hosted two 100 lap races with the winner decided on aggregate. It attracted the largest crowd ever for a Canadian sports event.
Augie Pabst was originally entered to drive the Mk6 GT for John Mecom Jr. However, for reasons unknown, Pabst raced a Cooper T61M King Cobra for Carroll Shelby instead. The Lola was a non starter.
Mosport proved a disappointment for the Mecom team as Foyt in the Scarab MkIV and Cannon in the Lotus 19B both failed to finish.
1964 Road America
On June 21st, the Lola and Lotus were present for a 40 lap SCCA National meet around the Road America circuit at Elkhart Lake. Both took part in the race for C, D, E and F Modified sports cars with Augie Pabst driving the Mk6 GT and Walt Hansgen the Ford-powered Lotus 19B.
Hansgen qualified second but span out in the Lotus while Pabst started fourth and finished seventh overall in the Lola. He also set the fastest race lap and claimed second in the CM class.
Victory went to the CM class Cheetah Chevrolet ‘Cro-Sal’ Special of Ralph Salyer.
1964 Brands Hatch Guards Trophy
Chassis LGT-2 was then flown over to England for the 50 lap Brands Hatch Guards Trophy on August 3rd.
The race attracted a spectacular grid of machinery including three cars from John Mecom Jr.’s team: AJ Foyt would drive the Scarab MkIV, Walt Hansgen was in the now Oldsmobile-powered Lotus 19B and Augie Pabst raced the Lola.
Foyt retired on the third lap with front suspension damage and Hansgen crashed out on lap 34.
The Lola made it to the finish in eleventh overall (seventh in the over two-litre Sports Prototype class).
Bruce McLaren took the win in his Olds-powered Zerex Special.
Further Modifications
After Brands, the Lola was sent back to the factory in Slough for some modifications.
By this time, Eric Broadley had walked out on Ford following various disagreements about the GT40’s design. As part of the settlement, he had been given the original Mk6 GT prototype (LGT-P).
LGT-2 was uprated with new wide track suspension and bigger brakes with better cooling. Driver ventilation was improved and Cobra-style FIA wheels were fitted along with GT40 hubs. The wider wheels also required that all four wheelarches be dramatically flared.
1964 Road America 500 mile
In this revamped configuration, the Mk6 GT appeared for the US Road Racing Championship finale; a 500 mile contest at Road America.
Augie Pabst was forced to retire after 30 laps with a radiator issue but John Mecom Jr.’s new Ferrari 250 LM took the victory with Pabst joining Walt Hansgen at the wheel.
1964 Riverside 200 mile
The next outing for LGT-2 would have been in the Los Angeles Time Grand Prix, a 200-mile race at Riverside on October 11th. This was the biggest motor racing promotion on the west coast and attracted a huge entry.
However, a sticking throttle in practice caused Augie Pabst to crash the Lola into a guard rail. Pabst was lucky to escape with his life as the top of the aluminium canopy was nearly shorn off.
The race was won by Parnelli Jones in a Shelby-entered Cooper T61M King Cobra. Meanwhile, the Mecom Racing Team cars of Foyt (Hussein I Dodge), Hansgen (Scarab MkIV Chevrolet) and Pabst (Genie Mk10 Chevrolet) all failed to finish.
John Mecom Jr. put the damaged Lola into storage. It was the end of the Mk6 GT programme.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Lola Heritage - http://www.lolaheritage.co.uk & The Henry Ford Museum - https://www.thehenryford.org/
