Lola T70S Launch Revives an Icon With Sustainable Engineering
Lola Cars has launched the T70S and T70S GT, carefully engineered versions of one of motor racing’s most celebrated cars, the Lola T70. The company combines exact historical accuracy with advanced manufacturing and pioneering sustainable materials. The result marks a major achievement in modern automotive engineering.
Renowned designer Eric Broadley introduced the Lola T70 in 1965. The car dominated the first Can-Am Championship in 1966. It then became the car of choice for privateers challenging Ford, Porsche and Ferrari. Its racing pedigree includes legends such as John Surtees, Jackie Stewart and Mario Andretti. The Lola T70 secured perhaps its most famous victory at the 1969 Daytona 24 Hours, where Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons won for Team Penske against the factory Ford GT40s and Porsche 908s.
Lola developed the T70S from original archive drawings and high-resolution scans of the best surviving period examples to ensure complete authenticity. Engineers reworked every component to meet modern standards of precision while staying true to the original design. The car keeps the unmistakable character of the Lola T70 while gaining the benefits of modern materials science, manufacturing and quality control.
Till Bechtolsheimer, Chairman, Lola Cars: “The T70 is not only one of Lola’s greatest designs, but one of the most iconic racing cars ever built. The T70S represents a unique example of preserving motorsport heritage while advancing sustainable innovation; a car identical to the original fire-spitting, Steve McQueen-era, V8 monster, but refined with advanced manufacturing processes, sustainable materials and an unparalleled attention to detail.”
Lola will build just 16 cars and offer them in two versions: the T70S and the T70S GT. The T70S serves as the ultimate competition model and comes with an FIA Historic Technical Passport. Lola builds it around a lightweight aluminium monocoque chassis and pairs it with a 5.0-litre small-block Chevrolet V8 that delivers 530bhp. The car reaches 203mph and covers 0 to 60mph in 2.5 seconds, with a power-to-weight ratio of 616bhp per tonne*. A period-correct transaxle and double wishbone suspension complete the drivetrain and keep the driving dynamics true to the original.
Lola supplies the UK-road-registered T70S GT for road and track use and tunes it for improved drivability. It uses a 6.2-litre small-block Chevrolet V8 that produces 500bhp, giving the car a top speed of 200mph and a 0-60mph time of 2.9 seconds. The T70S GT keeps the core DNA of the race car while adding subtle usability upgrades such as refined ergonomics, climate control and limited storage. Lola also adds damper adjustments and a Lola-specification engine-and-gearbox pairing developed for road use. The company has applied these changes with care, so the car still feels authentic and preserves the direct connection between driver and machine.
A defining innovation in the Lola T70S programme is the Lola Natural Composite System, or LNCS. This patent-pending bodywork solution marks a world first for automotive use. LNCS combines natural plant and basalt fibres with a fully renewable resin system made from sugar cane processing waste. This process creates a groundbreaking 100 per cent natural, petrochemical-free bodywork system. The material reduces environmental impact and delivers higher tensile strength and stiffness than traditional glass-fibre composites, along with better impact-damage tolerance than both GRP and carbon-fibre composites.
The Lola team continues to refine LNCS to further improve its mechanical properties. It is also developing next-generation finishing solutions to set a new benchmark for eco-composites in the automotive and motorsport sectors.
Mishern Chetty, CEO, Lola Cars: “The T70S project forms part of Lola’s broader strategic focus on cutting-edge performance technologies. Since 2022, as part of our mission to drive innovation through motorsport, we have invested heavily in the development of advanced materials, powertrain systems and supply chain innovations aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of high-performance vehicles.”
Independent assessment shows that the Lola T70S cuts CO₂ emissions by about 54 per cent compared with conventional manufacturing benchmarks—some components, including magnesium alloy parts, cut emissions by up to 80 per cent.
Lola achieved these gains by rethinking traditional production methods from the ground up. For example, the company extracts the magnesium used in the T70S from seawater via solar-powered electrolysis, which it believes is a first for the automotive sector. This process removes the need for energy-intensive mining and refining. Lola has also introduced innovative casting techniques and alternative shielding gases to lower environmental impact without affecting material integrity. The company has made an independently reviewed Life Cycle Assessment report publicly available.
Even with these advances, the Lola T70S stays fully committed to driver engagement. It delivers direct mechanical feedback, precise steering response and a close physical link between driver and machine.
Peter McCool, Technical Director, Lola Cars: “Driving the T70S will be a chance to experience the past and future of motorsport simultaneously. A unique example of groundbreaking innovation in advanced sustainable materials, this project provides a blueprint for the future of historic motoring and motorsport.”
A principle of respectful refinement has guided the design and engineering philosophy behind the Lola T70S. Rather than reinterpret the original, Lola has focused on perfecting the details that period constraints once limited. That work includes tighter manufacturing tolerances, better material consistency and stronger component integration, all without changing the essential T70 DNA. Each car contains more than 1,900 individual components and reflects close collaboration across a specialist global supply chain.
With the Lola T70S, Lola Cars revisits a defining chapter in motorsport history and shows how heritage and innovation can work together. The project reinforces the company’s commitment to shaping the future of high-performance engineering through sustainable technology while protecting the emotional and technical essence that defines the greatest racing machines.