1972 Lola T212 #HU34B (FIA)

HTP

To be offered by Iconic Auctioneers on Friday 23rd February at the Race Retro Sale.

Guide Price: £150,000 - £170,000

At the end of the 1969 season, Eric Broadley, owner of Lola Cars, realised that he was unable to sustain the economic effort needed, particularly in engine development, to build a car capable of competing with the Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512 in the World Championship for Makes. He decided to build a car to compete in the new Sports 2-Litre Championship, where the wide availability of engines would ease the economic effort and expand the customer base.

The resulting Lola T210 was an open sports car with an aluminium monocoque, lighter and more rigid than a conventional tube frame but more difficult to build and repair. The front and rear suspensions were conventional and a tubular sub-frame was mounted at the rear to support the engine, gearbox and suspension. The 245bhp, four-cylinder, 1.8-litre Ford Cosworth FVC was the engine of choice coupled to a 5-speed Hewland gearbox and clothed in fibreglass bodywork, this pretty little racer weighed in at just 550kg.

Jo Bonnier was Lola's works driver and he made the best use of the 210, winning the 1970 European Championships and came within one point of winning the European Championship for Makes. The following year, the T210 was upgraded to the T212 and they went on to become the most successful cars in the 1971 European Championship, winning five of the nine races and rewarding Helmut Marko with the title. Lola produced 16 T210s and a further 22 T212s, making it a commercial as well as a sporting success.

#HU34B is reported to be an ex-Dorset Racing Associate’s car from the 1972 World Sportscars Championship. We pick up the story later on in its life when the Lola was acquired in c.2005 by the current owner, who bought it from the Baker Car Collection in Canada. It was then shipped to these shores and has formed part of his race car Collection ever since.

The Lola is accompanied by its FIA Technical Passport valid until 31st December 2029 and it was last raced at the 2022 Le Mans Classic. The car was prepared for that event by G-Cat Racing and the engine is a Cosworth FVC built by Gathercole Race Engines. There are also two sets of wheels included with the car.

Offering a gateway into some of the most prestigious historic Motorsport events in the world including the Le Mans Classic, Masters Sportscars and Peter Auto events and now on the open market for the first time in nearly 20 years, this certainly looks like a rare and exciting opportunity.