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1958 Lola Mk1 – The Lotus Eaters
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Photo: Peter Collins
Photo: Peter Collins
Lola

1958 Lola Mk1 – The Lotus Eaters

 Ed McDonough

1958 Lola Mk1

The Broadley cousins were racing enthusiasts from an early age. Both built and raced Austin specials before setting about in 1956 to construct something to compete with the new Lotus VI, being built and raced by one Colin Chapman. Their original idea had been to buy a Lotus VI, but the cost was prohibitive, so they started on their own car, a Ford-based special, which was the first car to carry the Lola name. This “Special” utilized the Ford 1172 cc side-valve engine, which had been used to great effect in many homemade racers of the time. It was with this first car that Eric Broadley honed the skills that would allow him to challenge the Chapmans of the time.

The Ford Special made its debut in 1957 and had a number of successes. Thanks, in part, to Broadley’s painstaking approach to engine development (he even fashioned his own lightened concave-bottomed tappets, which improved valve lift and acceleration), the Special started beating the new Lotus 11 later in 1957 and began a pattern that was to continue for many years.

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Ed McDonough
Steve Natale has been playing with cars ever since he was old enough to first hold a matchbox car in his hand. A lifelong enthusiast of anything old with an engine in it or wheels on it, Steve has been active in the hobby for over 35 years. Currently he owns a successful marketing company with his wife Mary, is an automotive photographer, blogger and writer for several automotive magazines and regular contributor to various automotive websites. Steve has attended vintage car events and visited car museums and collections around the world.
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