Lola Cars is back, and it’s building race cars out of unexpected stuff. The revived manufacturer is producing a new run of 16 T70S continuation cars — and the materials are the most interesting part.
Take the magnesium. Old race cars used a lot of magnesium alloy, but the standard Pidgeon process for smelting it is dirty. Carbon-intensive. Uses nasty shielding gases. Lola’s solution? Extract magnesium from seawater using electrolysis, powered by solar. “What we end up with is magnesium ingots at a massive amount less carbon cost,” said Matt Faulks, Lola’s executive innovation director.
The bodywork is even more unusual. In the 1960s, Lola used fiberglass. Now they’ve developed their own composite: basalt outer layers (that’s volcanic rock), flax inner layers, and a PFA resin system derived from sugarcane. It’s not just a material — it’s a whole fabrication system, and Lola’s already running it on cars.
Lola’s lifecycle analysis says the T70S generates 4,643 kg CO2e — a number they’re proud of for the performance they’re getting. The natural composite outperforms fiberglass in tensile strength and stiffness, even if it’s not meant for structural use. Lola’s using it for body panels, interior trim, and seat backs.
“The quality of the body work in terms of finish is so far beyond original GRP,” Faulks said. They parked an original T70 from the 60s next to the new one to compare. Panel gaps and stability are noticeably better on the new car.
Each T70S can be configured for FIA-homologated historic racing or as a UK road-legal version called the T70S GT. Lola’s comeback after its 2022 bankruptcy is real, and it’s bringing some genuinely clever engineering with it.
