Eric Broadley

Eric Harrison Broadley MBE (22 September 1928 – 28 May 2017) was a British entrepreneur, engineer, and founder and chief designer of Lola Cars, the motor racing manufacturer and engineering company.

He was arguably one of the most influential automobile designers of the post-war period, and over the years Lola was involved with many high-profile projects in Formula One, IndyCar, and sports car racing.

Eric Broadley was indentured to a building company as a young man in the late 1940s, and after completing his studies took a job as a quantity surveyor.

In his spare time Broadley was heavily involved in motor racing with the 750 Motor Club.

In common with the majority of other competitors – including Colin Chapman, Frank Costin and Brian Hart – he built his own cars around Austin 7 chassis, using home-made and proprietary parts.

His first car, the Broadley Special) was built in 1956 to comply with rules governing the "Ford Ten Special" (or "1172 Special" ) class, using an 1172cc (72ci) side valve engine, originally introduced for the pre-war Ford Model C.

The Broadley Special was an instant success, winning a number of local and national events in the UK.

On the back of this record Broadley, at the request of a number of drivers seeking something besides a Lotus XI, immediately began to design a chassis to accept a more powerful 1098cc (67ci) Coventry Climax engine and BMC A-series gearbox.

This car, with its up-to-the-minute space frame chassis, was to become the Lola Mk1, named after the song "Whatever Lola Wants" from the contemporary musical Damn Yankees.

Although, as Broadley freely admits, the Mk1 was too powerful for his level of driving skill, in 1958 he became the first man ever to lap the Brands Hatch Indy circuit in under one minute.

The success soon attracted the interest of other privateers, so Broadley and his cousin were prevailed upon in 1958 to build three further copies.

Lola Cars Ltd. was born.

Once it was sorted it beat the Lotus XIs "with monotonous regularity" (notably in the hands of Peter Ashdown, who racked up at least a score of wins, including a class win and sixth overall at the 1959 Tourist Trophy).

Despite its limited experience, in 1960 Lola produced its first single-seat open-wheeled model: the Mark 2, for Formula Junior.

Performance was promising rather than outstanding, and its front engine was a mistake, as the formula was soon to become dominated by rear and mid-engined cars.

Despite these drawbacks, and only scoring one win in the 1960 season, forty-two examples were sold.

Redesigned for 1961, the mid-engined Mk3 consistently finished behind contemporary Lotuses and Coopers.

On the back of his initial success, and despite his inexperience (and the failure of the Mark 2), in 1961 Broadley was approached by Reg Parnell to design and build a Formula One chassis for his Bowmaker-Yeoman Racing Team.

Though John Surtees and Roy Salvadori proved quick in them, and a one was put on the pole in its first ever race, the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix, by Surtees, the car failed to finish.

Bowmaker-Yeoman got out of Grand Prix at the end of 1962, selling their Mark 4s to the Tasman Racing Series; here, Surtees and teammate Tony Maggs did quite well, with Surtees winning the New Zealand Grand Prix (not a World Championship event).

Efforts on a Formula Junior car, Mark 5, through 1962 led to nine sales but only limited success; an improved Mark 5A gave Richard Attwood a win in the Monaco Grand Prix Junior event.

For 1963, Parnell sold one to Bob Anderson and ran another for Chris Amon, who was rarely successful, though he ran seventh in the British Grand Prix; Anderson did better, winning the (non-championship) Rome Grand Prix as a privateer.

The 1963 Racing Car Show debuted the sensational Mark 6 (Lola GT), a trendsetter into the '70s.

It featured a Ford 4.2-litre (255ci) V8 and Colotti four-speed box under a sleek fiberglass body, showing good handling and "a remarkable turn of speed" for only 250 hp (186 kW), enough to put it in the running for the 1963 Vingt-Quatre Heurs du Mans until the gearbox balked and David Hobbs crashed.

This performance attracted the attention of Ford, who were looking for a way to win Le Mans, and offered Broadley a two-year deal to redesign the GT, setting up Ford Advanced Vehicles, in a factory on the Slough Trading Estate; it produced the GT-40, which differed in many respects from the Mark 6, not least in using a steel chassis rather than the aluminium of the Mark 6.

This was one of many points at which Broadley found himself at odds with his American employers.

Broadley, used to being his own boss, quit after 12 months, and as the FAV factory was in the name of Lola Cars, retained the plant forcing Ford to move to a different factory on the estate.

The first cars from the newly independent company were the new Mark 5As for Midland Racing Partnership (as used by Attwood), now redesignated Mark 53.

The derivative Mark 54 Formula Two single-seater, also used by Midlands, gave Attwood seconds at Pau, Albi, and the Nürburgring, while Maggs came second at Aintree.

A monocoque single-seater for F2 and F3, the T60, was introduced in 1965; five were built, but were not a success, and the development models, T61 and T62, bought by Midlands and six other customers, were no better.

The other 1965 debut, the T70, was just the opposite, "destined to become one of the most successful and long lived of sports cars".

Offered with 5.4 or 6.2-litre (327ci or 377ci) Chevrolet and Hewland four-speed or ZF five-speed, and patterned on the Mark 6 and GT-40, it was nevertheless fresh, and was almost as big a revelation as its older sibling.

FIA created Group 9 (later Group 7) just for the T70, while Surtees drove one in British races, including a Guards Trophy victory at Brands Hatch in a works car.

Fifteen were sold in 1965, as well as thirty-two of the improved Mk2, introduced in 1966.

The Lola Mk4 featured the usual tubular spaceframe, with an innovative front suspension using lower wishbones and upper transverse links with radius arms, while the rear had upper and lower transverse links and radius arm; Broadley's idea continued to be used into the 1970s.

The Mark 4 originally used the common Coventry-Climax four, while a 1.5-litre (91ci) V8 later became available.

Broadley sold Lola to Martin Birrane in 1997.

Staying largely at Bromley, Broadley set up shop in West Byfleet, Surrey, using £2000 of his own savings, producing thirty-five more Mk1s through 1962, all with the Coventry-Climax.

with ever-improving results on the track.

Surtees went on to win the 2000 Guineas at Mallory Park, and placed second at the British and German Grands Prix.