Hidden away in the catalogue of this year’s Bonhams December Sale at Olympia is this unique piece of motoring engineering, ingenuity. A Lola F1R.
Back in 1996 the design and race engineers at Lola, headed by Russell Anniston, were challenged to build a Formula 1-style car that could be UK road registered. The street car had to embody the excitement, visual cues, and sense of theatre of a traditional Formula 1 racing car, while still addressing the practical road issues involved. The most practical way of demonstrating this was to build one. It took the best part of 15 years from concept through design to completion, and the result is a combination of several racetrack and road-car technologies.
This was how the unique F1R was created, built around a circa 1996 Lola chassis (which may have come from the company’s aborted 1997 F1 project) utilising the tub, wings, suspension, nose none, body panels, radiator ducting, and other ancillaries.
During this build period – Formula 1, were using normally aspirated 3.0-litre engines – and, it was felt that for road use a 2.0-litre turbo-charged Cosworth YB unit would offer the optimum balance. The four-cylinder Cosworth was mated to a G50 five-speed manual gearbox for simplicity, while the ready availability of parts ensures easy ongoing maintenance. The engine is presently tuned to deliver a healthy 370bhp, but adjusting the turbo can substantially increase this.
As the Bonhams Auction catalogue details – ground clearance was one of the most obvious areas of consideration, and this F1 derived road car runs at an increased and adjustable 50-75mm. As with an F1 car, the aerodynamically critical surfaces and wings generate increased levels of downforce as speed rises. Both front and rear wings are adjustable.
The F1R is an amalgamation of various racing vehicle technologies, and uses conventional components where appropriate. All service items are readily available. The F1R was built and assembled by Lola engineers to the highest standards with customary attention to detail. The net result is a car that quite possibly provides the closest sensation of driving a single-seat racer on the road.
The owner reports that the car is good in traffic, very easy to drive, and offers tremendous performance when required – it even has a ‘handbrake’ to comply with UK regulations. The F1R is offered in effectively ‘as new’ condition, having covered only some 25 miles and been stored in a climate controlled environment with a stable of other cars. The maintenance programme includes starting and warming up to operational temperatures every month. The F1R’s last outing was in early autumn for its annual MoT test.
Auto Addicts view: Clearly a bonkers purchase for anyone needing a practical road car, but for an avid motorsport fan, track-day enthusiast or collector, the car comes with oodles of advice on how to run it from various sources and has a selection of spares. It also comes complete with a DVLA V5C document giving the first date of registration as 13th October 2009, and is the only such motor car built of its kind. For those who look for unique collector opportunities this one won’t break the bank either, the Lola is offered for an estimated £55,000 – £85,000 (a lot less than it would cost to build) and could be a hell of a lot of fun to own! The car is due to go under the hammer on the 7th December at London’s Olympia.
Full spec:
1996/2009 ‘Formula 1’ Derived Road Car F1R (Road)
Registration no. AE59 ERV
Chassis no. 7A4N9N319S106N52R
*Designed and built by Lola engineers
*Unique specification
*Road legal in the UK
*Only circa 25 miles since completion
