Lola Cars returning to top-tier global motorsport by joining Formula E grid
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Lola Cars announced Thursday that it is returning to global motorsport in a multi-year technical partnership with Yamaha Motor Company and will enter the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship from Season 11.
The iconic, globally renowned motorsport brand, which has more than 500 championship wins, is working with Yamaha to develop and supply a powertrain to compete in the world’s first all-electric, single seater race series. With track racing deep in the DNA of both Lola Cars and Yamaha, this new technology partnership not only provides an opportunity to join the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship as it moves to the GEN3 Evo platform for the 2024/25 season but also creates opportunities across global motorsport and in the broader zero emissions transportation space.
“We are thrilled to confirm our entry in Formula E," said Mark Preston, Motorsport Director, Lola Cars Ltd in a statement. "For us, this is more than just an opportunity to return Lola to the track, it’s also a fantastic platform for technological development.
“Lola Cars has a decorated history of success in chassis and aerodynamic design. This project will allow us to create a unique electrified platform with a software focus at its core to provide a basis for Lola’s wider plans in defining the future of motorsport technology.”
The partnership is the first of several major projects planned to re-establish the British company as an industry leader in sustainable engineering and motorsport, strategically focusing on three areas of electrification, hydrogen and sustainable fuels and materials.
“We are incredibly excited to be partnering with the Yamaha Motor Company as we enter the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship," said Till Bechtolsheimer, Chairman, Lola Cars Ltd. "To be selected by one of the most innovative OEMs in the world to partner on a project of this significance is a testament to the caliber of the team that we have been building at Lola.
“The focus of this project is squarely around technological development in which Lola is fully invested. We see the highly efficient 350 kW electric powertrain that underpins the manufacturer’s perimeter in Formula E, as a cornerstone technology with exciting applications across many forms of topflight international motorsport in the coming years.”
Since acquiring Lola Cars in 2022, Bechtolsheimer and his team have been developing their program from a new global headquarters in Silverstone, UK, building on the legacy of the most successful manufacturer of customer race cars of all time.
Founded by Eric Broadley in 1958, Lola Cars has designed and produced nearly 5000 race cars spanning 400 different model types, gaining unparalleled success in motorsport championships around the world, including IndyCar, Le Mans, Formula 1, Can-Am, Formula 3000, Formula 5000, A1GP, Formula Ford and Touring Cars.