Art.Nr. 23897
The T-70 series was produced from 1966 to 1970, with a total of 88 vehicles built.
In 1969, this MK III B version was built in response to new motorsport regulations (5-liter displacement and 25 units required for homologation in the sports car class). The Lola T70 MK III B achieved its greatest success as the winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1969.
Further major successes eluded the Lola T70 MK III B, as Porsche entered the fray in early 1969 with the Type 917, leading to subsequent Porsche dominance. Only Ferrari was able to offer some resistance
The yellow base color with the white longitudinal stripe is, of course, very easy to spot on the track. The headlights and small taillights are designed true to the prototype—aside from the very bright white neon lights. Like its full-size counterpart, the vehicle is built as a right-hand drive model, as befits a British race car.
Even if hardcore model enthusiasts aren’t too happy about it, the tire manufacturer’s sticker has once again been replaced with “decent decade.” I think it works very well on this model and wouldn’t be willing to bear any additional costs for it. The tires have the usual
Overall, the
, but the keen racer can draw from a wide selection of decals to spruce up the car to their liking.
The printing is clean and flawless; the white-and-red longitudinal stripe does not extend all the way to the lip below the radiator. The original photos do not show this either; it would only be accurate in a photo from 1968. Yellow is always a difficult color for plastic model cars,
At the rear, the model features a hint of a tire, and even the buckle of the seatbelt is color-contrasted. Even if the tire’s diameter seems a bit large, it’s nice that it wasn’t left out… for vehicles of that era, this was simply standard practice.
As mentioned, the headlights (actually two sets of dual headlights arranged one above the other) are quite bright, but they illuminate the track and perform well as a result. The bright neon light can be dimmed slightly, and depending on the lighting board installed, you may be able to make either the upper or lower headlight illuminate. This is where an experienced hobbyist comes in.
The taillight is very visible on the track and poses no problems in terms of signaling the need to refuel.
The vehicle weighs approximately 210 grams fully assembled, placing it in the same weight class as the Ford GT40 and the Ferrari 330 P4. The rear section of the body is attached separately to the chassis. The driver insert and the black insert in the front hood’s ventilation slot are secured with screws. For this, three screws with a total length of approximately 1 cm used, screws directly into plastic? Hmm, I can’t really explain the necessity of this, but I suppose very few vehicles will ever be disassembled to that extent. When you unscrew the driver’s insert, you’ll see that the window insert is simply snapped into place. You can even replace the windshield wiper, since it’s also just snapped in.
Unfortunately, the threaded inserts for mounting the body and chassis have slipped slightly below the plastic mounts, so if this is the case with all models: exercise caution when tightening the screws.
Since both the weight class and the vehicle dimensions—such as wheelbase and track width—roughly correspond to the well-known and proven Ford GT40 and Ferrari 330 P4, attention now turned to the test drive.
First off, out of the box—with magnets, the car shows itself to be eager to sprint, with good acceleration out of the corners. If you push the cornering speed too hard, the rear end has a slight tendency to break out; it felt realistic yet was still easy to control. The car quickly regained its line. So it’s easy to drive and suitable for beginners.
After removing the magnets and lightly sanding the tires,
the car becomes significantly more challenging. The axles and rims are okay, but they aren’t 100% straight or centered. A slight imbalance is noticeable. The car already drifts heavily in or after tight turns or right-left combinations; while controllable, it is time-consuming. To make the Lola competitive against the established players in the GT Classics even without magnets, you really have to put some work into the car.
All in all, the Lola is a welcome addition to the GT Classics starting grid. Many fans have been asking for this vehicle for a long time, and now the first one is here—and I think we’ll be seeing a few more versions.
CoMod JoergW
