This came through from Vintage Motorsports Magazine...
Quote:
Lola Cars Int'l Closes Doors
The iconic Lola T70 MkIIIB coupe Huntingdon, U.K. -- Lola Cars International, which built many of the most iconic racing cars over the past 54 years, is defunct. The race car manufacturer founded by Eric Broadley in 1958 has closed its doors, a victim of the world economic slowdown. Bankruptcy administrators took over the company in May, and began seeking a buyer for the firm. At the end of September it was determined that there was no buyer for the financially-strapped company and its more than $30 million in debts.
Beginning with the Mk I in 1958, Lola developed a plethora of race cars now stalwarts in vintage racing, such as the Lola T70 spyders and coupes, the underpinnings of the Ford GT40, IMSA and Group C prototypes, Formula Fords and FB, F5000, Indy cars and F1 chassis.
In an Oct. 9 statement, the company said, "At the end of September, having not received an acceptable offer for the business as a going concern, we considered whether or not we should continue trading. During the first week of October, we concluded that a going concern sale of he business was not going to be possible, and the company ceased to trade on Friday, Oct. 5, which unfortunately led to the redundancy of the remaining staff working in the business." A total of 114 jobs have been eliminated.
Lola Composites, which fabricates parts for military and commercial applications, is also under bankruptcy protection but remains open as administrators seek a buyer for that division. A total of 62 staffers remain at the Composites facility. The Lola name, trademarks and intellectual property rights to the firm's designs are held by Lola Group Holdings, which is still trading.
Lola Cars supplies chassis to a number of racing series, including the American Le Mans Series' LMP1 and LMP2 classes, run by Dyson Racing, Patrick Dempsey and Rebellion Racing.
this is truely a bummer . almost as bad as losin` mr. economaki . another builder/presence from the past (and present) takes the long road . . . . . . .
jer
Last edited by Jerry LaGesse; 10-15-2012 at 05:24 PM.
You would have thought that the $30 million of debts would be offset by the value of the facility to a company like McLaren or Williams, given what they chuck into going F1 racing every season. Sad to see Lola go.
Lola Set To Continue Under New Ownership
Multimatic, Haas Auto believed to have purchased remaining assets, set to form partnership for licensing rights of Lola name...
Toronto-based Multimatic hired a number of ex-Lola employees following the company's fall into administration in May, including chief designer Julien Sole, former managing director Jean Marchioni and head of Lola Cars U.S. manager, Stephen Charsley.
Additional details of the believed arrangement are still unclear at the moment.
I know someone who drives for Multimatic and I'll be racing slot cars with him tomorrow night so I'll see what, if any, light he can shed on this story!
Really a sad time in motorsports --- Lola gone, Cosworth on the block, Ford and BMW trimming their motorsports budgets --- methinks this has all gotten a bit expensive for the payback. Why not just dump your money into 'drifting' and attract the younger crowd...??
methinks this has all gotten a bit expensive for the payback. Why not just dump your money into 'drifting' and attract the younger crowd...??
I think there's still plenty of opportunity for grassroots motorsports. True everything is getting more and more pricey. It won't stop people racing... something.... it's just human nature. Maybe the factories will pull out, it won't be the first time. It's cheaper to race via surrogates Alfa did it with Ferrari before WWII the Big 3 did it in the 50s and 60s.
I know someone who drives for Multimatic and I'll be racing slot cars with him tomorrow night so I'll see what, if any, light he can shed on this story!
Farewell Lola...
hired a number of ex-Lola employees following the company's fall into administration in May, including chief designer Julien Sole, former managing director Jean Marchioni and head of Lola Cars U.S. manager, Stephen Charsley.
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