Lola Cars returns to top-level motorsport with Formula E
Lola Cars has announced a multi-year deal that will see it enter the Formula E World Championship in partnership with Yamaha.
The British firm and Japanese firms will team up on a vehicle for the Gen3 EVO platform from Season 11.
Lola is world-renowned for its success in high-level motorsport, including more than 500 wins in single-seater and endurance racing but was placed into administration in 2012 and vanished until the name and assets were bought by Till Bechtolsheimer in 2022.
Joining Formula E for the 2024/25 season marks a major return for the team and for Yamaha, which has been absent from motorsport since supplying engines to the Arrows F1 team in 1997.
Mark Preston, motorsport director at Lola Cars said: “We are thrilled to confirm our entry in Formula E. 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.
Till Bechtolsheimer, chairman of Lola Cars added: “We are incredibly excited to be partnering with the Yamaha Motor Company as we enter the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. 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 calibre 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 programme 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 5,000 race cars spanning 400 different model types, including IndyCar, Le Mans, Formula 1, Can-Am, Formula 3000 and touring cars.
