Lola Cars has announced that it is returning to global motorsport in a multi-year technical partnership with Yamaha Motor Company and will enter the Formula E World Championship from Season 11.
Founded by Eric Broadley in 1958, Lola 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.
The iconic motorsport brand, which has more than 500 championship wins, is working with Yamaha to develop and supply a powertrain to compete in the all-electric, single seater series.
With track racing deep in the DNA of both Lola and Yamaha, this new technology partnership not only provides an opportunity to join Formula E 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. "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 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 Yamaha as we enter the Formula E World Championship," added 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 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."
"Yamaha Motor Company is accelerating the research and development of various technologies that contribute to sustainability," said Heiji Maruyama, Managing Executive Officer and Director, Yamaha Motor co, Ltd. "As the technical partner, we hope to acquire more advanced energy management technologies through the highest level of electric racing in Formula E. We also share Lola's new philosophy of sustainable motorsport and we are very pleased and honoured to form this partnership with them."
Since acquiring Lola Cars in 2022, Bechtolsheimer and his team have been developing their program from a new global headquarters at Silverstone, building on the legacy of the most successful manufacturer of customer race cars of all time.
This partnership continues Lola's longstanding prominence in Japan, Lola having a long history of involvement in Japanese motorsport, primarily in what is now known as the Japanese Super Formula Championship, winning 13 Championships in two decades from 1987 when it was known as the All Japan F3000.
Lola has also notably partnered with Japanese manufacturers to create iconic vehicles across multiple racing disciplines including Formula 1, IndyCar and Le Mans.
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