Written by Vyas Ponnuri
Having made the decision to return to top-flight motorsport in 2025, Lola Cars have announced their decision to commit to the upcoming Gen4 era of Formula E, ensuring they stay in the sport up until 2030, when the Gen4 cycle ends.
The Italian manufacturer become the fourth team to commit to the Gen4 era, following the likes of Nissan, Jaguar, and Porsche, who have also extended their stay in the electric racing series.
The Italian manufacturer have a storied motorsport history to sport. Founded by Eric Broadley back in 1958, the team has produced as many as 5000 race cars spanning 40 championships, the major highlights being their stint in Formula One as Mastercard Lola, Formula Two, Formula Three, Formula 5000, as well as endurance racing series such as the American Le Mans Series, whilst being a big name in sports car racing until 2012, when they ceased to exist.
However, the Lola name has made a return back into top tier motorsport, with former racer Till Bechtolsheimer, a passionate Lola fan, bought over the team's assets in 2022, including the Lola name, trademark, and intellectual property, in the form of their wind tunnel.
Bechtolsheimer had a vision for the outfit, a plan of getting the first steps in racing for this iconic name in two years time, and the Lola name would indeed make a return to motorsport, opting to join Formula E from the 2025 season, with Yamaha as a technical partner, as the team would power the ABT Cupra cars in 2025.
This time, the Italian marque have opted for a route into the world of electric machines, with an aim to position themselves as a leader in sustainable engineering and motorsport, including the likes of electric car racing, hydrogen fuelled vehicles, and other sustainable fuels.
Formula E will see the new Gen4 car break ground in 2026, featuring upto 600 kW of power available to the drivers, much higher than the 350 kW available to drivers in the present day Gen3 era. The cars will also have a capacity to regenerate upto 700 kW of energy under braking, unprecedented stats for Formula E.
These advancements, along with the effectiveness of Formula E's technology eventually making their way into electric road cars align with Lola's goals to develop sustainable mobility techonology. Additionally, the Gen4 cars will also feature all-wheel drive, providing greater challenge to the team in a vastly competitive field of drivers and teams.
Lola aim to recapture their former glory, having set up base at Silverstone, a stone's throw away from the circuit, with future projects set to take centrestage on the grounds of sustainable racing.
However, while Lola Cars have committed to the upcoming era of Formula E, their technical partner Yamaha haven't decided yet on the future of the electric racing series.
Mark Preston, Motorsport Director, Lola Cars Ltd, expressed excitement over continuing into the Gen4 era:
“We are excited to be confirming our commitment to GEN4. Formula E is an ideal platform for powertrain and software development that we can use for broader motorsport and automotive applications," Preston said.
Preston also spoke of the opportunity to innovate in the series, expressing the scope of the series helping develop newer technologies in sustainable racing.
"We feel the opportunity for innovation in this series will only increase as the performance of the cars and technology develops, giving greater scope to develop innovative technologies across global motorsport and in the broader zero emissions transportation space," Preston was quoted saying.
Jeff Dodds, Chief Executive Officer of Formula E, was just as delighted to hear about Lola's continued trust in the series until 2030:
“With their historic return to top-tier motorsport for Season 11 next year, we’re delighted that Lola Cars will also be committing to the GEN4 era – promising their presence will be on the Formula E grid until at least 2030."
Their trust in our series for their latest venture into electrification and innovation is testament to our ability to attract the biggest names in motorsport, as well as our joint ambition to continue to grow this championship. It’s a huge privilege for us, and we can’t wait to see what they can do next year when the famous Lola marque hits the track for the first time.”
Formula E is indeed set for an exciting moment in 2025 when the iconic sportscar racing name Lola makes its way into the series, and it would be exciting to see how they can bring their expertise and experience to become a major force in the series.
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