Broadley was born on 22 September 1928. In the late 1940s, he was indentured to a building company and later worked as a quantity surveyor. During his spare time, he was active in motor racing with the 750 Motor Club, where he built his own cars around Austin 7 chassis, similar to other competitors like Colin Chapman.
In 1956, Broadley built his first car, the Broadley Special, for the "Ford Ten Special" class, using an 1172cc side valve engine. The Broadley Special quickly found success, winning several local and national events in the UK. Following this, Broadley began designing a new chassis to accommodate a 1098cc Coventry Climax engine and BMC A-series gearbox. This car, featuring a space frame chassis, became the Lola Mk1, named after the song "Whatever Lola Wants." Broadley admitted the Mk1 was too powerful for his driving skill, but in 1958, he became the first person to lap the Brands Hatch Indy circuit in under one minute. Once refined, the Mk1 consistently outperformed Lotus XIs, notably with Peter Ashdown achieving numerous wins, including a class win and sixth overall at the 1959 Tourist Trophy.
The success of the Mk1 led to requests from other privateers, prompting Broadley and his cousin to build three more copies in 1958, marking the beginning of Lola Cars Ltd. Broadley established his workshop in West Byfleet, Surrey, using £2000 of his own savings. Between 1958 and 1962, Lola produced thirty-five more Mk1s, all with Coventry-Climax engines, achieving increasingly better results on the track.
In 1960, Lola introduced its first single-seat open-wheeled model, the Mark 2, for Formula Junior. Its front-engine design proved a mistake as the formula shifted towards rear and mid-engined cars. Despite this, and only one win in the 1960 season, forty-two examples were sold. A redesigned mid-engined Mk3 in 1961 consistently finished behind contemporary Lotuses and Coopers.
Despite the limited success of the Mark 2, Broadley was approached by Reg Parnell in 1961 to design a Formula One chassis for his Bowmaker-Yeoman Racing Team. The Lola Mk4 featured a tubular spaceframe and an innovative front suspension design that continued to be used into the 1970s. Initially using a Coventry-Climax four-cylinder engine, a 1.5-litre V8 later became available. John Surtees secured pole position in the Mk4's debut race, the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix, though the car failed to finish. Surtees went on to win the 2000 Guineas at Mallory Park and finished second at the British and German Grands Prix.
At the end of 1962, Bowmaker-Yeoman withdrew from Grand Prix racing, selling their Mk4s to the Tasman Racing Series. In Australasia, Surtees won the New Zealand Grand Prix. In 1963, privateer Bob Anderson won the non-championship Rome Grand Prix in a Mk4.
Efforts on a Formula Junior car, the Mark 5, resulted in nine sales but limited success. An improved Mark 5A gave Richard Attwood a victory in the Monaco Grand Prix Junior event.
The 1963 Racing Car Show saw the debut of the Mark 6 (Lola GT), a significant trendsetter. It featured a Ford 4.2-litre V8 and a Colotti four-speed gearbox within a sleek fiberglass body. The car demonstrated good handling and speed, competing in the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans until a gearbox issue and a crash by David Hobbs.
The Mark 6's performance attracted Ford, who sought to win Le Mans. Ford offered Broadley a two-year deal to redesign the GT, establishing Ford Advanced Vehicles (FAV) at a factory on the Slough Trading Estate. The resulting GT-40 differed from the Mark 6, notably using a steel chassis instead of aluminum. Broadley, accustomed to autonomy, left after 12 months, retaining the FAV factory in Lola Cars' name, which forced Ford to relocate.
The first cars from the newly independent Lola were the Mark 5As, now redesignated Mark 53, for Midland Racing Partnership. The derivative Mark 54 Formula Two single-seater, also used by Midlands, saw Attwood achieve second-place finishes at Pau, Albi, and the Nürburgring. In 1965, Lola introduced the T60, a monocoque single-seater for F2 and F3, but it was not successful.
Also in 1965, Lola debuted the T70, a sports car offered with 5.4 or 6.2-litre Chevrolet engines and Hewland or ZF gearboxes. Patterned on the Mark 6 and GT-40, the T70 was a revelation. The FIA created Group 9 (later Group 7) specifically for the T70. John Surtees drove a works T70 to victory in the Guards Trophy at Brands Hatch. Fifteen T70s were sold in 1965, followed by thirty-two improved Mk2 versions in 1966.
Broadley's first venture at Indianapolis with the Type 80, using a 4.2-litre Ford engine, was unsuccessful. For 1966, team owner John Mecom ordered three improved T90s. Jackie Stewart's T90 led on Lap 190 before retiring, allowing Graham Hill to win. A modified T90 placed Al Unser second in 1967.
In 1967, an improved T70 faced strong competition from McLaren in Can-Am, with Surtees securing Lola's only win at Las Vegas. To qualify for European prototype racing, Broadley designed a coupé body for the Aston Martin twin cam engine, but this proved unreliable. Surtees switched to a 5.7-litre Chevrolet engine, which revealed suspension fragility. Despite this, privateers Hawkins/Epstein won the Spa 1000km, and Hawkins/Love finished second at the Kyalami-historic)-grand-prix-circuit) Nine Hours. Homologated as a Group 4 coupé with a Chevy engine in 1968, the T70 sold over one hundred copies to privateers, with Denny Hulme winning the Tourist Trophy that year. The T70 was developed into the Mk3B (T76) in 1969, featuring new bodywork and lighter weight. Private buyers like Frank Gardner, Trevor Taylor, Paul Hawkins, and Mike de Udy achieved wins in SCCA events during 1969–70. Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons secured Lola's first World Championship sports car race win at the 24 Hours of Daytona, leading a one-two Lola finish. Jo Bonnier and Herbert Muller also finished second at the Austrian 1000km, contributing to Lola's third place in the championship.
Broadley also continued to develop single-seaters. In 1967, he created the F2 T100 monocoque, initially struggling with the BMW radial-valve engine before switching to the Cosworth FVA, which made it competitive, giving Surtees wins at Zolder and Mallory Park and a second at Reims. It was later revised as the T102 and supplied to BMW. The same year, Broadley's new Formula One T110, a joint project with Surtees, was abandoned. Lola also supplied the chassis for Honda's 1967 F1 car, which, despite being slightly overweight, won the Italian Grand Prix. Using American 5-litre stock blocks and T70 suspension for Formula A, Broadley built the spaceframe T140 single-seater, which became the T142 for the British Formula 5000 equivalent.
In 1968, Broadley returned to Indianapolis with the T150, designed for either two- or four-wheel-drive. Four-wheel-drive proved preferable, but Al Unser crashed. Broadley also prepared the T160 to replace the T70 in Can-Am, supplying several to American privateers.
For 1969, Broadley's T162 Can-Am car was overshadowed by the dominant McLarens, with only seven built. The subsequent T163 saw little improvement, though Parsons achieved one second and two third-place finishes. The new T190 FA/F5000 car, with a monocoque chassis, was more advanced than the T142 but difficult to drive. Frank Gardner was brought in to refine the T190, making it competitive with wins at Thruxton and Silverstone). Broadley further developed it into the T192 and tasked Gardner with overseeing development testing.
Throughout the 1970s, Lola remained active in various categories, including Formula Two, Formula Three, Formula Ford, Formula Vee, Formula Super Vee, Formula Atlantic, and Can-Am. By 1972, Lola was a primary provider of customer cars. The T280, built for Jo Bonnier, demonstrated Lola's continued speed, but the company was still hampered by the lack of a dedicated development team despite Gardner's involvement.
Broadley had a minor involvement in the Haas-Lola Formula One project in 1985 and 1986, being named chief engineer in 1985. The THL1 and THL2 chassis, designed by Neil Oatley and Ross Brawn, were often referred to as 'Lolas' despite Lola Cars not being officially involved, due to Carl Haas's close association with Broadley.
From the late 1980s to early 1990s, Lola continued to provide chassis to customer teams, such as Larrousse from 1987 to 1992. Broadley and Lola achieved a podium finish with Larrousse when Aguri Suzuki finished third at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix using a Broadley-designed LC90 chassis. Lola also supplied BMS Scuderia Italia, who raced the uncompetitive Broadley-designed T93/30 chassis in 1993.
Broadley then planned a Formula One team to compete solely under Lola ownership. A prototype chassis, the T95/30, was tested in late 1994 and early 1995 by Allan McNish. In late 1996, Broadley announced the team's participation, initially intending to enter F1 in 1998. However, due to commercial pressures from sponsors, particularly title sponsor MasterCard, the team entered a year early in 1997. Broadley also planned for Lola to become both a chassis and engine constructor, with Al Melling overseeing the design of a Lola in-house V10 engine. This engine was not developed in time, forcing Lola to use the Ford ECA Zetec-R V8 engine, the same specification used by the defunct Forti team in 1996.
In early February 1997, before Lola had even launched its car, Broadley stated that Lola should aim to beat another new entrant, Stewart Grand Prix, and benchmark itself against Arrows, who had signed 1996 champion Damon Hill. The Lola T97/30, designed by Broadley and Chris Saunders, was launched on 20 February 1997. At the launch, Broadley declared the long-term goal was to win the World Championship within four years.
Vincenzo Sospiri and Ricardo Rosset were signed as drivers. However, at the 1997 Australian Grand Prix, Broadley's targets proved overly optimistic. The Lola cars were at the bottom of the qualifying timesheets by a significant margin. Sospiri and Rosset qualified more than 11 and 12 seconds respectively off Jacques Villeneuve's pole position time, failing to meet the 107% qualifying rule and thus not qualifying for the race. In contrast, both Stewart Grand Prix cars comfortably qualified. Further testing at Silverstone) after the Australian Grand Prix again saw the Lola cars slowest, over 9 seconds off the pace.
On 26 March 1997, Lola announced its withdrawal from the Brazilian Grand Prix due to "financial and technical problems." Lola's staff, already in Interlagos, returned to the team's base. Shortly after, Lola withdrew from the World Championship entirely, ending Broadley's dream of a successful works F1 team. This disastrous F1 effort led to Lola Cars entering administration in 1997. The company was sold the same year to businessman Martin Birrane. In a 2008 interview, Broadley admitted the F1 project was a disaster, stating he only entered as a works team because his separate composites business was struggling, and his declining health and heart bypass surgery before the project meant he "didn't have the energy" to address the T97/30's problems.
Broadley sold Lola to Martin Birrane in 1997.
Eric Harrison Broadley died on 28 May 2017, in Cambridge, at the age of 88.
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