Eric Broadley founded Lola Cars in the late 1950s with a straightforward goal: build a competitive sports car that could hold its own against established constructors. The Mk1 was the direct expression of that ambition. Its body was styled and developed by chief designer Maurice Gomm, who clothed the spaceframe in a low-profile, aerodynamically clean aluminium skin. The approach prioritised lightness above all else, and the finished car weighed between 812 and 840 lb (368–381 kg) — a figure that gave it a considerable advantage over heavier contemporaries.
Power came from the Coventry Climax FWA four-cylinder engine, an 1,098 cc (67.0 cu in) unit producing approximately 80 hp (60 kW). The engine was the work of engineers Harry Mundy and Walter Hassan, and had already earned a fine reputation in other lightweight British sports cars. Drive was transmitted through a four-speed manual gearbox. The combination of a small, rev-happy engine, a minimal kerb weight, and a well-sorted chassis made the Mk1 a potent package in the under-1100 cc class, where it punched well above its displacement.
The spaceframe construction — available in either steel or fibreglass tubing depending on the build — kept manufacturing costs manageable while still delivering meaningful structural rigidity. The aluminium bodywork was formed to hug the mechanical package closely, giving the car a distinctly purposeful appearance compared with the more upright sports cars of the era.
The Lola Mk1's highest-profile result came at the 1960 12 Hours of Sebring, where it claimed a class victory in the hands of Charles Vögele and Peter Ashdown. Sebring was and remains one of the most demanding endurance events in North American motorsport, and winning a class there — against a field that routinely attracted factory-backed machinery — was a significant achievement for a small British constructor still in its infancy.
Beyond Sebring, the Mk1 competed across club and national circuits in Britain and further afield, accumulating a strong record in small-displacement sports car racing. Its performance attracted buyers throughout the amateur and semi-professional ranks, and production continued long enough for the car to develop a loyal following.
At least 32 cars are confirmed to have been built, though historians believe the actual total lies somewhere between 38 and 42 examples. The variation reflects incomplete factory records from the period, a common difficulty when tracing production runs of small British constructors from the late 1950s and early 1960s. Whatever the precise figure, the Mk1 represented a genuinely successful commercial debut for Lola, providing the revenue and reputation that would allow Broadley to move on to more ambitious single-seater projects.
The Lola Mk1 holds a foundational place in the company's history as the car that proved Broadley's ideas viable. Its class win at Sebring demonstrated that a small, independently funded constructor could compete at international level, a lesson that Lola would carry forward into Formula Junior, Formula One, and eventually sports prototypes and IndyCar. The Mk1's emphasis on lightness, simplicity, and engineering efficiency became characteristic traits of Lola cars across every subsequent generation.