The Lola Technical Centre, housing one of Europe’s most technically advanced and commercially available wind tunnels, is about to be put up for sale.
Former racing driver and owner of the Cambridgeshire-based Lola Group, Martin Birrane, has decided, now that he is no longer involved in motorsport engineering, that the continued development of this exceptional facility would be best taken forward by those within the automotive or motorsport industry.
Many of the current Formula One grid have developed cars in the wind tunnel over the last 18 years, and of course Lola itself used the tunnel in the development of its Champ Cars, the hugely successful Le Mans prototypes and the A1 Grand Prix series cars.
The company also won the F3000 contract in 1999 44 cars and spares for a three-year period. It also procured the provision of the Nippon cars on more than one occasion. It’s true to say that the Lola Technical Centre was central to the company’s success during the first decade of the noughties. The facility includes not only the state-of-the-art Wind Tunnel, but also a seven post dynamic suspension rig and a fully equipped model shop.
