The Lola T370 of the 1974 season displayed at Haynes International Motor Museum
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Category | Formula One | ||||||||
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Constructor | Lola | ||||||||
Designer(s) | Andy Smallman | ||||||||
Successor | Lola T371 | ||||||||
Technical specifications | |||||||||
Chassis | Aluminium monocoque, with engine as a fully stressed member. | ||||||||
Suspension (front) | double wishbones, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar | ||||||||
Suspension (rear) | single top links, twin lower links, twin trailing arms, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar | ||||||||
Engine | Ford Cosworth DFV 2,993 cc (182.6 cu in) 90° V8, naturally aspirated, mid-mounted. | ||||||||
Transmission | Hewland FG 400 5-speed | ||||||||
Lubricants |
Shell (1974) Esso (1975) |
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Tyres |
Firestone (1974) Goodyear (1975) |
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Competition history | |||||||||
Notable entrants | Embassy Racing With Graham Hill | ||||||||
Notable drivers |
Graham Hill Guy Edwards Peter Gethin Rolf Stommelen |
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Debut | 1974 Argentine Grand Prix | ||||||||
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n.b. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to Formula One World Championship Grands Prix only. |
The Lola T370 was a Formula One car designed by Andy Smallman and used by Embassy Hill in the 1974 season and the early part of the 1975 season. After an unsuccessful 1973 with a customer Shadow DN1, the Embassy Hill team commissioned its own cars from Lola. The T370 was largely based on Formula 5000 designs, and looked similar to Lola's F5000 cars, although it sported an extremely large airbox. Embassy Hill had two cars for Graham Hill and Guy Edwards. The car was tested well before the end of 1973 in readiness for the January start to the 1974 season.
The first race of the season was the Argentine Grand Prix, where Hill qualified 17th, although Edwards was on the back row of the grid. In the race, Hill was running tenth when his engine failed with a few laps remaining while Edwards finished 11th, two laps down on the winner Denny Hulme. In Brazil, Edwards qualified 25th and last, over two seconds slower than his nearest rival Richard Robarts, and Hill qualified 21st. The race was rain shortened and Hill finished 11th after Edwards retired on lap three with chassis problems. At the South African Grand Prix, Embassy Hill entered only one car, for Hill, who qualified 18th and finished 12th.
As the European season began, Edwards returned for the Spanish Grand Prix but narrowly failed to qualify while Hill started 19th, although the T370's engine failed at half-distance. In Belgium, Edwards outqualified Hill for the first time, starting 21st and 29th respectively. Both cars finished a race for the first time as Hill finished eighth (two laps down) and Edwards 12th (three laps down). At Monaco, Hill qualified 19th and Edwards 24th, but the race proved to be the most successful yet, the team narrowly missing out on their first Championship points with Hill in seventh and Edwards eighth, again two and three laps down respectively. The team went one better in Sweden after starting 15th and 18th, with a point for Hill as he finished sixth (the last point of his career), with Edwards seventh. Both cars were only one lap adrift of winner Jody Scheckter. Edwards again outqualified Hill at the Dutch Grand Prix as they started 14th and 19th, but the race ended in retirement for both cars, Hill with gearbox failure and Edwards with fuel system failure. In France Edwards and Hill qualified poorly, only 20th and 21st of the 22 starters, and Hill finished 13th and Edwards 15th.