Description:

INDY CAR LOLA T8900 RUNNING CAR

Lola is one of the most legendary names within the racing community. Founded in 1958 by the famous Eric Broadley, the company has had a long and diverse involvement in Formula One. Lola assisted Honda in its first entry into F1 in 1967, resulting in the “Hondola” piloted by John Surtees. It built cars for the legendary Embassy-Hill team of the great Graham Hill, and for the Beatrice-Haas team that brought Alan Jones his famous comeback in 1985. Later, Lola would be involved with teams like Larrousse and Scuderia Italia. Its entry as a works team, backed by MasterCard, in 1997, would be a flop. Lola never became a great success in Formula One, but it would manage to dominate Indy Car racing for years.

History of this chassis:

We are pleased to offer you the chance to own a piece of Lola’s glorious history in Indy Car Racing, and more specifically, the world famous Indy 500 race. The Lola T89/00 is the chassis designed and built by Lola for the 1989 Indy Car season. Although Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi would steer his Penske to the championship that year, the T89/00 would manage to win five races in the legendary hands of Bobby Rahal, Michael Andretti and Al Unser Jr. This specific car, the #28, sponsored by Oracle and Toshiba, was fielded by the then new Teamkar International team. The team, that previously competed in Indy Lights – or the American Racing Series - with men like Juan Manuel Fangio II, Wally Dallenbach jr. and Gordon Johncock was owned by Roman A. Kuzma, who had previously been involved with March Engineering and Lola Cars. After winning races in Indy Lights in the 1987, 1988 and 1989 seasons, Teamkar International switched to Indy Car for 1989, with Randy Lewis as their driver.

Lewis, whos full name is John Ranson Lewis III would start the Indy 500 five times between 1987 and 1991, but this car wouldn’t bring him any luck; in 1989 he retired from the race. Living in Silicon Valley, Lewis struck up a friendship with then unknown Larry Ellison, who would later go on to be one of the founders of the Oracle corporation. This friendship resulted in Oracle sponsoring Lewis’ in Indycar. His talent for business turned out to be even greater than his talent for driving. As he retired from motorsports in 1992, he entered the wine-making business, first helping Oracle co-founder Bob Miner to develop and market his vineyard, learning the trade as he went. After Miners death in 1994 Randy Lewis founded his own Lewis Cellars, which would go on to win many prizes for the exquisite wines they produce.

The car is fully operational, with an H-pattern manual gearbox and a Cosworth DFS V8-engine – DF stands for “Double Four” in the back. This turbocharged 2.65 liter V8 is a legend in its own right, capable of reaching outputs of nearly 1000 horsepower. Many knowledgeable people have been on record saying that this was the era in which Indy Car was closest to Formula One. With this unique offering you have the opportunity to own a racing machine that is to this day able to “draft” its opponents at speeds close to 400 km/h.

Contact:

Ron Reinders

M: +31 6 6254 7903  |  M: ron@gpcars4sale.com 

Alex Reinders 

M: +31 6 3194 6829  |  M: alex@gpcars4sale.com   

The description of this (consignment) cars is, to the best of the our knowledge, accurate and not misleading. GPCARS4SALE requests a range of detail about the cars from the owner and performs a level of due diligence. However, potential buyers must independently satisfy themselves as to the accuracy of the description. Potential buyers should view or arrange inspections in the showroom of GPCARS4SALE as well as conduct any research they feel is necessary before committing to buy.  

Please note that it is not uncommon for classic vehicles to have received cosmetic repairs in the past, either to rectify damage or refresh appearance, and this work may be undetectable even upon visual inspection. Unless there is an explicit statement by the seller to the contrary, please assume that any vehicle could have had bodywork or paintwork during its life. Furthermore, photographs may not reflect the true colour or full condition of the vehicle. It is buyers’ responsibility to satisfy themselves of the colour and condition of a vehicle, including its interior and the existence of any remedial bodywork or paintwork, before committing to buy.

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