Lola Cars Ltd. announced today that it is returning to global motorsport in a multi-year technical partnership with Yamaha Motor Co. for entry into the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship from Season 11. The storied motorsport brand is working with Yamaha to develop and supply a powertrain to compete in the all-electric, single-seater race series.

“To be selected by one of the most innovative OEMs in the world to partner on a project of this significance is a testament to the caliber of the team that we have been building at Lola,” said Till Bechtolsheimer, Chairman, Lola Cars Ltd. “

Since acquiring Lola Cars in 2022, Bechtolsheimer and his team have been developing a comeback from a new global headquarters in Silverstone, UK, building on the legacy of one of the most successful manufacturers of customer race cars of all time. Founded by Eric Broadly in 1958, Lola Cars has designed and produced nearly 5000 race cars spanning 400 different model types, with success in championships around the world including IndyCar, Le Mans, Formula 1, Can-Am, Formula 3000, Formula 5000, A1GP, Formula Ford, and Touring Cars.

Beyond providing an opportunity to join the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship as it moves to the GEN3 Evo platform for the 2024/25 season, the Yamaha technology partnership is said to also create opportunities not only around motorsport but also in the broader zero emissions transportation space.

“The focus of this project is squarely around technological development in which Lola is fully invested,” added Bechtolsheimer. “We see the highly efficient 350-kW electric powertrain that underpins the manufacturer’s perimeter in Formula E as a cornerstone technology with exciting applications across many forms of topflight international motorsport in the coming years.”

The Lola partnership fits into Yamaha’s strategy of accelerating the research and development of various technologies that contribute to sustainability.

“As the technical partner, we hope to acquire more advanced energy-management technologies through the highest level of electric racing in Formula E,” said Heiji Maruyama, Managing Executive Officer and Director, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. “We also share Lola’s new philosophy of sustainable motorsport, and we are very pleased and honored to form this partnership with them.”

The collaboration is the first of several major projects planned to re-establish Lola as an industry leader in sustainable engineering and motorsport, strategically focusing on three areas: electrification, hydrogen, and sustainable fuels and materials.

“We are thrilled to confirm our entry in Formula E,” said Mark Preston, Motorsport Director, Lola Cars Ltd. “For us, this is more than just an opportunity to return Lola to the track, it’s also a fantastic platform for technological development. Lola Cars has a decorated history of success in chassis and aerodynamic design. This project will allow us to create a unique electrified platform with a software focus at its core to provide a basis for Lola’s wider plans in defining the future of motorsport technology.”

This partnership continues Lola’s long history of involvement in Japanese motorsport, primarily in what is now known as the Japanese Super Formula Championship, winning 13 Championships in two decades from 1987 when it was known as the All Japan F3000. Lola has also partnered with Japanese manufacturers to create vehicles across multiple racing disciplines including Formula 1, IndyCar, and Le Mans.

For the upcoming Formula E season, details on the GEN3 EVO car design are limited, but in a late February post, the series’ CEO Jeff Dodds provided a few interesting nuggets. He says that the evolution of the current car will look different, “a bit stealthier and cooler,” and the car’s performance will take another leap. It will be “materially different in terms of things like acceleration.”

In two years, the series will make the next leap to GEN4, with even more performance, an evolved look, and a much bigger battery capacity so that the cars can race for longer or deploy more power throughout a race.