The Lola Spyder T70 MK.3B is a good example of a racecar that looked beautiful but just didn’t make the grade on the track. The Can-Am Championship, which was originally called the Canadian-American Challenge Cup, was established in 1966. The Lola racecars—designed by Eric Broadley, founder of the Lola Car Company—dominated the Can-Am races during the 1966 inaugural season and Lola looked forward to more of the same in 1967 with its new TK70 MK.3Bs. But the McLaren M6As proved to be too hard to beat, ushering in an era that went until 1971, when Bruce McLaren was killed testing a new car, and the new McLaren management lost interest in Can-Am racing after 1972.

Dan Gurney (#36) campaigned in a Ford-powered TK70 MK.3B during the 1967 season, but the car proved to be too heavy and unmanageable to compete effectively. It also seemed to have more than its share of mechanical problems. The litany of Gurney’s less-than-sterling outings reads as follows. During the Round 1 Road America Can-Am at Elkhart Lake, on Sept. 3, Gurney had to drop out after 26 laps due to a gearbox failure. At the Round 2 Chevron GP at Bridgehampton, Long Island, on Sept. 17, Gurney didn’t finish due to fuel injection problems after only 3 laps. During Round 3, on Sept. 23, at the Player's 200 at Mosport Park, Gurney had clutch problems after 70 laps and dropped out. October wasn’t much better. During Round 4 on Oct. 15, at the Monterey GP at Laguna Seca, his car overheated after 12 laps. During the Round 5 L. A. Times GP at Riverside on Oct. 29, Gurney, who had won the pole position, blew the engine after only 4 laps. Moving into November, during (the final) Round 6 at the Stardust GP in Las Vegas on Nov. 12, vibration problems ended his bid after 14 laps. The Chevrolet-powered MK.3Bs faired somewhat better. Mark Donohue and John Surtees finished 2nd and 3rd during Round 1. George Follmer and John Surtees finished 3rd and 4th during Round 2, with Bill Eve coming in 10th. Peter Revson piloted his MK.3B to a fourth place finish during Round 3. Bill Eve only managed 6th place during Round 4. During Round 5, Mark Donohue placed 3rd, George Follmer placed 6th, and Bill Eve placed 9th. During Round 6, at Las Vegas, John Surtees and Mark Donohue managed a 1st and 2nd place finish—the highlight of Lola’s 1967 racing season.

Some drivers drove Ford- and Chevy-powered T70 MK.3Bs in 1968, but the results were also mixed, nor did they place very high. During Round 1, Roy Kumnick placed 14th, Fred Pippin placed 16th, and Skip Scott placed 19th in Chevy-powered MK.3Bs, while Ronnie Bucknum placed 17th in a Ford-powered car. Brian O’Neil placed 7th during Round 2 in a Chevy-powered car. The last hurrah for the MK.3B came during Round 6, with Gary Wilson placing 10th in Chevy-powered car and Bob Nagel placing 13th in a Ford-powered car. A handful of tired MK.3Bs campaigned in the 1969 and 1970 Can-Am seasons, but the car’s best days were behind it—and it wasn’t very successful in its heyday. All of the above just goes to show that, even though a beautiful car looks like it could go like stink, winning races requires more than a pretty face.

In keeping with its reputation for reproducing racing hardware to scale, GMP has done its usual fine job with the Dan Gurney Lola Spyder T70 MK.3B. The first thing you’ll notice when you take it out of the box is how weighty a piece of die cast metal it is. On the outside, the dark blue finish is beautifully done, and all logos and numbers are flawlessly applied. When you move beyond the surface, you’ll notice, in addition to the spot-on cockpit detail, that the steering wheel is on the right side, attesting to the car’s British heritage. When you flip up the rear cowl, you’ll see the fine detailing of the engine and transaxle assemblies, including the long exhaust pipes leading from the racing headers. Up front, there’s an engineering feature you’ll also see on the C5R racing Corvettes nearly forty years later—a sloped cutout in the hood that vents cooling air taken in through the front scoop. The front wheels can be positioned but don’t look for working suspensions. One nice thing about a 1:18 scale image is the wealth of detail you can see if you look for it. A peek through the front wheels reveals the caliper assemblies. It’s a little more difficult through the rear wheels, however, since they’re mounted well inboard. Look for them right next to the shocks. They’re more easily spotted from above, when the engine cowl is open. You’ll also find a collection of struts, linkages, cables, and hoses around the engine and transaxle. By the time you’re done studying all this detail, you’ll have received an object lesson in racecar construction.

Lola moved beyond the difficulties experienced with the T70 MK.3B model and continued to produce some of the finest racecars to hit the racing circuits. Like the cars they produce, car designers work best when they’re moving forward. The lessons learned during a racing season can be used to work the kinks out of a design—or lead to a new approach. Though flawed, the MK.3B helped Lola to design even better racecars. Thanks to GMP, a piece of racing history has been preserved in their 1:18 scale image of Dan Gurney’s 1967 Lola Spyder T70 MK.3B.

-Tom Pine