The Lola T490 was a two-litre Group 5 Sports 2000 prototype race car designed, developed and built by Lola in 1977. It belongs to the long line of small Lola prototypes sold to private teams, and its customer version, the T492, is the car most often seen in historic racing.
Lola T490 at a glance
| Maker | Lola, Britain |
|---|---|
| Year | 1977 |
| Type | Sports 2000 prototype |
| Group | Group 5 |
| Engine size | 2 litre |
| Designed by | Lola |
| Built by | Lola |
| Customer version | Lola T492 |
based on one source; the article is short because the only source is a brief English Wikipedia entry. No free photographs of the T490 were found, so the page keeps the old picture of the record.
History of the Lola T490
The T490 was built by Lola in 1977 for two-litre sports car racing, in the Group 5 Sports 2000 category. Like the earlier T290, it was a small prototype intended for private teams rather than a works effort, and it followed the same formula of a light chassis matched to a two-litre engine.
The design was also offered to customers as the T492. The T492 is the version that appears most often today: sold to private owners and prepared for national and European two-litre championships, it kept the Lola name on grids long after the works interest in the class had moved on.
Design and features
- Two-litre prototype: built to Group 5 Sports 2000 rules.
- Customer car: sold to private teams, with the T492 as the customer version.
- Lola continuity: a direct descendant of the company’s earlier two-litre designs.
Lola T490 versions
- T490 (1977): the original two-litre prototype.
- T492: the customer version of the same design.
The T490 continued the line that began with the T210 and the T290 and led on to the T600. More in the Lola collection.
Sources
- Lola T490, English Wikipedia: year, class, maker
