1977 Lola Type 506 'Mini GP' Race Car

A step up from go-karts, so-called Formula 710 cars (a name coined by Road & Track magazine as they were roughly 7/10s the size of a Formula One car) were an unofficial category of rent-a-racer popular on half-mile tracks in America during the mid-1970s. Also known as mini-racers, they were made by some well known race constructors around the country, including Don Gates (of Chaparral Cars fame), Herb Adams (who built Trans-Am and IMSA racers), Bruce Meyer (builder of the famous Meyers Manx) and Eric Broadley's Lola outfit, one of the most respected race car builders of all. Lola's T506 mini-racer was a scaled-down Formula Ford car, powered by a single-rotor Wankel rotary engine originally used from a Sachs snowmobile, with an 8.5:1 compression ratio, developing 28 bhp at 6000 rpm and driving through a Salisbury/MGP variable-ratio belt-drive transmission. Built around a tubular frame with fibreglass body panels resembling a miniature Formula One car, the Lola was unique amongst the F710 cars in having fully independent, race-derived suspension front and rear. Positive and quick rack and pinion steering was another feature, along with wide slick tyres. As a result, the understeering characteristics inherent in most mini-racers were largely eliminated, making the Lola not only faster but a lot more fun to drive than its competition. The Lola T506 retailed for USD $6,000 and no less than 67 were made.