The Lola Cars legacy is firmly cemented in motorsport history, but that is not stopping the brand from shaping the future.
Founded in 1958 by Eric Broadley, Lola Cars has established itself as Britain’s longest-serving racing car manufacturer. With three Indy 500 wins, multiple class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, history-making victories in Formula 1, IndyCar, Can-Am, Formula 5000, Formula 3000 and titles at almost every level of motor sport, Lola Cars’ legacy is unprecedented.
After a period of decline Lola went into administration and ceased operations in 2012. Lola was revived in 2022 under progressive new ownership with a renewed mission to lead motorsport into the future. The company is now focused on sustainable technologies such as electrification, hydrogen, and sustainable fuels.
Alongside this revival, Lola uncovered an extensive archive of engineering drawings and technical documentation dating back to its earliest years. These records were not only invaluable to Lola’s own history, but to motorsport heritage.
The Challenge
With their commitment to the future there came a responsibility to their past. The goal was to use this archive to launch a service to support Lola owners with maintaining and restoring their classic race cars. However, to achieve this, an easily searchable database of technical drawings was essential.
The archive itself had been relocated years earlier and was left in disrepair. Poor storage conditions, inadequate or non-existent packaging, and the absence of any discernible filing system had left a rapidly degrading and generally unusable archive. Significant preparation would be needed before digitisation could even be considered.
An initial consultation report was prepared for the client providing a detailed review of the condition of the archive and the necessary steps required to stabilise and document it. We proposed a two-step approach.
Phase 1 — The initial commitment to Lola included; Uplifting the Archive from its storage location, assessing, auditing and providing a proposal for…
Phase 2 — Digitisation, Re-housing and providing an access platform
Phase 1- Our Holistic Approach
We began by uplifting the archive from its poor condition home and transported the records back to our studio where we could start the pre-digitisation process. Transport of all collections is carried out in our non-sign written vans fully fitted with dead locks, fire extinguishers, air suspension and operated by 2 DBS checked staff to ensure utmost care of fragile and valuable collections
Our team’s first step was individually counting and segregating the documents into more manageable categories such as size, and type of media overall establishing a total of 36,837 items.
During this process, our team also came across many documents which were in a state deemed too vulnerable to handle. These at-risk items were separated and profiled by the type and severity of damage, including:
- Mechanical damage (tears, loss of substrate)
- Mould contamination
- Masking tape residue and fragments
- Failed carrier for hanging files
Phase 2– Conservation, Digitisation, and Rehousing
In order to make these documents safe enough to digitise we reached into our pool of experts to Conservator Catt Thompson-Baum of CTB Heritage Consulting, Catt carried out the repairs required to each drawing to ensure they could be digitised safely without risk of further damage.
Once these records were stabilised, they went on to be rehoused in bespoke made acid- and lignin-free boxes. Our in-house graphic design and print team produced and applied professional labels, assigning each box with a unique ID (captured during digitisation), allowing Lola to locate original physical copies if required.
At this point, with an audited, stabilised and correctly housed archive, we paused the project so we could provide Lola with an accurate quote to digitise the archive. We feel it is important to be transparent with customers, and it is always preferable to be certain on costs rather than to estimate the number of assets in a collection wherever possible.
A quote was therefore provided to the client based on actual numbers to provide an element of certainty to the project costs.
Our project with Lola then continued into our digitisation stage. Our approach was being tailored to the specific requirements of each piece if content, taking
care to use the right device for the right medium. Five studios were employed in this process all of which using a range of equipment:
- Canon 5DS
- Fujifilm GFX100
- Nikon D850
- Zeutschel capture devices with book cradles (Hardware Archives – Genus
- SMA Versascan 3650 A0+ flatbed scanners (Hardware Archives – Genus)
All operated by expert staff with extensive archival experience.
Post-Processing and Storage.
Following digitisation, all content underwent a comprehensive post-processing. Using colour-calibrated Eizo monitors and standardised workflows, we ensured a consistent, high-quality output with correct borders, colour profiles, and bit depth. Each file was also individually quality-checked before final approval. Images were output to 300ppi Uncompressed Tiff to provide an archive master plus a Pdf access derivative.
With all the data digitally extracted the drawings are now being stored with Genus, before being moved to the new Lola archive, when it is built in 2026.
Genus offers options for storage to all our customers, notably through our long-term storage provider Deepstore. Deepstore is an underground storage facility bolstering a fully climate-controlled Environment, 24-hour security and fully vetted staff. Through our partnership with Deepstore Genus is able to offer this high-level service to a wide range of clients, consolidating collections that might not otherwise qualify for such facilities.
Digital Formatting
The real fruit of our labour lay in the extracted digital archive which we refined by integrating into LiveDocs. This is an online data base that we build around the requirements of our customers. In the case of Lola, Digital media was organised and tagged across multiple variables such as part number, model number, drawing title, and date.
The result was a comprehensive digital archive with all the advantages of:
- Streamlined for usability
- Worldwide access and shareability
- Providing a full audit trail and logging for GDPR compliance
- Password protected user accounts with configurable permissions
- Multiple profiles within a single instance
- Document version control
Final Result
David Freestone, Archivist for Lola Cars Ltd spoke on the significance of the work:
“The immediate priority when I started at Lola Cars was to make accessible and digital the information held in the Lola Technical Drawing Archive.
Genus’s approach set them apart, as they quickly grasped the practicalities of approaching this task and were able to offer a solution that fit our archive’s needs. Upon visiting the Genus facility, I was impressed and confident that they would be able to complete this project to a high standard. In addition, the work undertaken by Conservator Catt Thompson-Baum has extracted valuable information from drawings that were in a very poor condition.
The technical drawing archive is now a highly valuable resource within the Lola Cars business, supporting owners of Lola race cars across the globe. For the first time in Lola’s nearly 70-year history, there is a full understanding of every single technical drawing held in the archive. “
Our holistic approach considered every aspect of the project. By working closely with Lola, we were able to design an end-to-end solution tailored to their needs, drawing on the full range of services that we provide.
The final outcome delivered more than just auditing and digitisation. It also included long-term storage, conservation planning for vulnerable materials, and most importantly a fully customisable database that made managing their spare parts service a practical reality.
This comprehensive delivery positioned Genus as a true one-stop partner, fulfilling Lola’s digitisation goals while also addressing every challenge faced along the way.
We would also like to also take a moment to thank David Freestone for his contribution to this article and the project as a whole.
