After the horrors of the 1970's, when the sport was burdened with the effects of two successive energy crises, motorsport governing body Federation Internationale de l'Automobile dusted itself off and prepared for the future.

One of the categories which had suffered the biggest hits was sportscar racing, as it lacked the self-sustaining prestige of Formula One, while still being fairly expensive. Moreover, the series relied on customer teams, which had scaled down their efforts to lower level racing, or even vanished altogether in the wake of the oil shock. As everyday life was turned upside down by the economic downturn, the niche hobby of motor racing didn't seem to stand a chance.

The oil crises threw a big rusty wrench in the wheels of society. The oil crises threw a big rusty wrench in the wheels of society.

So for 1982, the FIA elected to turn the sport around completely. The confusing and muddled structure built around Groups 1-7 was abandoned, and replaced by Groups A, B, C and N. The first two groups would govern rallying and touring car racing, while Group C was aimed at reinventing sportscar racing.

Group C responded to a number of developments seen in the 1970's, including the need to save fuel, and the advent of the turbocharger. The FIA attempted to kill two birds with one stone by including a 600 liter per 1000 kilometer fuel limit.

Not only would this give off a favorable image in the contemporary political climate, it would also ensure a level of parity between large capacity naturally aspirated engines and smaller turbocharged units. As turbochargers demanded more fuel, the limit would prevent teams simply upping the boost and leaving everyone behind.

Group C was an incredible success. Group C was an incredible success.

The formula proved to be a brilliant concept, as it revitalized manufacturer interest in the sport. Nissan, Jaguar, Porsche, Toyota, Aston Martin, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Lancia all formed factory teams at one point or another, backed by countless smaller private outfits.

Throughout the decade, the series' popularity continued to soar, eventually bringing it virtually on par with the self-proclaimed pinnacle of motorsport: Formula One. Naturally, this development didn't exactly sit well with the bigwigs operating in F1's upper echelons. Something had to be done about these pesky sportscars.

The introduction of F1 engines spelled the end for Group C. The introduction of F1 engines spelled the end for Group C.

The solution was very simple. For the 1990 season, the FIA pushed to homogenize the incredibly diverse Group C field into something akin to Formula One. In fact, the only engine type allowed according to the new regulations were naturally aspirated, 3.5L piston engines. This effectively outlawed every single car in the top level C1-class.

The change would force every major brand active in Group C to design what were in essence Formula One engines at great expense. Unsurprisingly, the big car brands operating in the series didn't take kindly to the sudden change, and demanded an extra season to actually design the new cars.

As a result, the switch was postponed to 1991, and older cars were allowed to run with a 100 kg (220 lbs) weight penalty to avoid embarrassment for the 3.5L cars. Moreover, the new machines would not be required to follow the old fuel restrictions, as the high-strung powerplants would never be able to run efficiently enough. After some political maneuvering, Mazda managed to skirt around this penalty, and scored a lucky win at what would be the last Le Mans in the classic Group C era.

Jaguar's XJR-14 absolutely dominated the 1991 season. Jaguar's XJR-14 absolutely dominated the 1991 season.

In the World Sportscar Championship itself, things were rather more bleak. Just four manufacturers dared to take on the new formula, as the biggest name in the business, Porsche, declined to continue. Toyota, Peugeot and Mercedes-Benz created entirely new machines complete with bespoke engines, but to no avail.

Due to their unproven nature and the unsuitable nature of high-revving engines to endurance racing, the cars turned out to be fantastically unreliable. The only team to get it right straight away was Jaguar. Tom Walkinshaw Racing built an incredible chassis, powered by a plug and play Ford-Cosworth HB V8 taken straight from Formula One. The combination proved unbeatable, and Jaguar easily took the title.

Euro Racing's Spice SE90C was the first private 3.5L car. Euro Racing's Spice SE90C was the first private 3.5L car.

During the 1991 season, privateers had survived running handicapped turbo models like the ubiquitous Porsche 962. The FIA had forced their hand, as the second tier C2-class had been banned outright at the start of the season. This eliminated the backbone of the sport, as the cheaper, smaller prototypes made up a large part of the field. As the older cars were banned at the end of 1991, the few independent teams that had survived were forced to adopt the costly new formula, or drop out entirely.

Only five private 3.5L entries had been seen in 1991, as the Euro Racing Spice SE90C was joined by former Porsche customers Brun Motorsport and Konrad Motorsport built Judd and Lamborghini-engined machines, followed by the Cosworth-powered ALD and ROC. The increasingly rising costs, an economic recession and expensive, unproven, unreliable technology made sure none of these teams survived the season.

Like the Brun, the new Lola used a Judd engine. Like the Brun, the new Lola used a Judd engine.

However, for 1992 the slowly crumbling World Sportscar Championship was joined by a legendary name. British constructor Lola Cars had been occupied with designing and building chassis for Chevrolet and Nissan during the heyday of Group C, but with Nissan's withdrawal from the sport, the company now found itself as an independent once more.

Because attracting another car maker seemed to be only a distant possibility, Lola founder Eric Broadley elected to jump into the ailing private sector. As Porsche had done before with its incredibly successful customer program, Broadley wanted to offer a ready to race package for anyone who had the cash.

Work on the car started late in 1990 with the arrival of engineer Wiet Huidekoper. The Dutchman had formerly worked for Reynard Racing Cars, Spirit Racing, and the short-live EuroBrun Formula One team, a partnership between Euro Racing and Brun Motorsport. In addition, Huidekoper had been attached the Chamberlain Engineering team in 1989, as they took the C2 title with a Spice SE89C.

Since the 3.5L cars couldn't rely on mountains of power like the older, 1000+ horsepower machines, the T92/10 was designed more along the lines of a Formula One car. Instead of focusing on low drag, the Lola put more emphasis on outright downforce to win time in the corners.

As a result, the car featured a lot more sculpted lines instead of the boxy, slab-sided classic Group C cars. A large dual-plane rear wing was another distinctive feature of the 3.5L concept, as well as a large airbox on the roof to feed the hungry engine.

That engine was Engine Developments' new Judd GV10 V10, the replacement of the EV V8 seen in the 1991 Brun C91. Like the Jaguar XJR-14, the Lola could count on the GV10's Formula One heritage, although it hadn't been quite as successful. In F1 competition, the engine produced some 700 horsepower, but to increase durability it was brought down to a more manageable 650. The power was handled by an in-house developed 6-speed manual transmission.

Helped by the cooling intakes for the radiators and the front brakes being placed inside the nose rather than in the sides, the T92/10 produced very little drag, while offering a heap of downforce.

Suspension consisted of dual wishbones supported by F1-style pushrod activated coilovers on all four corners, while the stopping power came from AP Racing carbon ceramic discs and 3-piston calipers. In total, the car weighed 770 kg (1697 lbs), slightly over the 750 kg (1653 lbs) minimum weight limit.

Now that the car was done and looking very promising, it was time to put it to market. Unfortunately, by the time the T92/10 became available, the World Sportscar Championship was in a shambles. As a result, there really weren't that many buyers for the car.

After a presentation at the 1991 430 KM of the Nurburgring, an order for two cars was placed by Charles Zwolsman's Euro Racing, a Dutch outfit known for being the other half of the ill-fated EuroBrun F1-project. Zwolsman had been running an outdated Spice SE90C, which was little more than a converted C2 car. As far as he was concerned, the advanced Lola was a major step ahead.

After a botched entry into the Suzuka 500 KM, the T92/10 made its racing debut at the first round of the Interserie at Mugello. The Interserie was a European championship serving as a refuge for banned or outdated machinery from all types of categories. Contested since 1970, it was home to anything from Can Am, Group C and modified single-seaters based on F5000 or F3000 chassis.

With Charles Zwolsman himself at the wheel, the Lola qualified second behind an older Porsche 962 CK6, some 2.973 seconds behind. The race was contested over two heats. With only a Cougar C28S Porsche for competition in a field of home-built specials, Zwolsman managed to secure second just behind the 962. In the second heat, he would beat the old Porker, and win the race on aggregate.

The type's World Championship debut at Monza saw both chassis make an appearance, now with much tougher competition. Charles Zwolsman was joined by Euro Racing regular Cor Euser (NL) in # 3, while former F1-driver Stefan Johansson (SWE) and former Brun Motorsport ace Jesus Pareja (ESP) took control of # 4.

The Euro Racing quartet was faced with taking on the biggest names left in the business, as both Peugeot and Toyota fielded two cars each. A third factory entry came from an underfunded Mazda, which entered a rehashed Jaguar XJR-14 powered by the same Judd GV10 as the Lolas, only rebranded with a couple of Mazda badges.

Euro Racing had their work cut out for them against the works teams. Euro Racing had their work cut out for them against the works teams.

Filling in the rest of the grid were Euro Racing's direct competitors: the Cosworth-powered privateers. Wiet Huidekoper's old team, Chamberlain Engineering, continued to field a Spice SE89C, while Action Formula and Team S.C.I. relied on the newer SE90C. Closing out the field were a Geepee Argo Cars' Argo JM19C, a modified C2 car, and the Gebhardt C91.

In qualifying the Lolas proved to be the best of the rest, as both cars qualified ahead of the other independent teams and even beat the Mazda. Johansson/Pareja placed 5th, followed closely by Zwolsman/Euser in 6th.

With a time of 1:29.709, the fastest Lola was some 3.69 seconds behind the pole-sitting Peugeot 905B Evo of former F1-drivers Derek Warwick (GB) and Yannick Dalmas (FRA). However, reliability turned out to be a major issue, as Johansson/Pareja missed the start due to gearbox troubles. Zwolsman/Euser did get off the line, but had to retire with a similar issue.

Stefan Johansson / Jesus Pareja, Silverstone 1992. Stefan Johansson / Jesus Pareja, Silverstone 1992.

Round 2 of the season took place at the fast and flowing Silverstone circuit. Once again, the Euro Racing squad split the factory teams in qualifying. The fastest Lola was 4.540 seconds behind the pole-setting Peugeot, but 1.119 seconds ahead of the Mazda.

The gearbox again proved to be chink in the T92/10's armor, as the # 3 of Charles Zwolsman and Cor Euser slowed to a halt on race day. Johansson/Pareja recorded the first WSC finish for the car though, but the pair was later disqualified for a fuel irregularity.

The Lolas were able to consistently outgun the factory Mazda. The Lolas were able to consistently outgun the factory Mazda.

Charles Zwolsman took his car to the second round of the Interserie at the Nurburgring, but saw little success. A 6th place in heat 1 and failure to finish in heat 2 netted him an 18th place overall, making for a disappointing weekend.

Next up on the calendar was the main event of every sportscar season, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The big two went all out for the prestigious event, expanding their teams to three cars each. Mazda also entered a second car, dressed in the famous orange/green Renown livery and driven by the 1991 winning team: former F1-drivers Volker Weidler (GER), Johnny Herbert (GB) and Bertrand Gachot (BEL).

Aside from the works 3.5L teams, the independently organised race allowed older Group C cars to start in Category 2 to help fill the grid. Because of this, Euro Racing also had to compete with several versions of the popular Porsche 962, the Cougar C28S, and the oddball factory Toyota 92C-V.

Fitted with larger. heavier headlights for night driving, the T92/10's saw a slight slump in qualifying. Charles Zwolsman, Cor Euser and Jesus Pareja headed the Lola contingent in 9th behind the all-star Mazda and the Kremer Racing 962 CK6.

The second car was taken by former Mercedes-Benz factory star Heinz-Harald Frentzen (GER), and Japanese sportscar racers Syunji Kasuya and Hideshi Matsuda. The trio found themselves stuck down in 12th behind the other Mazda of Maurizio Sandro Sala (BRA), Youjirou Terada (JAP) and Takashi Jorino (JAP) and the Toyota 92C-V driven by Roland Ratzenberger (AUT), Eddie Irvine (GB) and Eje Elgh (SWE).

Unsurprisingly considering the car's reliability record up to that point, the team didn't have an incident free run. Just 50 laps in the Zwolsman/Euser /Pareja car predictably fell victim to a ruined gearbox, which was exacerbated by a starter motor failure.

However, the second machine did manage to complete the grueling race, though its performance was far from competitive. Numerous reliability issues lead to long stints in the pits, dropping the car down the order to 13th overall by the time it finally crossed the finish line. The problems meant it was some 81 laps down on the winning Peugeot piloted by Derek Warwick, Yannick Dalmas and Mark Blundell (GB).

The disappointing showing at Le Mans was followed by a more uplifting weekend at Donington. With the three extra factory cars seen at La Sarthe back in storage, Euro Racing had a better chance of a competitive result, provided the cars stayed together.

The Mazda was getting closer and closer. The Mazda was getting closer and closer.

In qualifying the sole Mazda MXR-01 managed to split the Lolas, and the Peugeot/Toyota battle continued undisturbed. Disaster struck for Zwolsman/Pareja during the race, as a fire broke out in the T92/10's dashboard, ending their race.

Frentzen and new addition Phil Andrews soldiered on though, and finished an impressive 4th behind two Peugeots and a Toyota, after the second car spun off on its own oil. Tellingly though, the T92/10 finished 6 laps down on the winners.

By this time, funds were starting to dry up, and Charles Zwolsman had to cancel his entries in the Interserie rounds at Brands Hatch and Most. Instead, he directed the team's attention to the World Sportscar Championship, making the costly flight over to Suzuka for the penultimate round of the gutted 1992 race schedule.

At the start of the season, 10 rounds had been announced, but budget restrictions and uncertainty about the future of the championship had brought it down to just 6. The 1000 kilometer event was livened up by the appearance of two All-Japan Sportscar Championship entries consisting of a Nissan R91CK and a British Barn BB90R, a renamed Toyota 90C-V.

Euro Racing found their cars 6th and 7th on the grid, bested by the Mazda and the Nissan R91CK. Cor Euser was joined by Canadian IMSA GTP-racer David Tennyson for the event, while Jesus Pareja partnered Hideshi Matsuda.

The latter pair would finish an encouraging 5th, though they were still 11 laps behind the winning Peugeot of Warwick/Dalmas. Euser/Tennyson weren't as lucky however, as the otherwise reliable Judd V10 blew up for the first time.

It all came to a head for Charles Zwolsman in the lead up to the last round of the WSC in Magny Cours. On June 29, 1992, Zwolsman was stopped by a police officer in the Netherlands for speeding. While looking through his file, the officer discovered Charles had skipped out on an earlier sentence related to the drugs trade. He was promptly arrested and imprisoned.

While in prison, he continued to run his 60 man drug cartel through phone calls and letters, ensuring the reported smuggle of as much as 160 tons of hasj from Morocco to the Netherlands in the back of refrigerated trucks.

Some of the product was then funneled into the United Kingdom, while the profits were laundered through an exotic car business. Zwolsman's associates would buy fancy wheels from Ferrari, Rolls Royce, Porsche and Maserati in cash, and then sell them on back in Holland, sometimes at a loss.

Back at Magny Cours, his cars suddenly failed to pass scrutineering and were denied their final race start. With the dissolution of Group C and the World Sportscar Championship at large already decided in an FIA meeting conspicuously chaired by Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone in April, the Euro Racing T92/10's short and turbulent career was brought to a dramatic end.

A third example was built long after the demise of the World Sportscar Championship. A third example was built long after the demise of the World Sportscar Championship.

Despite the unceremonious bankruptcy of Euro Racing, the death of Group C and the cancellation of the World Sportscar Championship for 1993, the T92/10's story still wasn't quite finished.

On request of British team McNeil Engineering, Lola built a third chassis in 1995. This car was to be used in the Interserie, competing against the wide variety of cars the Euro Racing machine had already beaten once.

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In the capable hands of Canadian driver Robbie Stirling, the McNeil car became a regular race winner in the Interserie. The car was so successful in fact, Stirling secured the Interserie title in 1996 with 8 heat wins.

For 1998 the car was entered into the new International Sports Racing Series, a championship for open cockpit Sports Racers, the first major sportscar series since the collapse of the WSC. However, the T92/10 was of course a closed top car, so McNeil modified the car to adhere to the SR-specification by removing the roof panel and the airbox, while adding a rollbar and a simplified single plane rear wing. Another addition was a larger 4.0L GV4 V10, adding torque, reliability and drivability over top end power.

The Lola 981 was less than successful. The Lola 981 was less than successful.

McNeil Engineering renamed the car 981, a moniker not officially supported by Lola Cars. The car wasn't up the task of fighting the smaller and lighter purpose-built SR cars, including Lola's own brand new B98/10. In all, the car only finished two races, scoring just six points.

The lackluster results forced the team to return to the Interserie in 2000, restored to its original specification and reunited with the original 3.5L engine and running under the T92/10 designation once more. In that form, the car was used until 2001, finally retiring at the end of the season. And with that, the type finally retired from contemporary racing for good.

The Ascari A410 was little more than a decapitated T92/10. The Ascari A410 was little more than a decapitated T92/10.

Another Dutch millionaire with more legitimate credentials kept the car alive in another form though, as offshore drilling mogul Klaas Zwart took chassis HU02 as a base for his Ascari A410 Le Mans Prototype.

A second car was cloned from the initial Lola chassis, and both machines served through 2003 in the Le Mans Series and American Le Mans Series, after an update in 2002 to the more rounded KZR-1 spec.

Chassis HU01 is the only untouched T92/10, and currently competes in historic racing. Chassis HU01 is the only untouched T92/10, and currently competes in historic racing.

The Lola T92/10 was an ambitious attempt by Lola Cars to dominate the customer market in Group C. Sadly, the car was beset on all sides by outside influences. An economic recession made it hard to find customers and sponsorship, and the championship Lola had targeted was actually teetering on the edge of a cliff.

Back when the car went through its initial design stages in 1990, the category seemed to be doing better than ever, but the 3.5L formula turned out to be a trojan horse. Bernie Ecclestone's jealousy at the series popularity motivated him to hollow it out with horrifically expensive technology, and the near-total exodus of private teams.

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A gutted race schedule, a total lack of promotion and apparent disinterest of most companies previously involved with the sport rang the death knell for Group C, and indeed Lola's ambitions of a profitable Porsche-like customer program.

Charles Zwolsman's shady antics really didn't help the car's case, but the T92/10's days were already numbered when Ecclestone closed down the clandestine meeting back in April. Of the three chassis produced, only one has survived without a major redesign. Unlike its modified sisters, chassis HU01 retired at the end of 1992 without further mutation. It now spends its days shattering eardrums around the world in historic racing.