John Frayling was involved with the design of the Lotus Type 14 Elite. Although the design has been attributed to Peter Kirwan-Taylor, the Type 14 was modified by aerodynamicist Frank Costin and Frayling made production changes which infuriated Colin Chapman and changed its appearance. In 1962 Eric Broadley of Lola designed a mid-engined chassis for a new experimental class of GT racing, the MkVI GT. Broadley commissioned John Frayling to design a low drag body for this Lola MkVI GT and it was launched at the 1963 Racing Car Show. The Lola MkVI GT had a problematic racing career during 1963, but its performance from a Ford V8 engine was enough to persuade Ford in Dearborn to buy the car and use it as the foundation for the Ford GT40 racer. Frayling stayed with Lola and designed the follow up car, the Lola T70 MkI in 1964, although Tony Southgate did the design of the closed T70s. When Ford of America wanted a design for a car to win the Le Mans 24 hour race Lotus bid for a project but failed to win it. This project went on to become the GT40. Lotus submitted a design by their director of Engineering Ron Hickman and then took up this design for their own mid-engined car. However the Hickman design was considered too complicated so John Frayling designed the final Europa. Frayling and Paul Haussauer came up with a design for a car to replace the Lotus Europa, and when Colin Chapman rejected it they left Lotus and formed a new company eventually marketing their design as the Imp-based Clan Crusader.