Eric Broadley had fielded the Broadley Special in 1958 and raced this successfully, so in 1959 he sold this car and began development of the Lola MkI Sports Racer which was powered by the 1,098cc Coventry-Climax FWA engine. Other components came from a variety of cars including Austin A30, Morris Minor, Triumph TR2 and Cooper wheels. Bodywork was by Maurice Gomm and manufactured in aluminium, but in 1960 fibreglass was used. A variety of engines were fitted including Coventry-Climax FWE 1,216cc. After this Broadley developed several open-wheel racing cars including Formula Junior, F3, F2, and F1. Lola developed the T70 in 1965 as a mid-engined racing car for American racing designed to take an American V8 engine. The first T70 was an open Spyder because that was the format for American racing. John Surtees campaigned a T70 with 4995cc Chevrolet V8 engine in 1965, the engine later being enlarged to 5.9-litres. Eric Broadley launched the T70 MkII, still as a Spyder, in 1966, and the car took the new Can Am racing championship for 1966 with John Surtees at the wheel. For 1967, Broadley asked Tony Southgate to design a new body for the T70 MkIII for Group 4 racing which required closed roof coupes.