Lola B2K/10
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| Category | LMP900/SR1 | ||||||
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| Constructor | Lola Cars International | ||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||
| Length | 4,640 mm (15 ft 3 in) | ||||||
| Width | 1,990 mm (6 ft 6 in) | ||||||
| Axle track | 1,660 mm (5 ft 5 in) front 1,580 mm (5 ft 2 in) rear | ||||||
| Wheelbase | 2,800 mm (9 ft 2 in) | ||||||
| Engine | Caterpillar TDI 4.9 L (300 cu in) twin-turbocharged V10 engine (Diesel) Judd GV4 4.0 L (240 cu in) N/A V10 Roush Racing-Ford 6.0 L (370 cu in) N/A V8 Porsche M96/70 3.6 L (220 cu in) twin-turbocharged Flat-6 mid-engined, longitudinally mounted | ||||||
| Transmission | 6-speed sequential manual | ||||||
| Weight | Appr. 900 kg (2,000 lb) | ||||||
| Tyres | Michelin | ||||||
| Competition history | |||||||
| Debut | 2000 12 Hours of Sebring | ||||||
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The Lola B2K/10 was a Le Mans Prototype developed in 2000 by Lola Cars International for use in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, American Le Mans Series, Grand American Road Racing Championship, and Sports Racing World Cup. It was a replacement for the previous Lola B98/10 and shared some elements with its smaller variant, the Lola B2K/40.
More an evolution of the B98/10 than an all new car, the B2K/10 shared many design elements, most notably at the front end of the car. The unusual fenders and headlights remained, while the nose had been raised in order to accommodate a higher footbox. However, unlike other prototypes which usually had the nose come to a point to allow for an air intake, the B2K/10's nose merely stopped where the footbox ended, leaving a large vertical protrusion. Inside of this, a third headlight was mounted for better visibility in endurance races.
Part of the reasoning behind not creating an intake in the nose was due to the decision to draw all the cooling air for the car from underneath. However, this design suffered from problems due to ambient track temperature, a problem that had similarly plagued the BMW V12 LM in 1998. The large air intake mounted underneath the rollbar of the B98/10 could also be removed, although not all cars did this. If removed, the intakes were relocated to small nacelles to the side of the cockpit, allowing for a cleaner flow of air to the rear wing from underneath the rollbar.
The sides were radically changed, with large openings between the sidepod and cockpit allowing air over the nose to escape out the side of the car. The radiator intakes on the side, which were partially fed from the air channeled away from the nose, were also larger than those on the B98/10.
Lola remained with the same engine as the B98/10s, a Roush Racing-designed Ford 6.0 Litre V8. However, as before, a wide variety of other engines were chosen by teams for use, including the Judd GV4 V10 and a Porsche twin-turbocharged Flat-6.
