{"id":17436,"date":"2015-10-31T10:38:09","date_gmt":"2015-10-31T14:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=17436"},"modified":"2015-10-31T10:38:09","modified_gmt":"2015-10-31T14:38:09","slug":"payne-pinto-powered-lola-90-track-assault-vehicle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2015\/10\/payne-pinto-powered-lola-90-track-assault-vehicle","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Pinto-powered, Lola 90 track-assault vehicle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Payne<\/p>\n

What do you get when you combine a 1973 Ford Pinto motor and a 1,100-pound, 1988 aluminum monocoque chassis? One of the most rewarding racing experiences in America.<\/p>\n

And a neck like a wet noodle.<\/p>\n

When your speed-addled scribe isn\u2019t flogging production sedans and sports cars, I get my jollies racing an \u201888 Lola 90 on some of this country\u2019s greatest race tracks. With my season finale looming at Circuit of the Americas \u2014 an epic Formula One track just outside of Austin, Texas \u2014 next week, I thought it would be a good time to \u201creview\u201d this popular, durable, affordable sports racer.<\/p>\n

First, a quick primer on so-called S2000 racing.<\/p>\n

Developed in the 1980s for SCCA (Sports Car Club of America, the U.S.\u2019s largest, most competitive, amateur racing club), S2000 racers like my Lola are essentially formula cars with fenders. Formula Ford (or Formula Renault or Formula Mazda depending on the spec motor used) and S2000 have long been both an entree into racing for young drivers with professional ambitions \u2013 and an affordable way for motor-heads like me to get our weekend track fix. As a result, fields feature a wide band of ages. Indeed, racing is a Payne family affair ranging from my two 20-something sons to their grizzled, 53-year-old father.<\/p>\n

After its SCCA heyday in the \u201980s and \u201990s, S2000 racing has migrated to vintage racing clubs like SVRA (Sportscar Vintage Racing Association) where entries are a healthy 20-40 cars.<\/p>\n

I race a handful of tracks a year from Virginia International Raceway to Watkins Glen (New York) to COTA \u2013 part of a record list of U.S. venues that we amateurs share with pro racing organizations like NASCAR, Formula One and IndyCar.<\/p>\n

My English-bred Lola is one of a number of chassis built for S2000 by manufacturers including Swift, Carbir, March, Royale, Tiga and Van Diemen. All of them conform to strict rules in order to keep development costs down \u2013 including using a largely stock, overhead-cam, carburated Pinto motor wedded to a four-speed, Hewland racing gearbox.<\/p>\n

With just 150 horsepower, the high-strung, 2.0-liter mill would seem weak milk for the race track. Until you consider it only has to propel an 1,100-pound frame with carbon-fiber bodywork.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a 7:1 power-to-weight ratio that bests a Corvette C7 or Porsche Cayman GTS.<\/p>\n

The Lola can reach 150 mph with my tookus riding just two-inches off the ground. But the real revelation of the 90 is its ferocious cornering grip on 7 and 9 inch-wide (front-to-rear), Avon racing slicks.<\/p>\n

This thing is an overgrown go-kart making neck-straining, 2.2 G-loads in the twisties. No wonder the pros spend hours in the gym. After a few laps around Watkins Glen\u2019s mighty sweepers and I\u2019m reclining my head against the (small) headrest for (brief) relief in the (all-too-short) straightaways. My kingdom for a neck massage!<\/p>\n

Like any sports car, the 90 achieves its nimble handling by managing aerodynamics, weight, and balance.<\/p>\n

The car\u2019s skin is flat \u2013 Germans call it a \u201cflounder\u201d shape \u2013 in order to speed air across the body. No wings are permitted. I bought my steed from Colorado\u2019s Mark Mercer, a three-time SCCA champion, who added \u201cside fences\u201d to increase stability in high-speed turns by preventing air from washing over the sides.<\/p>\n

Remove the car\u2019s lightweight skin and the chassis construction is similar to a mid-engine formula car with 50-50 front-to-rear weight distribution. For better center of gravity, shocks and springs are located in the center fuselage just above the pedal box. No frunks here.<\/p>\n

Speaking of pedals, I have to trade in my size 15 shoes for narrow, size 11 racing boots just so I can get my flippers down the narrow foot well. Normal-sized humans \u2013 like my 6\u20191\u201d son \u2013 sit in body-conforming seats so as not to move with the violent g-loads. But 6\u20195\u201d freaks like me sit on the floor \u2014 stuffed between riveted panels in the spartan cockpit. To prevent side movement, my shoulders are contained by a shoulder brace.<\/p>\n

Driving the 90 is a blast, once its idiosyncrasies are learned. Upshifts are lightening quick and clutchless \u2014 since maintaining momentum is paramount with a small-displacement engine. Though not as stiff as state-of-the-art, carbon-fiber racing tubs (the skeleton of Indycars and now super-sports cars like Ferraris), the flex-less chassis pushes the envelope of grip \u2013 then quickly lets go when the limit is reached.<\/p>\n

Perhaps my favorite Lola attribute is its open cockpit. Wearing a full Nomex suit, helmet, balaclava and gloves leaves me a puddle of sweat \u2013 so the natural air conditioning is a blessing.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll need plenty of air on COTA\u2019s 20-turn, 3.4-mile roller-coaster next week.<\/p>\n

1988 Lola 90<\/p>\n

Vehicle type:\u00a0Mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, race car<\/p>\n

Price:\u00a0$30,000-45,000<\/p>\n

Power plant:\u00a02.0-liter, overhead-can, dry-sump, inline-4 cylinder<\/p>\n

Power:\u00a0150 horsepower, 135 pound-feet of torque<\/p>\n

Transmission:\u00a04-speed manual Hewland Mk. 9<\/p>\n

Performance:\u00a00-60 mph (NA)<\/p>\n

Weight:\u00a01,100 pounds (1,335 minimum racing weight with driver)<\/p>\n

Fuel economy:\u00a012 mpg (est.)<\/p>\n

Report card<\/p>\n

Highs:\u00a0Neck-snappping cornering Gs; Won\u2019t break the bank to race<\/p>\n

Lows:\u00a0Neck pain; Cockpit made for midgets<\/p>\n

Overall:\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What do you get when you combine a 1973 Ford Pinto motor and a 1,100-pound, 1988 aluminum monocoque chassis? One of the most rewarding racing experiences in America. And a neck like a wet noodle. When your speed-addled scribe isn\u2019t flogging production sedans and sports cars, I get my jollies racing an \u201888 Lola 90 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17436"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17436"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17437,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17436\/revisions\/17437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}