Lola Cars International Ltd today confirmed the completion of a formal agreement between the company and A1 Grand Prix, a new winter single-seater series that has been founded by His Highness Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum and businessmen, Brian Menell and Antonio Teixeira.

New cars will be developed for the A1 Grand Prix series that is set to begin in the winter of 2005 (pending FIA approval), involving a minimum of 24 countries. 30 single seater cars will be built for the new series and 3.5 litre engines will be developed by Northampton based Langford Performance Engineering.

His Highness Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum, of the ruling royal family of Dubai has himself competed in both cars and bikes in recent years and is a passionate motorsport enthusiast.

Lola Cars Chairman Martin Birrane said of the announcement; "Lola has all the credentials required for this exciting new series from the Middle East which is one of the biggest growth areas in global motorsport. We are looking forward to contributing our expertise to make A1 Grand Prix a successful venture whilst further expanding the companyï¿¢ï¾€ï¾™s horizons at the same time."

A1 Grand Prix plan to unveil the prototype racing car built by Lola at the formal launch which is due to take place at the end of March or beginning of April 2004. The roll-out will take place in Dubai.