If you’re a fan of this site, or if you’re a racing nerd, you probably know about the first time a Cadillac raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That was in 1950, when American millionaire Briggs Cunningham entered two Caddies into the legendary endurance race in France. One was a stock model, the other a weird-looking wedge the locals dubbed Le Monstre. (Cadillac the company wasn’t involved; Cunningham entered on his own dime.) You probably also know that Cadillac returned to Le Mans last year, got onto the podium, and is back at it in 2024 with its eyes on the top step. What you might not know is the chapter of the Cadillac and Le Mans story that’s set in the early 2000s. 

Two things come to mind when looking back at early-aughts Cadillac: The original Escalade, and grandparent-era (as the kids might say now) coupes and sedans designed primarily for comfort. Either way, neither screamed performance. (The V-Series was just about to become a reality, and hadn’t yet begun to define at least part of the brand as a sporting alternative to BMW). So why did GM decide that Cadillac should go race sports cars—and internationally? 

At first blush, it made sense given GM’s existing footprint in racing, and due to its existing relationships in motorsport. GM was already represented in almost every major motorsports discipline, promoting its brands wherever it thought the money would do the most good: NASCAR, NHRA, IndyCar, and the GT class of sports car racing. One of the few places it wasn’t racing was in the top echelon of sports-cars, in which the cars are built from scratch rather than based on production models (as in the GT levels). As of 1995, however, GM had a connection to a prototype constructor, Riley & Scott, which was the first team to compete with Oldsmobile’s 4.0-liter Aurora V-8. (Beginning in ‘96, it would supply the same engine to IndyCar’s IRL series.) With Olds power, Riley & Scott’s Mk IIIs won the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. They had even raced at Le Mans, in 1996, though a gearbox failure cut their time short. Why not use the elements that already existed—Riley & Scott, the Mk III, and the familiar engine architecture—to put GM into prototype racing, with the Cadillac brand? 

In 2000, Riley & Scott was back at Le Mans, backed by GM, with not one but four cars—two campaigned by Europe-based DAMS, the other two by Team Cadillac. The model was called the Northstar LMP and was adorned with a grille to look like a Cadillac.

“The return from 50 years was a big deal and I would say from a marketing perspective it succeeded because back then ‘Arts & Sciences’ was the Cadillac marketing theme and this was the bridge from the vinyl top Cadillacs to the CTS-V, which 2003 was the first year of the production car,” Jeff Kettman, GM’s manager for the Northstar LMP program, told Daily Sports Car last year. “The whole reason that Cadillac got involved in motorsports was to shift the public perspective of Cadillac to more of a sporty vehicle.”

The problem? GM showed up to Le Mans with a design and a budget that was four years out of date. “Back in 1996–97 you didn’t need tons of money to run well at Le Mans,” Bill Riley told Gary Martin of Autosport in a 2021 interview. “By the time the car rolled out on the grid, the game had changed dramatically.” The Cadillacs finished 19th, 21nd, and 22nd overall, with one DAMS car a DNF. 

Obviously, something needed to change. They needed a new car. GM began to shop around, chatting with the likes of Prodrive and Dallara, and ending its relationship with Riley later that summer. Months passed. GM eventually decided to rely on a new team headed by Wayne Taylor, Nigel Stroud, and Jeff Hazell, a key figure behind McLaren’s jaw-dropping win at Le Mans on its first try.  By the time GM made a decision, however, there was no time to build a new car. Taylor, Stroud, Hazell, et al. tried anyway, putting “80 percent” of the design team into rehauling the old car while the rest worked on the new one. It wasn’t ready by the 2001 running of Le Mans: Only the two DAMS cars ran, with new bodies on cars built to 2000’s spec. They finished eighth and twelfth overall. The new car, dubbed the Northstar LMP-02, was ready in time for the 2003 event, and then GM cancelled the program. 

The sad irony is that since Audi (the 2002 winner) did not run Le Mans in 2003, Cadillac would have been favorites to win along with Bentley (who did win in their Speed 8, a car that shared much with Audi’s prototypes of the era). 

Though it campaigned the CTS-V and subsequently an ATS-V Coupe in the Pirelli World Challenge series through 2017, Cadillac took a lengthy respite from the top level of sports car racing, particularly international competition. In the meantime, a lot of history’s been written: Audi’s era of dominance (including Le Mans wins in 2002, 2004–08, and 2011–2014), the revenge of Porsche (2015–17), and the recent establishment of Toyota (2018–22) as the somewhat unexpected king of Le Mans.

When IMSA made a rules pivot for the 2017 season, Cadillac decided it would return to prototype racing. The Cadillac DPi-V.R, a Dallara-built prototype with a Cadillac-developed engine, debuted in November of 2016. 

Off the bat, the effort was more successful. For its first year back, Cadillac fielded three cars in partnerships with three different teams: Mustang Sampling, Whelen Engineering, and a familiar name—Wayne Taylor Racing. Sponsored by Konica Minolta, the Wayne Taylor car won its first-ever outing, which was also the longest race on the calendar: The 24 Hours of Daytona.  

Like the Northstar LMP, the DPi was powered by a V-8, and made a subtle nod to Cadillac’s street cars with similar wheel and headlight designs. Unlike the LMP, this new car won—a lot. During its six-year lifespan, the teams running DPi-V.Rs posted 27 wins and 80 podium finishes across 60 races. The cars also took home three manufacturer’s, three driver’s, and three team championships in that time.

Cadillac had mojo like it never had before in racing. In June of 2021, the FIA, ACO, and IMSA announced new regulations the prototype class, outlining a “Hypercar” with a hybrid powertrain that would be eligible for competition in both IMSA and World Endurance Championship (WEC), with minor changes. The crown jewel of the WEC is Le Mans, and Cadillac quickly declared its intent to return.

Unveiled in June of 2022, the Cadillac Hypercar prototype was beautiful, and more strongly visually related to production models. Why Cadillac bought into the regulations, says GM sports car program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser, is that the rules “allowed us to keep the styling of the bodywork to make that car uniquely a Cadillac.” The car’s hybrid V-8 heart is a bespoke design that shares nothing besides a displacement figure with that in GM’s GT-class competitor, the Corvette C8.R. 

Cadillac headed back to Le Mans in 2023. As the checkered flag brought the rain-soaked race to a close, Cadillacs crossed the finish line in third and in fourth, the brand’s best-ever results at the most prestigious endurance race in the world. Both cars, #2 and #3, were fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing. Ganassi is back for 2024, joined by Action Express.

Change is coming, though: Cadillac will no longer be partnering with Ganassi for its prototype efforts in IMSA or in WEC after this season. Action Express, who fielded the Whelen-sponsored IMSA car for Cadillac in 2023–24, will likely take up the mantle of Cadillac’s primary racing partner in that series. DSC reported in March that multiple teams are already bidding for Ganassi’s space as Cadillac’s partner in WEC, an encouraging sign of the maturity of the program.

What does the lackluster 2000–02 program illuminate about the current effort? By way of contrast, it shows just how much GM has to prove at the 2024 Hours of Le Mans. The podium finish last year shows that Cadillac has remedied its worst missteps of the earlier era; clearly, it has gotten wiser and more efficient when making decisions alongside its partner teams, and it has handily run cars in two series simultaneously. Speaking of the podium finish, Klauser says: “We got a couple minutes to be just completely blown away—Hey, we had this success—and then the hunger set in, and the only answer from here on out is first place.”

Can a Cadillac win Le Mans in 2024? For now, the brand finally has everyone asking the right question. More than ever, Cadillac has skin in the game—and that’s what makes for good stories, and great racing. 

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BMW has two factory entries in the Hypercar class at this week’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, one of which will be adorned with the art of Julie Mehretu. BMW revealed this M Hybrid V8, its 20th Art Car, at the Centre Pompidou in Paris on May 22nd and subsequently shared it at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at Lake Como, Italy later that week. Mehretu met with media at Villa d’Este and talked about her first rolling work of art and how the process gave her a new appreciation for the automotive world.

Mehretu, a New York-based contemporary artist, originally declined BMW’s offer to create the latest Art Car. She was unanimously selected by an independent jury of international museum directors for the role in 2018. During the Covid pandemic lockdown in spring 2020, she reconsidered: I was checking in with a lot of the people that I went to for guidance . . .  I think all of us were doing that around the world to make sense of this time when we [had been] hypermobile. And then the next thing you know, we’re all sheltering in place and under strict quarantine. I was thinking these are the times where you push yourself, and so while we’re all sheltering in place to think about mobility became a really interesting space. I thought, just take this [commission] and open up a new door.

She knew nothing about racing but became a racing fan: I really enjoyed going to the pit stop [at the 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona] and seeing the numbers of people who work in there that are all communicating in some way or another with the vehicle itself and with the drivers [and realizing] that it is a team sport in that way. Going to Daytona was exhilarating—it was so much fun.

Although the Art Car debuted in May, Mehretu says it will not be done until after it races at the 24 Hours of Le Mans: The car will go through many transformations. Even the drivers you see going in and out of the car will mark up the car, and I made marks in that area thinking about that. There’s all the debris from the [track], the exhaust on the back, the car comes out just looking very different and we’ve discussed leaving it that way—you know, we’ll see what it looks like. If there are too many insects, we might have to do a little bit of hand washing, but we’ll see. I think with all of the [BMW Art] cars, the car has gone through the experience of the painting. The painting has transformed and marked up the car and then the painting—the car—will go through the race as the second major project [the first project being the wrap], and then it will be finished.

Her nephew, a car geek, was instrumental in helping her decide to take the BMW Art Car commission: My brother loves cars, and since my nephew was a child, tiny cars, toy cars, were always in his hands. That would be his meditation: Parking about 100 or 150 different toy cars in different configurations. He’s here with me [in Europe, for the Art Car’s debut] and he’s part of the reason I’ve done this project. He really was like, “please don’t say no, don’t say no. This is one of the things you should do!” And he’s loved it.

How she conceived the BMW Art Car in her studio: I had a scale model [of the BMW M Hybrid V8 race car] in the studio for a long time. I would just push the model around on a cart and it would go in front of different paintings at different times. And I just kept it there while I was working for the whole year. And then, about six months in, I saw this painting in front of it and then just thought of them together—I felt like the car could actually experience the painting. At first, I didn’t know how we were gonna approach that. [My assistant] Jackie Furtado worked with me on the digital sketches that [BMW] gave us, the vector files and the 3D model. And we were able to simulate how the car could go through the painting as a portal.

Mehretu also designed the racing suits and helmets that the three drivers— Sheldon van der Linde (South Africa), Robin Frijns (Netherlands), and René Rast (Germany)—will wear at Le Mans; she is an honorary fourth driver. I worked with another person who used to work at my studio, Minnie, who is now working on her own in fashion and apparel. She came back and we worked together on the driver’s uniforms, or overalls, and then the helmet as well. I know the helmets are very special, so we had a meeting with the drivers on Zoom. Each driver, from the different places that they live, showed their own helmets. And we tried to do something different on each helmet according to who they were.

Mehretu wanted to change the appearance of spare body parts for the race car, but Le Mans regulations prohibited it: One desire I had, and BMW tried really hard to get this to happen, was for the spare parts for the car—I wanted to do them in the ghost of the painting. So, they would be the negative of the car. If a part of the car had to be replaced, it would be replaced by its ghost, so the car would also shift and [change] shape through the race. We couldn’t do that; we tried hard. [It would have made it] part of this active performative painting, but in that sense, it’s ok. I mean, the point is to win, not to be disqualified.

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Cadillac’s history with the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race goes back to 1950, when millionaire Briggs Swift Cunningham entered two Cadillac-based cars to take on the motoring world. Fifty years later, in 2000, and then again in 2002, Cadillac returned to Le Mans with an LMP prototype racer powered by a 4.0-liter Northstar twin-turbo V-8.

Cadillac decided to return to the Circuit de la Sarthe for the 2023 running of Le Mans, and you can go behind the scenes as the team prepares for and competes in the race, thanks to No Perfect Formula, the exciting new film that documents the journey. The film debuts Friday, May 31 at 7 pm ET on the Hagerty channel #2545 on the Samsung TV Plus app on Samsung Smart TVs.

The film opens with scenes from the 2023 race. Shots of the crowd intercut with shots of the cars as they blast through the rain, then of the Cadillac team nervously looking on; all manage to capture the visceral thrills and palpable tension. 

Then the #311 Cadillac car spins out in the rain and crashes into a barrier.

Cut to Brian Scotto, co-founder of Hoonigan, who sets the stage: “As people, we love a good story. Nobody loves the story about the team that won last year wins again. They want to hear that story of the team that upset everybody. Stories come from struggle. You gotta give people a reason to care.”

By that metric, we as viewers come to care very much through a series of interviews with many of the members of the Cadillac team. We meet Laura Wontrop Klauser, sports car racing program manager; Vince Tiaga, sports car racing regulations; Kalvin Parker, assistant program manager; Aaron Pfeifer, vehicle technical lead, and Jim Igrisan III, engine build technician, to name just a few. Putting faces to names and hearing their stories, we become invested in the team members and can’t help but cheer them on.

Other cool, behind-the-scene highlights include sitting in with Tiaga, Parker, and Pfeifer as they discuss the reasons the team chose to go with a naturally aspirated V-8 rather than a turbocharged V-6. We get to join Igrisan as he accompanies the newly assembled LMC55.R V-8 to its first test on the dyno. Exhaust headers glow fiery red as the engine roars through its test cycles. As Igrisan sums it up, “Competitors, in my mind, took the easy way out. It’s easy to make power with turbos, easier to manage power with turbos. To compete with naturally aspirated engine is pretty cool. And who’s got the best-sounding car out there?” It’s a rhetorical question, of course. Igrisan is right: The Caddy sounds terrific.

The rest of the film follows the team through the testing of the Cadillac in the fall of 2022 and then on to opening of the 2023 racing season at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, then to the 12 Hours of Sebring, and culminating in June at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. No spoilers here—whether you know how the races turned out or not, you don’t know the stories behind them. For those, you’ll have to tune in on the Hagerty channel #2545 on the Samsung TV Plus app on Samsung Smart TVs. If you don’t have a Samsung Smart TV, you can watch on Galaxy Devices, and on the web. Global audiences can view on Hagerty’s Facebook.  After its premiere, No Perfect Formula will run all night, as well as every Friday at 7 p.m. ET in the weeks leading up to the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 15–16. It’s also available on Cadillac’s YouTube channel.

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What’s a company like Cadillac doing in sports car racing?

Winning, mostly.

Since Cadillac joined the International Motor Sports Association series in 2017 in the top prototype class, it has earned four championships and won the Rolex 24 at Daytona four times. 

But changes have come to sports car racing—In 2023, IMSA introduced a total redesign of the cars eligible to compete in its premiere GTP class, including a new body, chassis, and revolutionary hybrid power.

An added incentive came with that new GTP package: The specifications for IMSA’s fastest class meant that the cars were now eligible to enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the most prestigious sports car race in the world. Manufacturers from all over the globe come to Le Mans each June to compete, and Cadillac received three invitations to enter the 2023 race, celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the event. Three teams were dispatched to France to race the Cadillac V-Series.R in the Hypercar class.

A documentary team followed Cadillac as they embarked on their ambitious return to Le Mans, and the result is “No Perfect Formula,” which premieres May 31 at 7 p.m. EST, on the Hagerty channel 1194 on the Samsung TV Plus app on Samsung Smart TVs, Galaxy Devices, and on the web. Global audiences can view the documentary on Hagerty’s Facebook page.

Want a sneak peek? You can view the official trailer for “No Perfect Formula” below.

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For five months—6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week—Derek Drinkwater’s life was consumed by a race car that competed only once, in the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it finished a middling eleventh. Drinkwater could never own it: It’s worth too much money, and happily resides in a museum in Naples, Florida, while Drinkwater and his wife, Pat, live in Chiddingfold, England, where he wears several hats—a truck mechanic, a caterer, a race car driver, a popular television host.

The car he’s so taken with is called Le Monstre, French for “the monster,” so named by fans and the media at Le Mans, because the car’s styling is somewhere between cartoonish and hideous.

If Drinkwater couldn’t have the monster, he’d just build one. He told Pat that he’d be eating in the garage for a while. She begged him not to do it. “I have to get it out of my system,” he told her.

It’s all the fault of Briggs Swift Cunningham II, who was the sort of man who could make the average Joe feel good about millionaires. Born in 1907, family money funneled into Cunningham’s bank account from a variety of sources: A growing company named Procter and Gamble, the Pennsylvania Railroad, Citizen’s National Bank, the meat packing industry and multiple other businesses. And this was before he married Lucie Bedford, granddaughter of the founder of Standard Oil.

Cunningham didn’t smoke or drink or carry on like the rich people in The Great Gatsby. He preferred to spend his money in competition: He built a boat and sailed it to victory in the 1958 America’s Cup, and—along with college chums he met at Yale, brothers Miles and Sam Collier—he built and raced cars.

Cunningham was already an established racer when a pair of entries for the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans fell into his lap. You’d think he would just buy a pair of Ferraris or Talbot-Lagos, but Cunningham was different: If he was going to France, he wanted to take something American.

But what? Cadillac was building a potent 5.4-liter, 160-horsepower V-8; stuff that into a short-wheelbase Cadillac Series 61 two-door, and at least you’d have something that might go the distance.

That wasn’t quite enough for Cunningham and his cohorts: Sure, they sent a stock-appearing Series 61 with an auxiliary 35-gallon fuel tank and twin carburetors as one entry, but for the second, Cunningham noticed the rule book said modifications to the body were allowed. He removed the steel body completely and had an engineer at Grumman Aircraft design something in aluminum that would be lighter and more aerodynamic. It looked like a bar of Procter and Gamble soap. The French dubbed it “Le Monstre.”

Technical inspectors at Le Mans scrutinized Le Monstre, rule book in one hand, fine-toothed comb in the other. No, the rules didn’t say you could replace the entire body, but they didn’t say you couldn’t. It was judged legal. Cunningham, along with tuner Phil Walters, drove Le Monstre. The Collier brothers drove the other Cadillac, which the French were calling “Petit Pataud,” which translates to “Little Clumsy.”

Little Clumsy finished tenth, while Le Monstre was 11th, a victim of Cunningham stuffing the car into a sand bank early on in the race. It took him about a half-hour to dig the car out by hand.

For some reason, all this resonated with Derek Drinkwater, who usually works on and sells Diamond T trucks, known mostly for the rugged six-wheel vehicles built for use by the military in World War II. He uses vintage trucks in his high-profile catering business, and he also appears on several auto-related TV shows.

This may not be the first time he has been obsessed with a famous vehicle: He was profiled in a documentary about director Steven Spielberg’s first film, the low-budget, made-for-TV Duel, about a sinister Peterbilt truck that chases a hapless traveling salesman (Dennis Weaver) driving a Plymouth Valiant. In the documentary, titled The Devil on Wheels, Drinkwater says he “fell in love” with the 1971 movie. He found a vintage Peterbilt attached to a tanker like the one in Duel, bought it on eBay, drove it 2700 miles from Portland to Houston, put it on a boat and had it sent on a four-week cruise to England.

So maybe spending five months building a replica of a car that raced once, years before Drinkwater was born, is not that out of character. After all, he had already built and raced a Cadillac like Little Clumsy, but that wasn’t enough.

It was Pat who actually got the ball rolling: She located a short-wheelbase 1950 Cadillac in Arizona. “We bought that and used its chassis,” Drinkwater said. It would not be easy. Le Monstre and Little Clumsy both remained in Cunningham’s considerable car collection, along with subsequent Cunningham-built cars, many with Cadillac engines. That collection fell into the hands of Miles C. Collier, son of Cunningham’s Yale friend and Le Mans team driver, who houses the collection at the Revs Institute in Naples, Florida. The Revs Institute was of great value to Drinkwater, supplying all sorts of photos and measurements of Le Monstre.

But what they didn’t have was any sort of blueprint. So Drinkwater built a big projector and a huge screen, on which he projected a life-sized side photograph of Le Monstre. He outlined the entire car on the screen, matching the appropriate measurements, and effectively made his own blueprint of the car he would build.

Gradually it took shape. Inside, it used the same Cadillac V-8 engine, down to Le Monstre’s odd five-carburetor fuel system with a Carter carb in the middle, surrounded by four Holleys. The same three-on-the-tree shifter and transmission that, incidentally, made downshifting for sharp turns at Daytona a challenge. The same drum brakes. Drinkwater resisted the urge to update the suspension.

Outside, Drinkwater formed the aluminum panels himself, which he admits is not his specialty. The panels were affixed to a tubing framework by airplane-style Dzus fasteners. Rear lights, like the original, come from a 1948 Ford. The factory Cadillac steering wheel was replaced. A small engraved plate placed on Le Monstre’s dashboard, just left of that steering wheel, read “Custom built by Frick-Tappet Motors Inc.,” of Long Island, New York. A nearly identical plate in Drinkwater’s car reads, “Custom built by Derek Drinkwater Motors Inc.” of Chiddingfold, England. The car was painted white with a big blue stripe down the middle, which was a Cunningham staple.

On Facebook, a growing number of people watched Drinkwater’s build take place. He let it be known that he was in search of a special gauge like one used on Le Monstre: Two people responded. The first guy had one he’d sell Drinkwater for $3000. The other guy also had one. He wrote, “I’ve been following you on Facebook. You can have it for what I paid for it 20-odd years ago: $200. I’m honored to be part of the build.”

Drinkwater finished his monster in 2018, and began driving it at some racetracks in Europe, including Brands Hatch and at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. He also raced it at Le Mans, in the Le Mans Classic, a series for vintage cars.

At Goodwood, both the original Le Monstre and Drinkwater’s tribute car showed up, and he had the opportunity to compare them side by side. The tunnel behind the driver’s head, containing the roll bar, is two inches taller and wider than the original, because, Drinkwater said, that’s what the rules require now. And the white on Le Monstre’s body has turned to more of a cream color, likely due to age. Otherwise, they appear to have emerged from the same factory.

Last November, he drove his car at the Classic 24 Hours at Daytona, an annual event patterned after the Le Mans Classic. The event was designed for cars raced in 1965 or newer, but Drinkwater asked the organizers, Historic Sportscar Racing, if they would allow him to come, “and they said, ‘Of course, we’d love to have you.’” His car hit 142 mph in practice, faster than Le Monstre went at Le Mans.

This month he returned to Daytona—his car wintered in Florida—and Drinkwater fabricated a trailer hitch for the car, hooked up a teardrop camper, and he and wife Pat hit the road, leaving Daytona and bound for California. He spoke to Hagerty during a quick stop, about 40 miles east of Austin.

“No roof, no windshield wipers, no heater—what could go wrong?” Drinkwater said, laughing.

“So far, the trip has been fantastic. We’re taking the scenic route.” He and Pat have basically taken a year off from work, so there’s no hurry to get home. Surprisingly, there’s no chase car full of parts and a mechanic following them—“We’re on our own, just me and Pat in the little camper. Tonight, though, we’re getting a hotel room. The camper is great, but a hot shower, you know…”

So far, only one thing has gone wrong: A couple of days before our conversation, Drinkwater said he received an email from the vaunted Monterey Historics, held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca each August. Drinkwater had asked to race there, but he was turned down because his replica of Le Monstre wasn’t, well, Le Monstre.

“They said the car’s not original, and I know it’s not the original car, but underneath, everything is a 1950s short-wheelbase Cadillac. It’s still an historic car, there’s no new aftermarket parts or anything else.” He said there are multiple well-positioned automotive enthusiasts advocating for him, “So I hope we still have a shot.” After all, he said, the event’s first race is even called “The Briggs S. Cunningham Trophy.” Even if he’s refused an entry, he plans to park it in the spectator lot.

Drinkwater’s car is scheduled to return to England in November, and he and Pat have a lot of America to see between then and now. A couple of days ago, he checked in to their Instagram account from the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. It was colorful.

Taking a year off doesn’t mean they’ll be relaxing. On the morning we spoke, Drinkwater and Pat had spent nearly two hours using the free internet at McDonald’s updating their social media accounts and returning texts and emails.

“The response has been fabulous,” he said. “The way people slam on the brakes to take a video of us on the freeway, I’m sure there’s going to be an incident.”

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Perhaps more than any other car company, Porsche faced enormous change in the period from 1960 to ’70. On the road, the seminal 356 gave way to the definitive 911, and Porsche finally went mass-market with the 914. The changes on track were even bigger.

At the beginning of the ’60s, Porsche raced the pocket-sized, class-competitive, four-cylinder 718. By the end of the ’60s, it had the 12-cylinder, all-conquering 917. The years in between saw a rapid succession of newer, better, faster prototype racers. The 908 was one of them, and it wound up being among the most successful and versatile race cars Porsche ever built. Which really is saying something. Among those 908s, this 908/02 Spyder, up for auction next week, has one of the best résumés of any 908.

In 1968, with the FIA changing the displacement for its Group 6 prototype category to an F1-sized 3 liters, Porsche further developed its 907 (a 2.2-liter car) and adapted it to accept a new 3.0-liter unit. They called the new racer, naturally, the 908. Air-cooled and with two-valves per cylinder, its new flat-eight made about 350 hp for most of its career, and although this was less than the output from some of its F1-derived competition like Ferrari and Matra, the Porsche eight was meant from the get-go to last a full endurance race, not just a relatively short Grand Prix. The 908 was also a very light car, typically less than 1500 pounds.

Early 908s were streamlined longtail coupes. They were drop-dead gorgeous but also unstable at speed, terrifying to drive, and prone to numerous teething problems. Regular aerodynamic tweaks with flaps and appendages changed the 908’s appearance drastically in a short time, but the results for it in the 1968 season were mixed, although Porsche did finish second in the World Sportscar Championship.

In 1969, Porsche was forging ahead with the brand-new 917, but nevertheless further developed the 908 into the 908/02, which was not a coupe but an open short-tail spyder. As it did the year before, Porsche continually tweaked the 908’s bodywork for better aerodynamics. One of the most important trips to the Stuttgart wind tunnel resulted in the Flunder (Flounder) body, nicknamed for its flatter, fishier appearance, including the nearly enclosed passenger area. The new shape debuted at the Nürburgring 1000km and won, notching Porsche’s third straight victory at the event. Porsche also won the World Sportscar Championship in 1969, mostly thanks to the 908, although one of the longtail coupes finished just 120 meters behind the winning Gulf Ford GT40 at Le Mans.

A new version, the 908/03, debuted for 1970, with Porsche aiming to use the more nimble 908 on tracks less suited to the powerful 917. The two-car strategy worked, and Porsche won the World Sportscar Championship in both 1970 and 1971. Rule changes for 1972 left the 5.0-liter 917 effectively banned, and the 3-liter category became the fastest class, but Porsche nevertheless sold off its 908s to customers. Remarkably, a privately entered 908 finished third at Le Mans in 1972, and others were competitive into the early 1980s, by then running turbocharged engines. At the Nürburgring 1000km, a Porsche 908 took the checkered flag in three different decades—four straight wins from 1968–71, and again in 1980.

This 908, chassis 908/02.005, started out as a factory 908/02 spyder. It first raced at Sebring in 1969, then was used as a training car for the Targa Florio, which Porsche won. Later in the year, it went to the Martini International Racing team and for the 1970 season got the more enveloping Flunder bodywork. It raced at Sebring, Brands Hatch, Monza, the Targa Florio, and Spa, where it notched a class win.

For Le Mans, its shape was further revised with longtail rear bodywork better suited for Le Mans’ high average speeds. It was also fitted with a transmission oil cooler (an overheated gearbox forced another Flunder to retire from Le Mans the year before). The Martini team fielded a single 917, done up in its famous blue and green psychedelic livery, along with 908/02.005 plus another 908/02. That other 908 crashed in qualifying, though, and 005 started the race way back in 22nd place. Drivers Rudi Lins and Helmut Marko piloted the spyder quickly and consistently, however, and by midnight they were up to sixth place and leading their class. By late the next morning they were a remarkable second place overall. A wheel nut stuck during two consecutive pit stops and cost precious time, but by the end of the 24-hour slog, they crossed the finish in third overall, still first in class, and won the Index of Performance, an award for efficiency. Martini’s other car, the hippy-fied 917, finished in second. Not bad for a team that had only started racing in 1968. The overall win, of course, went to the Porsche-Salzburg team’s 917, marking Porsche’s first overall win at Le Mans. This 908 was a big part of that effort, and it is even shown in a few scenes from Steve McQueen’s 1971 movie Le Mans as well.

908/02.005’s racing career stopped after its Le Mans triumph, and the car went into several Swiss race car collections before being acquired by noted Porsche collector Julio Palmaz, who also owned the Porsche-Salzburg 1970-winning 917. After going to the current owner in the 2010s, 005 has had significant restoration work, including a complete rebuild of the engine, to get it race-ready.

Porsche built barely 30 908s of all types, and they’re coveted both for their historical significance and for being usable vintage racers, so they don’t pop up for sale often. A longtail coupe sold last June for €1,885,620 (about $2M), and another 908/02 factory car with a similar resume but no Le Mans win sold in Monterey two years ago for $4,185,000. A 908/03 also sold at Monterey in 2017 for $3,757,000, and Bonhams sold this very same 908/02.005 10 years ago for £2,185,500 ($3.4M). This time around, it’s the headline car of the all-Porsche Air|Water auction, and has a presale estimate of $4.75M–$5.75M.

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Automotive history is littered with the bones of small-scale manufacturers that, for one reason or another, couldn’t hack it over the long run. That same history is also full of punchy shops that overachieved in their eras, taking the fight to much more established players on some of racing’s greatest stages, which even today seem downright improbable. The Venn diagram of carmakers that achieved racing glory only to fold after a short life, however, is sparsely populated.

That’s where we meet Peerless, a punchy post-WWII British firm that burned hot and fast, only to fizzle out in less than a decade. Oh, the stories this 1959 Peerless GT Phase II, currently listed on Hagerty Marketplace, could probably tell.

First, some backstory: Peerless—no, not the prewar American manufacturer—was a small British shop that sprang up seemingly out of nowhere in the mid-1950s. It was founded by James Byrnes, a decorated club racer tired of off-the-shelf competitors, and John Gordon, a local Rolls-Royce vendor and something of a racing junkie himself. The two tapped Bernie Rodger, a local legend in the engine building and tuning scene, to be the firm’s lead engineer.

Though it shared no direct relation to the American Peerless brand, the Brit variant did graft its name from the former: The founders selected a small facility in Slough as their base, and that facility had in a previous life been used by the American Peerless corporation to build a handful of armored cars during World War I.

Despite the three men’s shared desire to build their own sports car from the ground up, they quickly agreed that a from-scratch creation was probably beyond their reach. Rodger, who owned a local restaurant that was a favorite of top brass from the Standard Triumph company, used his connections to convince those executives to offer up a handful of Triumph TR3 platforms that would serve as the base for the prototype Peerless.

The eventual product that rolled out of the shed doors in Slough only loosely resembled the TR3 upon which it was based. Though it shared the 2.0-liter, 100-hp four-cylinder and the four-speed transmission and Laycock overdrive system with the TR3, the Peerless GT (initially dubbed the Warwick, but eventually changed to GT) was far more racing-focused. The engine sat inside a fully arc-welded tube frame that gave the GT considerable rigidity. It was six inches longer than a contemporary TR3, with a track width 5 inches greater than that of the Triumph. Other differences to the Triumph included a de Dion rear axle design and a sultry fiberglass coupe body that concealed a 2+2 cockpit.

Keen to capitalize on the warm reception the GT received when it debuted at the 1957 Paris motor show, Byrnes, Gordon, and Rodger turned their eyes towards the crown jewel of European motor racing: Le Mans. Two cars, a primary and a reserve, were entered into the grueling 24-hour race in 1958, though only the primary car saw competition. Each one featured a hand-built engine, additional fuel tanks, and a lowered suspension. Shockingly, the Peerless GT took 16th overall, besting far more established players in the process.

The orders poured in following that French triumph. The Slough facility went into overdrive to fulfill them, and, as so many British upstarts had done before, promptly fell behind. Peerless’ leaders wanted to build five cars per week, but that goal quickly got out of reach. Just 325 Peerless GTs were created by the time the shop closed in 1960.

Of the 325 cars, 275 units were built to the original GT spec, which involved a fiberglass body and muted styling. The remaining 50 cars were built to what was known as the Phase II spec, which boasted a number of improvements. Chief among them was a new molded body that eliminated some 60 fiberglass body seams and the need for extensive bonding and riveting.

The car pictured here is one of those 50. It’s also one of just 70 cars built in a left-hand-drive configuration. According to the listing, the car is fresh from a frame-on restoration, completed in October of this year. The body was refinished in silver, and the frame was sealed with POR-15 as part of the restoration.

This example also ditched the Triumph running gear for the 2.6-liter inline-six engine and four-speed manual transmission from a 1974 Datsun 260Z. Both the engine and the gearbox were reportedly professionally rebuilt at some point in their lives. It also features a completely new interior with black vinyl upholstery, Stewart Warner gauges, and more. The odometer currently reads just 10,500 miles as of the time of listing, although it is noted that the true mileage is unknown. This Peerless GT Phase II features plenty of other neat details as well, far too many to list here. Check out the listing for yourself to see them all.

If orphaned British racing royalty paired with stout and engaging Japanese running gear sounds like something you might fancy, allow us to compliment the cut of your jib. The auction listing for this plucky Brit will close next Tuesday, November 28, so you even have a little time to make room in your garage.

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Aston Martin’s racing prototype version of the $3M Valkyrie road car will enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in 2025, fighting for the overall victory in the Hypercar class.

With the support of U.S.-based Heart of Racing, Aston Martin’s championship-winning endurance racing partner, “at least one Valkyrie racecar will be entered by Aston Martin in the top Hypercar class of each of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship from 2025. This means that the prototype Valkyrie will participate in three of sportscar racing’s most prestigious events; Le Mans, the Rolex 24 and the 12 Hours of Sebring,” the company announced Wednesday morning.

Lawrence Stroll, executive chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda, said, “Performance is the lifeblood of everything that we do at Aston Martin, and motorsport is the ultimate expression of this pursuit of excellence. We have been present at Le Mans since the earliest days, and through those glorious endeavors we succeeded in winning Le Mans in 1959 and our class 19 times over the past 95 years. Now we return to the scene of those first triumphs aiming to write new history with a racing prototype inspired by the fastest production car Aston Martin has ever built.

“In addition to our presence in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, Aston Martin’s return to the pinnacle of endurance racing will allow us to build a deeper connection with our customers and community, many of whom found their passion for the brand through our past success at Le Mans,” Stroll said.

In total, more than 240 drivers have raced Aston Martins at Le Mans over the past 95 years in 27 different chassis and engine combinations, through virtually every era. “No other venue has given Aston Martin so much success, or more steadfastly proven that our DNA is forged out of the very essence of competition. So in the year the marque celebrates its 110th anniversary, it makes perfect sense to announce its return to the greatest endurance race on earth with the ultimate expression of the most potent Hypercar ever devised,” the company said.

The racing version of the carbon fiber-chassis Valkyrie will use a modified version of its Cosworth-built 6.5-liter naturally-aspirated V-12 engine, which in standard form revs to 11,000 rpm and develops over 1000 hp. The power unit will be modified to fit the Balance of Performance requirements of the Hypercar class and developed to withstand the rigors of long-distance competition. As in the Valkyrie AMR Pro track car, the battery-electric hybrid system featured on the road-specification Valkyrie is absent.

The Balance of Performance is a formula used by IMSA and WEC to level the playing field, so that Hypercars and GTP cars, which differ in specifications, can compete against each other in the two series.

“Once homologated, the Heart of Racing team will spearhead Aston Martin’s programs in both WEC and IMSA as the Valkyrie race car becomes the first purebred Hypercar to participate in both championships, and the only one among its rivals that can trace its origins back to an existing production car,” the company said.

Founded in 2014 by American businessman and philanthropist Gabe Newell, The Heart of Racing team is a charity that raises money for the Seattle Children’s Cardiology Research Fund. The team was conceived in 2020 and has partnered with Aston Martin since its inception, competing predominantly with the successful Vantage GT3 in IMSA’s two GTD classes.

The driver lineup will be announced at a later date.

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Though he tried, the winner of the 2023 Pikes Peak International Hillclimb, Robin Shute, didn’t come close to the all-time record of 7:57.148, set in 2018 by Frenchman Romain Dumas in the electric Volkswagen ID.R. Dumas became the first person to beat the eight-minute mark on the mountain and shattered the previous record, set in 2013 by his countryman Sébastian Loeb, driving a seriously wild Peugeot. —Ed. 

Peugeot may have quit selling cars in the U.S. in 1973, but the French outfit is no cheese-eating surrender monkey when it comes to motorsports. In fact, Peugeot has been racing for 125 years as of 2020. Here are seven things you probably didn’t know about the lion-hearted brand.

First raced in 1895

A Type 7 Peugeot won the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race, completing the 731-mile course in 59 hours and 48 minutes.

Owning the early Indy 500

Peugeot won the Indianapolis 500 three times between 1913 and 1919. Frenchman Jules Goux was the first foreigner to win the race in 1913 at an average speed of 75.933 mph. Peugeot was also victorious in 1916 and 1919—despite France being at war.

So good on safari

The fabulous 404 won the East African Safari Rally in 1963, 1966, 1967 and 1968. Its replacement, the 504, won the Safari Rally in 1975 and 1978. Watch current FIA President Jean Todt in action in the 504 above.

Grip on Group B

The 205 T16 wasn’t just one of the best-looking Group B rally cars, it was one of the most successful. In the hands of Timo Salonen and Juha Kankkunen, Peugeot won the World Rally Championship back to back in 1985 and 1986.

Dominating Dakar

In 1987, 1989 and 1990 Peugeot won the Dakar rally with Ari Vatanen driving the 405 T16. It returned to win in 2016 with the 2008DKR, in 2017 and 2018 with the 3008DKR (above), with Carlos Sainz at the wheel.

Three-time Le Mans champs

Peugeot first took the top step of the podium at Le Mans in 1992 with the V-10-powered 905 (above) driven by Derek Warwick, Yannick Dalmas, and Mark Blundell. A year later Peugeot drivers were on every step of the podium. In 2009 Peugeot took a third victory with its 908 HDi FAP.

Peaking in Colorado

In 1988 Peugeot entered the Dakar-winning 405 T16 in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and surprised everyone. Ari Vatanen’s incredible drive, powersliding up the course, wheels perilously close to (and sometimes even over the edge of) the mountain was captured in the beautiful film Climb Dance. Peugeot came back for more the next year, before returning in 2013 and shattering the Unlimited Class record with Sebastien Loeb in a 208 T16.

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This year’s running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was the most exciting in years for a host of reasons. One of them was that for the first time since 1965, the car at the front of the pack on Sunday afternoon was a Ferrari.

Speaking of 1965, that was an incredibly captivating edition of the French endurance classic, too, and the gold-embroidered tricolore French flag used to start it just sold for a head-snapping €396,000 ($425,660). Offered at the RM Sotheby’s auction held on the eve of this year’s Le Mans race, this fringy piece of old cloth is now one of the most expensive pieces of automobilia ever sold. It even sold for more than four actual cars (a 1983 Rondeau, a 2000 Porsche 911 GT3, a 1993 Venturi, and a 2005 Spyker) offered at the same auction, and those were cars that actually raced at Le Mans. You could almost buy a brand-new Ferrari 812 GTS or a pair of Romas for that money.

But history counts for a lot, and ’65 was a wild and important year. Held right in the heat of the Ford v Ferrari era, the 1965 Le Mans race was the first one broadcast live on American television. For the first time since 1957 a non-factory team won the race, and Goodyear rubber took its first major international race victory. A jet turbine-powered car finished in the top 10, and there’s a legend about a “ghost driver” doing a stint in the winning car. A Ferrari won Le Mans for the sixth time in a row (a streak only bested by Porsche, with seven wins from 1981-87), and for the final time until 2023.

For the race, 51 cars lined up to start. Nearly half of them had either Ford or Ferrari power as the two companies were in the midst of their on-track international slugfest. Ferrari brought its latest P2 series of prototypes, while private teams ran older 250 LMs and the new 275 GTBs represented Maranello in the GT class. Ford, meanwhile, was riding high from a win at Daytona and had improved GT40s with both 7.0- and 4.7-liter power, while Cobra Daytona Coupes took the fight to the 275 GTBs.

Le Mans begins not with the traditional green flag used everywhere else but with a gold-embroidered French flag, and typically someone notable dips the tricolore to set the cars off on their 24-hour chase. In 2023, Lebron James started the race for some reason. In 1965, it was the slightly less famous Maurice Herzog, France’s then-Under-Secretary of State for Youth and Sports.

All eyes were set to see whether Ford or Ferrari would win the world’s most important sports car race, but in a way, they both lost. The GT40s got off to a blistering start, but by the third hour things started to go wrong, and by seven hours in all of the GT40s were out of the race. Head gasket problems plagued the Cobra Daytonas, and in the end only one Ford-powered car finished the race, in eighth.

The Ferrari P2s, meanwhile, were running but kept cracking their brake discs and lost tons of time in the pits to fix them. With the factory teams out of the running, it was up to the private racers. The 250LMs of French privateer Pierre Dumay and Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team (NART) were running reliably and comfortably in first and second. Dumay’s car ran on Dunlop tires, with whom Ferrari had an official relationship. Chinetti’s car ran on Goodyears. Despite requests from Enzo to slow down and give Dunlop the win, Chinetti just ordered his drivers—”Kansas City Flash” Masten Gregory and future F1 champion Jochen Rindt—to go faster.

Ironically, the French car blew one of its Dunlop tires on the Mulsanne straight, which gave the NART car a lead it never gave up. Dumay’s 250LM finished second, and a 275 GTB finished third. Porsche 904s, other Ferrari prototypes, a Cobra, an Iso Grifo and the Rover-BRM turbine car rounded out the top 10. There were just 14 finishers. Legend has it that at some point Masten Gregory’s trademark glasses fogged up enough that he couldn’t drive and that Rindt was nowhere to be found, so backup driver Ed Hugus stepped up to drive the car for a stint, but this has never been proven.

According to RM Sotheby’s, the starter flag was given to Jacques Maury, the mayor of Le Mans, after the race and stayed with his family until going to a collector about 10 years ago.

Just as the flag started an exciting race, it was also the first lot of an exciting auction that saw €20M in total sales and seven Le Mans veteran race cars sell for over €1M each. Bidding on the flag was slow but steady, going in €5K increments between someone in the room and someone on the phone, both Ferrari fans, surely. It took 14 minutes of back and forth before the underbidder finally bowed out. That the new Ferrari 499P won this past Sunday seemed like some poetic justice for that crazy price.

We’ve been picking a Sale of the Week each and every week for over two years now. Naturally, we’re looking for cars, or maybe the occasional truck, and one time we picked a motorcycle. Meanwhile, automobilia, garage art, or whatever you choose to call these accessories is not in our price guide and it doesn’t often make headlines. But it is a huge ancillary piece of the collector car hobby, and results like this remind us to pay attention. $460,000 neon dealership signs, $210K slot-car tracks, and now $425K French flags are all out there, and people pursue them with the same passion as their cars.

By the way, if you think $425K for a flag is wild, the most expensive flag ever sold at auction is a Revolutionary War era American flag that sold for $12.3M back in 2006.

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This past week, there was so much action and enthusiasm around sports car racing that it was easy to miss the Mercedes driverless milestone. Call it a sign of our confusing times. Let’s start with the Mercedes news.

The company received approval from California to sell the most automated driver system yet available. Mercedes Drive Pilot allows drivers, in certain circumstances, to take their hands off the wheel and eyes off the road. Drivers cannot, however, take a nap and must remain ready to immediately resume driving duties if needed. In the confusing gradient between zero driver aids and full autonomy, the Society of Automotive Engineers calls Drive Pilot a “Level 3” system. It’s the first available in the U.S. market. Tesla’s misleadingly named “Full Self Driving” system is only Level 2 and requires drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel. The Mercedes system will roll out later this year in California and Nevada.

Meanwhile, the 24 Hours of Le Mans race this past weekend showed that the historic event— 2023 was the 100^th race—is as relevant as ever. Major car companies including Ferrari, Porsche, Toyota, Peugeot, Aston Martin, and Cadillac fielded cars, all of which, mind you, required the full attention of the drivers. Spotty rain often soaked portions of the track, turning exacting pre-race strategies to mush. Some teams pitted for rain tires, a potentially costly time event, while others remained on the slick tires that have virtually zero traction on wet roads. There was risk either way. We got to see those agonizing decisions and the consequences, which were often crashes that defined the outcome. Practically every team and driver ran into trouble, including six-time Indycar champ Scott Dixon, who spun his Cadillac on the wet track but had the extreme good luck to avoid a major impact.

There are several classes of cars at the race and therefore multiple winners. The overall winner, with the car that went the farthest in 24 hours, was Ferrari, with its new 499P hypercar. Incredibly, it had been 58 years since the marque last stood on the top podium. There were several strong American results: The Cadillac finished third behind the Ferrari and a Toyota and the single Corvette won its hypercompetitive class. A Chevy NASCAR stock car, entered as a PR stunt, was a crowd favorite.

Just before the Le Mans weekend, Ford announced a new version of the Mustang that is eligible to compete in the 24-hour race next year. Sports-car racing, which many thought was in decline, seems to be as popular as ever, even though American fans are routinely denied the top-quality TV coverage that we enjoy in so many other global sports. Such was the case with Le Mans; the U.S. broadcast of the race was subpar. Generally, one video feed is beamed to different countries, forcing commentators to speak to a video that they have no control of—nor can they predict when a producer might cut to a shot of the pits or replay a crash. Some pull off this tough assignment better than others. We got a superficial view of the race rather than a richly textured insider’s perspective, but I suppose we should be grateful that the race was shown in its entirety since the production costs—cameras and staff around the 8.5-mile circuit for 24 hours—make the business case for the broadcast extremely challenging.

We’ve recently produced several videos and articles that I hope illustrate why Le Mans is so special. Henry Catchpole drove a pre-war Le Mans Bentley and we produced a documentary on the anniversary. Le Mans is a mythical place for racing drivers and fans and we are thrilled to celebrate it.

Have a great weekend!

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It wasn’t just because of the rain that would absolutely soak part of the 8.5-mile course and leave the rest of the track dry. It wasn’t because of the huge, 62-car field, a size that had forced race organizers to turn away entries. 

It wasn’t even because Ferrari was competing for the overall win, for the first time in 50 years, back in the “Ford vs. Ferrari” era. And it wasn’t just because Ferrari won, in an incredibly popular victory.

The 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans felt different because it was different.

That difference began way back on January 24, 2020, before a packed and moderately skeptical crowd at the Daytona International Speedway conference room, where IMSA, the ACO, and the WEC announced that they had reached an agreement: There would be a new Prototype sports car that would compete without changes in the top class of IMSA as well as the WEC, and that would include the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” muttered one team representative.

For years, you needed two entirely separate Prototype cars to run in IMSA, and in the WEC and Le Mans, effectively locking IMSA teams out of Le Mans. This agreement would fix that. By Le Mans in 2022, American teams would just need to put their cars on a boat or an airplane and ship them to Le Mans for a chance to run for the overall win, something that hadn’t happened for decades.

COVID intervened, and the introduction of the new car would be delayed until 2023. In IMSA it would be called the GTP car, overseas they would continue to refer to it as the Hypercar.

When the green flag fell last Saturday at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, three Cadillacs and three Porsches, cars that had debuted at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, were on the grid. Next year they will be joined by a pair of Lamborghinis, and possibly even Acuras, if IMSA can talk the company into competing at Le Mans, with Acura having debuted their car at Daytona but decided to remain stateside.

The Cadillacs and Porsches were joined by a pair of Ferraris that were new for 2023, the first time the company had competed at the top level at Le Mans in decades. They would line up next to a pair of Toyota Hypercars, which had won the race five years straight, and a pair of cars from U.S. entrepreneur Jim Glickenhaus that had been racing at Le Mans. Peugeot also joined the field, along with cars from Alpine and other manufacturers, all built or converted to the new common specifications.

What some doubters had said would never happen, happened. IMSA President John Doonan, who helped pen the agreement that was ratified in August of 2021, was giddy. “Just super pumped,” he told Hagerty from Le Mans, midway through the event. “The media coverage has been so incredibly positive. Really, really happy with how things are going.”

By the time the checkered flag fell Sunday afternoon Le Mans time, multiple manufacturers, including Cadillac, had taken turns at the front of the field, its first time back at Le Mans since a rather halfhearted effort had ended in 2002.

In the end, Ferrari would break Toyota’s streak, though the manufacturer was a close runner-up, with Cadillac third and fourth. It was arguably the most exciting Le Mans since 2000, when BMW, Nissan, and Mercedes ended their participation, and Audi began its long run of domination, succeeded eventually by Toyota. 

2023 marks a new era in sports-car racing in general, Le Mans in particular. It was Ferrari’s first outright win in 58 years, and IMSA officials will be lobbying the brand to get the team to race at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in coming years.

Other Le Mans notables

Corvette Racing, in its final full-factory effort before turning the brand over to privateer customer teams next year, won in convincing style after an early suspension problem put the single-car team two laps down. The TV coverage gave a tremendous amount of time to 51-year-old Ben Keating, a gentleman, non-professional driver who owns 28 auto dealerships in Texas, and races for fun.

Keating may be the most accomplished gentleman driver in years. He won his class last year and won the GT class a couple of years before, only to have the victory taken away while he was standing at the Houston airport baggage claim after Le Mans technical inspectors found that his privateer Ford GT’s gas tank contained “about one Coke can too much fuel,” as Keating said at the time.

Team owner Roger Penske, who has trophies from multiple major races but the 24 Hours of Le Mans, entered three Porsches at Le Mans hoping to add one more victory to his resume. But the Porsches suffered both mechanical gremlins and on-track incidents, with ninth the best that one of the Porsches could do in the 62-car field. IndyCar rival Chip Ganassi did collect a trophy from Le Mans, though, as he operates the Cadillac team that finished on the podium.

NASCAR sent a much-modified Chevrolet Camaro Cup car to compete in the exhibition-only, one-car Garage 56 class, much to the delight of the crowd. “Fans love the car,” Doonan said. Drivers were seven-time Cup champ Jimmie Johnson, Formula 1 champ Jensen Button, and sports car ace Mike Rockenfeller. The car was almost as quick as the GT cars, running as high as 25th overall, before a lengthy driveline repair sent the car back to 39th in the field. Overall, Doonan said, it was a major success, with some of what the Hendrick Motorsports-led effort possibly ending up in NASCAR as more and more emphasis is placed on road course and street racing.

It was announced earlier that the lone WEC race in the states, which would draw the majority of the Hypercars to America, would no longer be part of the Super Sebring weekend, but would instead run at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin. It’s a blow to Sebring, but they’ll do fine with the traditional Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring next March as a standalone.

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Yesterday, Le Mans hopefuls hit the French circuit to practice and qualify for this year’s 24-hour contest. With the race quickly approaching, media members were already swarming drivers, microphones and lenses at the ready. One of the world’s top road racers and winner of the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans, Kamui Kobayashi, took the opportunity to drop some news.

Alongside NASCAR chairman and CEO, Kobayashi announced that he would make his first NASCAR attempt later this summer. On August 13, 2023, the 36-year-old Japanese driver will trade the button-covered yolk of a prototype Toyota racer for the steering wheel of a Camry stocker, competing with 30-some other good ol’ boys at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

His team isn’t some lame-duck outfit either. Kobayashi will drive a third entry for 23XI racing, a North Carolina–based outfit co-owned by basketball legend Michael Jordan and Cup star Denny Hamlin. Earlier this year, stunt star Travis Pastrana successfully qualified for the Daytona 500 with this part-time group.

To the casual motorsport fan, this may seem like second-page news. It’s not. Kobayashi’s NASCAR debut will mark yet another unconventional driver this year to strap into a stock car. This season alone, Jensen Button, Jordan Taylor, and Kimi Räikkönen have made attempts at NASCAR’s highest level. It appears as though the Cup Series’ Next Gen car, with its sequential shifter, independent rear suspension, and low profile tires—all components also present in GT cars—is piquing the interest of road racing’s top talent. Who might we see next?

For the first time in 20 years, a Japanese national will race in the @NASCAR Cup Series – @kamui_kobayashi will drive for @23XIRacing at the Brickyard 200 at Indianapolis this August! #LeMans24 #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/uCXHGtrdtO

— Super GT World (@supergtworld) June 7, 2023

Kobayashi’s announcement also highlights the awkward position in which NASCAR put itself when it signed with Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports to field a stocker for Le Mans’ experimental Garage 56 entry. That decision reportedly didn’t sit right with Toyota. NASCAR’s attempt to infiltrate Le Mans would surely be mentioned to a manufacturer that has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall the past five years, right? Think again.

NASCAR held the Kobayashi news until Le Mans weekend and made the announcement in front of a Camry stocker festooned in Gazoo Racing stickers. “It’s my dream, actually,” Kobayashi told The Associated Press. “It’s such a big sport in the United States and racing in Europe, I never had the chance or opportunity to race NASCAR. I think the opportunity will be challenging for myself because it is such a different category.”

More immediately, Kobayashi will focus on this weekend at Le Mans, where he serves as team principal for Toyota Gazoo’s two-car team.

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There will be no Manifold on Monday, Memorial Day. May we suggest you read this one twice?

Own a Ford EV? Soon, you can use Tesla’s Superchargers

Intake: Starting early next year, Ford EV customers will have access to more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across the U.S. and Canada, in addition to the over 10,000 DC fast-chargers that are already part of the BlueOval Charge Network. This will give Ford EV customers “unprecedented access to fast-charging,” the company says. Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, and E-Transit customers will be able to access the Superchargers via an adapter and software integration along with activation and payment via FordPass or Ford Pro Intelligence. And then in 2025, Ford will offer next-generation electric vehicles with Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector built-in, eliminating the need for an adapter to access Tesla Superchargers.

Exhaust: It’s an unprecedented tie-up between two competing EV manufacturers. It doubles the number of fast-chargers available to Ford EV customers starting in the Spring of 2024. “This is great news for our customers who will have unprecedented access to the largest network of fast-chargers in the U.S. and Canada with 12,000+ Tesla Superchargers plus 10,000+ fast-chargers already in the BlueOval Charge Network,” said Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO. “Widespread access to fast-charging is absolutely vital to our growth as an EV brand, and this breakthrough agreement comes as we are ramping up production of our popular Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning, and preparing to launch a series of next-generation EVs starting in 2025.” — Steven Cole Smith

100 years later, the first Bentley to race at Le Mans just sold for nearly $4 million

Intake: The 24 Hours of Le Mans celebrates its centenary this June and so, too, does a 1923 Bentley 3 Litre that claimed fourth place in the inaugural race. Entered by Bentley test driver Frank Clement and Canadian World War I veteran John Duff, the car also set the fastest lap of La Sarthe at 66.69 mph. Chassis number 141 was only fitted with brakes at the rear wheels and the duo ran out of fuel at one point after stones punctured the fuel tank, making the near-podium finish all the more miraculous. The pioneering 3 Litre went on to live a less glamorous life as a tow vehicle and a hearse before being buried in a barn for decades. Rediscovered in early 1980, it was purchased by Australian collector Peter Briggs and fully restored to become a feature of his museum in Perth. Now chassis 141 is back in Britain having been purchased by an enthusiast for nearly $4 million.

Exhaust: This car’s Le Mans debut was a remarkable achievement that spurred W.O. Bentley to attack the arduous 24-hour race with full factory support. Between 1927 and 1930, the legendary Bentley Boys won four times in a row, but that never would have happened if it wasn’t for chassis 141. — Nik Berg

Lexus offers a glimpse of all-new GX SUV

Intake: Lexus has been typically coy about offering up little detail shots of the GX, such as one headlight, but this from-the-rear shot shows quite a bit of the SUV. There’s a light bar that goes across the hatch, some flared fenders, and a relatively sleek roofline. The Lexus GX debuts in full flower on June 8. They’ve also been sneaking small detail shots of the first-ever Lexus TX, a smaller SUV that also debuts June 8.

Exhaust: Here’s what we know, and suspect, about the three-row Lexus GX, which hasn’t had a significant update since 2009: The V-8 goes away, replaced by a V-6, likely with hybrid power and maybe twin turbos. Towing capacity is a selling point for current GX owners, so we’re expecting robust numbers there. We figure it’s being built on the LX chassis, knowing Toyota’s propensity for platform-sharing. The bottom line is, the ancient GX still sells well, so Lexus’ mandate is to bring in some new (read: younger) customers, without annoying the mass of GX owners already out there. — SCS

IIHS, Consumer Reports update list of good cars for teens

Intake: Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have updated their list of the best first cars for teens. One list is for used cars, and the other is for new cars. The most useful list is likely the “good” used cars under $20,000. The used cars must have a good safety rating per the IIHS, and a good reliability record per the magazine. Interestingly, there are SUVs but no pickups are included on the used list.

Exhaust:  Among the recommended small cars, for instance: Kia Soul, Toyota Corolla, Chevrolet Volt, Honda Civic sedan, and Toyota Prius. Check the list here for the suggested model years. In midsized cars, it’s the Ford Fusion, Honda Accord coupe or sedan, Toyota Camry, Toyota Prius V, and the most likely choice your teen will campaign for, the BMW 3 Series sedan and the Audi A4. — SCS

Genesis moves all GV70 production to Alabama plant

Intake: Genesis announced that it would move the production of all GV70 models to its Montgomery, Alabama, plant. Starting with the 2024 model year, all GV70 models will originate from the plant, a shift from before when just the electrified GV70 was made there. Production of the electrified GV70 began earlier this year. Previously, the GV70 was assembled in Genesis’ Ulsan, South Korea plant. The Montgomery plant received an investment of over $300 million to enhance the facility, which added warehouse space and modifications to the stamping and weld shops for the creation of the GV70 vehicle bodies.

Exhaust: The electric GV70 had to be assembled here to qualify for some of the tax credit that the Inflation Reduction Act was offering, but the decision to move all GV70 production for the American market to U.S. shores makes a lot of sense. Other luxury players such as BMW and Mercedes also assemble some of their best-selling models stateside as well. — Nathan Petroelje

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Ford’s new Ranger starts at $34,160, climbs to $56,960 for Raptor

Intake: The build and price tool for the new Ford Ranger went live today, and with it come more details about the pricing for each trim level. In ascending order, all prices include the $1595 destination charge: The Ranger XL will start at $34,160; the Ranger XLT will start at $37,100; the Ranger Lariat will start at $45,120; and the Ranger Raptor will ring the register for $56,960. The new Ranger will feature a 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder as its base engine, good for 270 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque, but a 2.7-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V-6 will be offered as an upgrade. That engine makes 315 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque.

Exhaust: The EcoBoost V-6 is not an option currently on the configurator for non-Raptor Rangers. Ford says that’s due to the fact that the V-6 models will be available later than the 2.3-liter Rangers. One note on the Ranger Raptor: Yes, a mid-size truck that starts in the 50s is quite shocking, but to Ford’s credit, almost everything comes standard, save for special paint colors, some mud flaps, and a set of $1495 17-inch beadlock-capable wheels. At least Ford isn’t taking the Porsche approach and forcing death by a thousand options on you. — Nathan Petroelje

Vinfast recalls all VF8s for potential screen blackout

Intake: Vinfast, the Vietnamese manufacturer of electric SUVs, has recalled the entire first batch of VF8 models to reach the U.S. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says a “blank multifunction head display will not show critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, which may increase the risk of a crash.” The problem has been reported in 18 of the 999 imported, but not all those vehicles have been released to customers yet.

Exhaust: It’s the latest blow for the company owned by Vietnam’s richest man, coming on the heels of a press drive in Vietnam that garnered near-unanimous and often brutal criticism of Vinfast’s products. Car and Driver said certain details on the car “make you wonder if VinFast realized it was allowed to look at other cars before building its own,” and said the workmanship was “development-mule fit and finish.” Other publications were harsher. Still, Vinfast is planning a U.S. IPO, and to build a plant in North Carolina. — Steven Cole Smith

Fast Five Pantera up for auction in June

Intake: Well, look who showed up for sale: The De Tomaso Pantera from Fast Five (2011). The first car to be snatched from the train, after which it was driven across the desert by Vince (Matthew Steven Schulze), this 1972 Pantera is unusual among Fast and Furious cars because it isn’t extensively modified. The driveline is Ford with a few aftermarket sprinkles: a 351-cubic-inch Cleveland V-8 topped with an Edelbrock Performer intake manifold, a Carter 750 carburetor, MSD ignition, and an electronic, temperature-regulating radiator. Presumably, that last component was added after filming, during which the car consistently overheated. The problem proved its salvation: The crew couldn’t put the panting Pantera through the normal stunt-car wringer, indirectly preserving it for Barrett-Jackson’s auction block. It will go under the hammer in Las Vegas the weekend of June 24.

Exhaust: Since cars from the Fast and Furious movies typically sell for over five times what an unmodified example would go for, this car could set a record for a 1970–74 Pantera both in modified and unmodified form. The current records are $330K, for modified, and $203K, for unmodified. — Grace Houghton

Tesla tops most-driven electric car study

Intake: A study undertaken by iSeeCars.com suggests that owners of gas-operated vehicles typically drive more and farther than owners of electric-powered vehicles. Tesla owners typically drive considerably longer distances than owners of other electric vehicles, the study showed, but still less than gasoline-powered models. The average electric car is driven 9,059 miles a year, compared to 12,758 miles for gas-powered vehicles. Electric cars cost 47 percent more than internal combustion cars, but are driven 29 percent less. Near the bottom of the chart is the Porsche Taycan, which averages just 4846 miles per year.

Exhaust: “Tesla drivers come the closest to matching the driving behavior of traditional car owners,” said iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. “Without Tesla, the average miles per year for EV drivers would drop from 9,059 to 6,719.” — SCS

Report: New vehicle sales expected to be strong in May

Intake: New vehicle sales in the U.S. are expected to rise in May, on strong demand and improving inventories at dealers, a report from industry consultants showed on Thursday. Reuters said that U.S. new-vehicle sales, including retail and non-retail transactions, are estimated to reach 1.3 million units in May, up 15.6 percent from a year earlier, citing a J.D. Power and LMC Automotive report. New-vehicle transaction prices continue to rise as consumers are expected to spend $46.9 billion on new vehicles in May, 13 percent higher than the last year, the report said.

Exhaust: “Despite the challenges posed by elevated interest rates and pricing, sales volume, and transaction prices have displayed remarkable resilience, enabled by the combination of improved vehicle availability and pent-up demand,” Thomas King, president of the data and analytics division at J.D. Power, said in a statement. — SCS

Legendary Le Mans-winning Mazda to take part in celebration

Intake: The 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning Mazda 787B, which was the first Japanese car to win the race, will take part in a demonstration run on the world famous Circuit de le Sarthe as part of the 24 Hours of Le Mans weekend. The  winner of the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans will join other winning cars in a demonstration on the French circuit ahead of this year’s race.

Exhaust: The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) invited Mazda to conduct a demonstration run with the 1991 winning car as part of the celebrations of the 100^th anniversary of the Le Mans 24 Hours. The car will be driven by Yojiro Terada, who competed at Le Mans 29 times, and finished in 8th place in 1991 driving the Mazda 787 sister car to the winner.  The race takes place June 10–11. — SCS

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When 81-year-old retired racer Derek Bell talks about going fast at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche, he’s speaking from experience. “I just drove it completely, and stupidly, as fast as I could. And I was going 246 mph. I don’t think anybody has gone faster.”

That’s Bell being interviewed for a documentary called Racing with Giants: Porsche at Le Mans, produced by Mobil 1 and Hagerty Media.

The one-hour special connects Porsche’s 75th anniversary with the 100th anniversary of the running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. (It’s actually the 91st event; the first one ran in 1923.) It also celebrates Porsche’s return to the top class at Le Mans, which takes the green flag on June 10.

“From our own rich history in motorsport and our long-standing relationship with Porsche, this documentary truly celebrates the unique impact that racing has on the cars that we drive every day,” said Bryce Huschka, consumer marketing manager for Mobil 1. “For 100 years, Le Mans has uniquely captured the attention and imagination of fans. Thanks to them, our partners and fellow car lovers, we can’t wait to bring this exceptional story to life.”

“Racing with Giants” features archival footage of Le Mans past and present, along with interviews with multiple drivers and Porsche team principals, including Allan McNish, Patrick Long, Jacky Ickx and Nick Tandy. Porsche has long competed at Le Mans, though recently solely in the slower GT class. The company will go for an overall victory this year, with new Porsche prototype cars fielded by racing legend Roger Penske.

Following a premiere in New York City, the documentary will air on Hagerty’s YouTube channel beginning June 1 at 8 p.m. ET. You can watch the official trailer below.

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Cadillac’s first showing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans had nothing to do with General Motors. In 1950, the wealthy sportsman Briggs Cunningham entered two Cadillacs, a bone-stock Series 61 sedan and a second Series 61 with a freakishly pancaked body, which the locals nicknamed “Le Monstre.” The stock sedan finished 10th overall, with Le Monstre one lap behind in 11th. The 50 cars that finished in Cunningham’s wake included a Jaguar XK 120, a Ferrari 195 S driven by Luigi Chinetti, and an Aston Martin DB2.

Since then, other than a brief Cadillac effort in the early 2000s, Chevy has carried GM’s Le Mans torch, racking up eight class wins with Corvettes. This June, however, the General heads to France with an expanded stable of cars that will compete in three classes, including a new hybrid-powered Caddy GTP car that finished third in the 24 Hours of Daytona and has the speed the win the whole thing. “We are bringing the red, white, and blue, with a very powerful punch,” said GM’s sports car racing program manager, Laura Klauser.

In addition to the Corvettes and the Cadillac GTP, GM is also sending a NASCAR Camaro to be run by Hendrick Motorsports. Unlike in 1950, General Motors is directly involved in the effort this year. All the cars use V-8s built in GM’s Pontiac, Michigan, facility, for starters. We’re acknowledging this historic American effort by explaining GM’s Le Mans machines below. The green flag waves on June 10 at 9 a.m. ET.

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The 200-mph hybrid-powered Cadillac

New-for-2023 sports-car racing rules created a GTP class that is eligible for all the major endurance races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This type of race car is known as a “prototype,” and while the GTP car looks similar to previous prototype racers, it’s a much different machine under the skin. Here are some highlights.

01. Bodywork

A major rule change for 2023 allowed GTP competitors to design significant brand identity into the cars. This Cadillac GTP may not be available in showrooms, but you can probably tell it’s a Cadillac from its body, which is made from lightweight, high-strength carbon fiber. This branding integration is one reason why Porsche, BMW, Acura, and soon Lamborghini are fielding factory GTP cars.

02. Powertrain

GTP cars are limited by the amount of total horsepower—670—that they are permitted to deliver to the tires, and they must include an electric boost motor. This rule has encouraged a variety of engine types, such as the small-displacement V-6 turbo used in the Acura ARX-06, and the Cadillac V-8. GM’s engine is like the one in the new Corvette Z06 in that it uses overhead cams instead of pushrods to operate the valves, but it has a different crankshaft from the Corvette that sacrifices peak power for less vibration. A seven-speed transmission routes torque to the rear wheels, and the electric motor is powerful enough that the cars leave the pits on battery juice alone.

03. Torque Sensor

This small collar is made by MagCanica and is a torque sensor that sends information in real time to the race officials, who ensure that the cars are never putting more than 670 horsepower to the tires. The greatest challenge for teams is how to blend the electric and gas motors and when to deploy electric boost. “That’s why we have 80 spreadsheets,” quipped GM propulsion engineer Adam Trojanek.

04. Brakes

The GTP car charges the battery while under braking. The more braking energy the system can harvest, the greater the fuel saved and, potentially, the less time the car will spend refueling in the pits. The rear-axle brakes are computer-controlled and blend resistance from the electric motor with braking force from conventional brake calipers. This stopping power is integrated with the front brakes, which are hydraulically connected to the brake pedal. One of the many challenges here is linking the various systems and maintaining consistent brake-pedal feel so the drivers have the confidence to go faster and brake as late as possible.

Camaro joins Corvette

Corvette has been a consistent winner at Le Mans for the past two decades, racing against the likes of Porsche, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. This year, Camaro joins Corvette in the Chevy pits for even more American V-8 rumble on the Mulsanne straight.

Corvette Z06 C8

You don’t need to see the Corvette or the Cadillac to know which one is going by. The Cadillac has a traditional, deep V-8 rumble, while the Vette is a howler, coming closer to a Ferrari’s sound than a big-block’s. There is only one C8 running Le Mans this year, and it will have to atone for Corvette Racing’s disappointing 2022 effort, in which the two factory Vettes failed to finish. Chevy just announced that it will sell customer race versions of the C8; a GT3 version will cost nearly $1 million. This could mean several more Corvettes racing by private owners in 2024, who are likely waiting to see how the car performs this year. Corvette Racing, which is based near GM’s proving grounds in Milford, Michigan, knows how to win.

Chevy Camaro Garage 56

In 2012, Le Mans organizers introduced Garage 56, a special class for an experimental or unclassified car. This year, that entry will be taken by a modified Chevy Camaro NASCAR stock car. Since the car is in a class of one, this is largely a publicity stunt meant to showcase NASCAR. GM and Hendrick Motorsports have modified the car with new aerodynamics and other tweaks for greater speed. They’ve also hired premier drivers. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will split driving duties with Formula 1 champion Jenson Button and Mike Rockenfeller, who co-drove a diesel Audi R15 to an overall Le Mans win in 2010.

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This article first appeared in Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Click here to subscribe and join the club.

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If you’re a Corvette aficionado, you know that Zora Arkus-Duntov’s birthday falls on Christmas Day. This April, the month in which he passed away, we’re revisiting a lesser-known chapter of Duntov’s story. This piece originally ran on our site in June of 2017. —Ed. 

When you hear the sound of a raspy flat-six in a Porsche 911, it’s likely you don’t think of Zora Arkus-Duntov. After all, he’s Mr. Corvette. Most credit Duntov for saving the Corvette after GM nearly killed it due to poor sales after the Ford Thunderbird debuted in 1955. He also took many risks to establish the Corvette’s racing pedigree during a time when GM was officially not involved in motorsports.

But things may have been different if one of the Corvette’s rivals had its way. Duntov had a golden opportunity to join Porsche in the mid-1950s after distinguishing himself with two class wins at Le Mans while driving for Porsche. He also solved an engineering issue on the Porsche 356 and had carte blanche to join the legendary German automaker.

Duntov, of course, would have been more than happy to race for his own employer at Le Mans or anywhere else, but no such driving opportunities existed at GM in the early 1950s. The corporation was still riding the crest of a postwar demand for cars and trucks, and racing was not part of its immediate business plan.

But Chevrolet chief engineer Ed Cole foresaw the need for Chevrolet and GM to generate excitement among younger buyers as well as to make its products better through the disciplines of racing. This fact would at least open the door for Duntov himself to race, even if Chevrolet wasn’t.

What led to the Porsche connection? Duntov had established some visibility as a driver in Europe, having competed at Le Mans for Sydney Allard and his British sports car enterprise back in 1953 and ’54. Duntov had worked for Allard in London for several years in the late 1940s, and that connection resulted in the offer of a seat. (Duntov DNF’d both years with mechanical problems.)

While Duntov’s attempts to drive for Allard were met with criticism and almost amounted to his outright dismissal from GM, Porsche had been impressed by his Allard drives. It extended to Duntov an offer to drive the silver cars from Stuttgart in 1955. The Porsche opportunity was more warmly received by GM management based on better timing, if nothing else. Cole felt that GM could learn a lot from Porsche when it came to air-cooled engines and rear swing-axles, as the company was experimenting with rear-engine, air-cooled cars long before the Corvair surfaced in 1960.

Porsche’s 1954 effort was to feature four 550 Spyders. The 550 was a simple yet elegant mid-engine machine that was to become best known as the car that James Dean drove to his death on a California highway in 1955.

Duntov and his codriver, Olivier Gendebien, were set to compete in one of the 550s. Duntov’s car was powered by a 1.1-liter flat four with twin spark plugs per cylinder, while the other team cars had 1.5-liter engines of the same configuration.

When one of the Porsche teams dropped out after only four laps, racing director Huschke von Hanstein decided to run the other three as conservatively as possible. However, after only an hour and a half, the Duntov/Gendebien 550 had lapped the remaining 1.1-liter cars at least once. Driving in a steady rhythm around the 8.3-mile circuit, Duntov learned that there were advantages to having less power. He was able to adopt a much smoother driving style compared what he had previously used in the Allard cars, with their torquey Cadillac and Chrysler engines. Later, some mechanical glitches and a huge rainstorm caused some unforeseen challenges, but Duntov managed to handily win his class.

During the race, Duntov noticed that the handling of his car deteriorated as the amount of fuel in its tank decreased. The fuel tank was located over the front wheels, so with a full tank the front-to-rear weight distribution was 49/51. When empty, it was 45/55. Thinking he knew how to compensate for this phenomenon, Duntov told Ferry Porsche that he’d like to discuss the issue during his prearranged visit to the Porsche engineering facility at Zuffenhausen. Zora had an idea about a front stabilizer bar to help cure the oversteering problem.

Upon arrival, he began working with engineers Helmuth Bott and Leopold Schmidt. Porsche didn’t have a skid pad at the time, but Chevrolet, thanks to R&D head Maurice Olley, was already employing this technique. At Zuffenhausen, Duntov suggested they find an area wide enough to create a skid pad, and such a surface was found at nearby Molsheim airport. There, Duntov showed Bott a dozen tests that GM used to evaluate handling. Bott was impressed with the controlled conditions and measurability of Duntov’s methodology, and he tried different toe-in and rear-wheel camber settings as well as an antiroll torsion bar connecting the front wheels, an addition which also helped reduce oversteer.

Bott and Duntov stayed in close contact after Duntov returned to Detroit, and Duntov sent Porsche many sketches of his stabilizer bar design. After several months of development, Bott tested Duntov’s stabilizer bar design on a Porsche 356 road car, and the car showed marked improvement. Dr. Porsche then asked Bott to begin the same work with the new race car, and Duntov claimed he knocked 30 seconds off its lap time at the 14-mile Nürburgring track. “Like day and night,” Duntov said. “And 1955 Porsche, all Porsche, has a front stabilizer.”

While Porsche did not publicly advertise that a Chevrolet engineer had helped them solve a major problem, the German automaker privately gave Duntov credit, along with an unofficial job offer. Porsche even offered him a new 356 as a goodwill gesture. But Duntov politely declined. He already had what he really wanted—the visibility and respect of the entire Porsche organization.

There were other times when Duntov might have been persuaded to join Porsche had the right position been offered. “There was a time that he wanted to become chief technician for Porsche,” said Anatole Lapine, a friend and design staff contemporary of Duntov’s at GM who later went on to become design director at Porsche. “Ferry would have loved to have the guy on his team—lots of exchange.”

Even though Duntov elected to stay at GM, he corresponded with Bott, von Hanstein, and Ferry Porsche himself for many years afterward, becoming particularly close with von Hanstein. Duntov clearly thought that a bigger opportunity existed at General Motors, which rapidly became the largest corporation on the planet.

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Epilogue: Duntov was invited back to drive the 1.1-liter 550 Spyder at Le Mans in 1955. He won his class again, but the event was marred by the greatest disaster in motorsport history when the Mercedes of Pierre Levegh came in contact with Lance Macklin’s Austin-Healey and veered into the stands, killing 80 people. Duntov and codriver August Veuillet went on to claim a bittersweet victory, but from that moment forward, all of Duntov’s driving exploits were behind the wheel of a Chevrolet.

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Jerry Burton is the author of Zora Arkus-Duntov: The Legend Behind Corvette, Bentley Publishers, Cambridge, Mass., 2002.

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We’ve just fallen down a Slot Mods rabbit hole. In case you didn’t know, the Michigan-based company creates bespoke, handcrafted 1:32-scale slot car tracks for the rich and famous.

For a hefty price, Slot Mods will create your dream track or replicate a real-world track, complete with aluminum Armco crash barriers and little details from a moment in time or a notable event.

A “Custom Scenic Megatrack” will set you back at least $75,000, although a more “affordable” “Standard Scenic Raceway” is available for $50,000. In both cases, you’re looking at a long wait before you can get your slot on.

Which is where the Slot Mods Porsche 917 Le Mans Slot Car Raceway came in. It was advertised for sale via auction on Bring A Trailer, but bidding finally closed at a whopping $210,000, including fees.

The track is built in the style of the 24 Hours of Le Mans course as it appeared in the 1971 movie Le Mans and is housed in a replica Porsche 917 body.

Remember that Scalextric set you yearned to find under the Christmas tree as a child? This is that with the coolness level cranked up to eleven.

Cool enough to tempt the Scalextric social media team into tweeting about it.

Yes, we know it’s not a Scalextric track, but how could we not share this incredible slot car track hidden within a Porsche 917 body shell

Created by the magicians over at Slot Mods, this beauty is currently for sale over at https://t.co/E8uig8TsHI pic.twitter.com/tWoKXz6Nh1

— Scalextric (@Scalextric) April 2, 2023

The 917’s body features a clamshell design that opens via remote control to reveal a 13 feet long by 6 feet wide layout with hand-painted track surfaces, structures, signs, landscaping and spectators. Note the Dunlop bridge, Esso “Mr Drip” and Martini barn.

The set, which has been owned by the vendor for a decade, also features trackside lighting, grandstands, hay bales, trees, shrubbery and 19 slot cars.

Highlights include a Ford GT40 modified as a camera car, Ferrari 512S Coda Lunga, Lola T70, and a Porsche 917 in Martini livery. Naturally, the 917 driven by Steve McQueen in the 1971 film is also present and correct.

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Via Hagerty UK

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Alfa Romeo’s 6C will be sold out before it’s even unveiled

Intake: The order book for a new Alfa Romeo supercar, known as the 6C, is almost full, even though it has yet to be revealed. Alfa boss Jean-Phillippe Imparato told Autocar that the company has already taken deposits from buyers eager to snap up the successor to the 8C Competizione. “It will be sold out before I unveil the car,” said Imparato. Details of the 6C are few and far between, but there are indications that it will be based on the powertrain and platform of the Giulia Quadrifoglio. Further fettling of its twin-turbo V-6 motor could see power go beyond 505 horses, and, with lighter, more aerodynamic bodywork it may well top out above 200 mph. As for what it will look like, Imparato hinted that there will be at least some nods to nostalgia in the design. “We are working on something that I could put aside the 8C in the museum of Arese, being proud of our contribution to the history of Alfa Romeo. That is what we want,” he said. Assuming it gets sign-off from the Stellantis head office, we should see the 6C this summer.

Exhaust: This is molto bene indeed. Under Imparato, Alfa Romeo is undergoing a renaissance, with the company back in the black and, seemingly, having strong support from parent Stellantis. The 6C would be Alfa’s first proper sports car in more than a decade, and it may well be the last example powered by internal combustion. No wonder even the idea of it is selling out fast. — Nik Berg

Build McLaren’s rarest cars in Lego

Intake: Often, when a car manufacturer also runs its own race team, the production-car side of the business will leverage the racing side to build a version of a race car to sell to the uber-rich. Such creations, typically produced in ultra-low volume, are designed to burnish the halo around both divisions. If they create a bit of envy in folks with the budgets of you and me, well … why not get the word out in Lego form? McLaren has teamed up with the plastic-brick company to sell a two-model pack representing Woking’s most exclusive street-going models: Representing the ’90s, the high-water of McLaren’s endurance racing era, is the F1 LM. LM stands, as racing geeks know, for Le Mans: In 1995 McLaren entered the eponymous 24-hour race for its first time, with “GTR” versions of the F1 street car. It walked away with first, third, fourth, fifth, and 13th place. To celebrate that mic-drop of a performance, McLaren dropped a race-spec engine in five “regular” F1s, adding the high-downforce aero kit the race team developed for Le Mans. Voila, the F1 LM. Representing the current age in the Lego box is the Solus GT, a blue-sky single-seater intended to represent McLaren freed from any regulations of street or race series. The real world only gets 25 of them, each powered by a naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V-10 engine.

Exhaust: It’s best to channel your inner child when thinking of the F1 LM and Solus GT, whether the Lego set or what the bricks mimic. Bring money or practicality into the question, and you may grow cynical: An F1 LM is worth $40M or more, though at least it’s road legal: The $3.5M Solus GT is track-only. Now, where are those instructions? — Grace Houghton

Tesla hit with potential class-action suit by shareholders

Intake: Tesla and its Chief Executive Elon Musk were sued Monday by shareholders accusing them of overstating the effectiveness and safety of their electric vehicles’ Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technologies, according to Reuters via Automotive News. The suit is a proposed class action filed in San Francisco federal court, and it says shareholders claim Tesla “defrauded” them over four years with false statements that concealed how its technologies, suspected as a possible cause of multiple fatal crashes, “created a serious risk of accident and injury.” Tesla’s share price dropped several times as revelations about the system became known, the shareholders say.

Exhaust: That share price fell 5.7 percent on February 16 after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recalled over 362,000 Tesla vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving beta software because they could be unsafe around intersections. The suit should be interesting to watch, as it might help determine whether Tesla has a genuine problem, or just some public serious relations issues. — Steven Cole Smith

Cadillac heads to Le Mans with three-car effort

Intake: Cadillac will head to France this summer to battle the world’s best at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Three Cadillac V-Series.R prototypes, which all made their debuts at this year’s Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in January, will compete for the overall victory in the Hypercar class against the likes of Ferrari, Porsche, Peugeot, Glickenhaus, and others. Of the three entrants, one Cadillac had been designated for full-time duty in the FIA’s World Endurance Championship (WEC), the global racing series that counts the fabled French 24-hour battle as a part of its calendar, while the other two were earmarked primarily in IMSA’s Weathertech Sportscar Championship here in North America. The Cadillac V-Series.R cars utilize a Dallara chassis and a 5.5-liter DOHC V-8 engine paired with a spec hybrid energy recovery system built by Bosch. Total output is limited to 500 kW (670 hp).

Exhaust: Credit the shared specs of the new prototype cars, co-developed between the FIA and IMSA, for this chance to run the same cars at Daytona and Le Mans. Three cars competing for glory in France is no small undertaking, and the Caddies have to prove themselves a Sebing later this spring first. Cadillac’s first attempt at the grueling French race came in 1950, when privateers Briggs Cunningham and Miles and Sam Collier drove two Series 61 Coupes. The brand’s most recent attempts at Le Mans came in 2000–02 with a turbocharged version of the 4.0-liter Northstar V-8 powering LMP cars. The brand has never won the race, so each of the three cars will be vying for history. — Nathan Petroelje

Nissan recalls Rogues models with jackknife-style keys

Intake: Nissan is recalling more than 809,000 Rogue and Rogue Sport SUVs in North America for ignition keys that could inadvertently shut off the vehicle while driving. The recall covers 2014-20 Rogue and 2017-22 Rogue Sports equipped with a jackknife-style ignition key, says Automotive News. Those keys might collapse into a folded position while driving, increasing the risk of a crash if the vehicle turns off.

Exhaust: Nissan is advising vehicle owners not to attach any accessories to the key and to only use it in the unfolded position until a remedy is available, according to a NHTSA recall. The remedy is expected to be available this summer. —SCS

Stellantis to invest $155 million in plants to produce electric drive modules

Intake: Stellantis announced that it will invest a total of $155 million in three Kokomo, Indiana, plants to produce new electric drive modules that will help power future electric vehicles assembled in North America, and to support the conglomerate’s goal of 50 percent battery-electric sales in the U.S. by 2030. Offering an all-in-one solution for electric-vehicle powertrains, the EDM consists of three main components—the electric motor, power electronics, and transmission—that are combined into a single module to deliver improved performance and range at a competitive cost. The optimized efficiency of the new EDM, Stellantis says, will help each platform achieve a driving range of up to 500 miles.

Exhaust: “While we continue our successful transition to a decarbonized future in our European operations, we are now setting those same foundational elements for the North American market,” said Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO. Investments will be made at three plants in Kokomo, saving more than 265 jobs. Production is expected to start in the third quarter of 2024, following retooling. — SCS

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Seldom has a race been so difficult, so downright impossible to handicap as last weekend’s 61^st Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Unlike years past, the winds of change were strong in the IMSA preseason paddock. By the time January arrived, a brand-new class containing two new manufacturers, as well as a bevy of fresh-faced teams and drivers, joined stalwart entries for the impending Florida foray. We’re talking more variables than an Algebra textbook.

And from the proverbial control tower, it was IMSA’s job to keep the playing field level and fans enthused.

This balancing issue stems from professional road racing’s new set of common rules agreed upon by IMSA in the United States, and the ACO in France. This year’s legislations and balance of performance (BOP) regulations allow a myriad of new marques to compete at professional road racing’s highest level with the same car. Now, for the first time in decades, a manufacturer could sweep the discipline’s triple crown by winning first overall at the Daytona, Sebring, and Le Mans in France.

This all-new class of Grand Touring Prototypes (GTP) features hybrid-powered fiberglass-shrouded race cars that don’t resemble any sort of road-goer. Last weekend, sleek new designs from Acura, Cadillac, BMW, and Porsche made their competition debut on the Daytona high banks. The group engaged in a fierce battle for 24 hours, with the overall win eventually going to the veteran Meyer Shank Racing Acura team.

With a race under their belt, the fresh field continues on to the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and—most importantly—the 100th anniversary 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Back to the handicap: There was an underlying concern that the new GTP cars (called LMDh in Europe) might not survive the 24 hours, especially given the sophisticated, mandatory new battery-powered systems that require the cars to enter and exit the pits on electricity alone. There was an unspoken fear that one of the fast, proven LMP2 undercards might sneak in for an overall win. IMSA quietly addressed this issue, slowing the LMP2s down by reducing power and increasing weight.

There was no need.

Acura finishes 1-2 in GTP

The GTP cars performed, as a whole, admirably. For the second year in a row, the pink Meyer Shank Racing Acura placed first overall. Its driver lineup was comprised of closer Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Simon Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves, who collected his third straight Rolex triumph. The future hall-of-famer could open his own jewelry store as he now owns three Rolex watches and four Indianapolis 500 rings.

The little Acura twin-turbo V-6 ran flawlessly, but there was concern in the pits about the transmission, which began to overheat eight hours into the enduro. They decided to run it until it stopped shifting, which it never did. Otherwise, the Meyer Shank Acura just suffered the expected niggling problems.

The lead Acura, as well as the second-place car, the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura, completed 783 laps on the 3.56-mile track. Third place and fourth place, the two Cadillacs fielded by Chip Ganassi, also finished on the same lap. In fact, the fourth-place car was only 16 seconds behind the winning Acura.

The Whelen Cadillac was 12 laps back, and the top-finishing BMW, a Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan car, was 15 laps behind. Then, in seventh, was the first LMP2 car, the Proton entry. That car was about four seconds a lap slower than the top Acura GTP car.

The failure of Roger Penske’s Porsche GTPs to finish near the top was the biggest surprise. The two Porsches had more development time and certainly as much testing time as the other marques, but the best they could do was 14^th and 42^nd overall. If a pre-race pick had to be made, we’d likely have selected the Porsches.

The ninth GTP car, the second of RLL’s BMWs, was never in the game and finished a grim 48^th in the 61-car field.

WeatherTech Racing tops GTD Pro

Aside from the Meyer-Shank win, the other feel-good story was the GTD Pro win by WeatherTech Racing’s Mercedes-AMG, led by Cooper MacNeil, in his final race as an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitor. The team finished 17^th overall, giving MacNeil a Rolex on his way out of the driver’s seat to work in team management and to help with the family-owned WeatherTech company. Corvette Racing was second in class after leading much of the race, just four seconds behind the WeatherTech Mercedes.

The AWA team won in LMP3, and in GTD, the Heart of Racing Aston Martin GT3 took the class win.

Next up: Sebring

All said, though, the major marvel of the race was the Meyer Shank Acura, which was able to better launch off the corners than the competition. All race long, the pole-sitting Acura seemed to be able to pass the competition at will. The rest of the GTP field has some work to do before March 18, when the 12 Hours of Sebring takes the green flag.

Meyer Shank, on the other hand, looks to take another step toward the triple crown.

The post Acura throttles disparate Daytona field at Rolex 24 appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Drivers named for GM’s Garage 56 Le Mans entry

Intake: A press conference that was part of the Rolex 24 at Daytona weekend addressed the all-star driver lineup for the Chevrolet Camaro that GM, NASCAR, and Hendrick Motorsports are entering in the 100th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This entirely reworked NASCAR Cup Camaro will run in a class called Garage 56, a slot Le Mans organizers use to enter an exhibition vehicle demonstrating unfamiliar technology. The drivers will be NASCAR star Jimmie Johnson, veteran road racer Mike Rockenfeller, and former Formula 1 champion Jensen Button. Johnson was not a huge surprise, because he has wanted to compete at Le Mans for years, and Rockenfeller has been doing most of the testing of the Camaro, but 2009 F1 champ Button was a shocker. “As a lifelong racing fan, I have always dreamed of racing certain cars, with and against certain drivers and competing in certain events,” Button said. “In June, a number of those dreams will come true.” The trio will be testing the car at Daytona International Speedway tomorrow and Wednesday.

Exhaust: Not since the wacky DeltaWing debuted at Le Mans in 2012 will a Garage 56 entry get this level of attention. — Steven Cole Smith

Renault to electrify classic 4, 5, and Twingo

Intake: It’s not enough that Renault is launching new electric cars wearing the iconic R4 and R5 badges; the French firm is now offering kits to transform its classics to battery power. Unveiled at the Rétromobile showcase in Paris is a retrofit system for the Renault 4, 5 (Le Car), and the first-generation Twingo, which costs €11,900 ($12,950) including installation and replaces the internal-combustion engine with a 48-kW brushless synchronous motor and a 10.7-kWh battery pack. The original transmission is kept, so the classic experience of rowing your own gears is maintained. Developed and fitted by partner company R-FIT, the conversion’s drawback is range. You’ll likely only get 50 miles from a full charge and the kit isn’t compatible with rapid charging systems, so juicing up an empty battery would take over three hours.

“We are overjoyed about launching these electric retrofit kits that will enable people who love their classic cars and young people to drive in France in our iconic Renault 4, Renault 5, and Twingo, powered by electricity,” said Hugues Portron, director of The Originals Renault collection. “In addition to the circular economy created by these new electric engine fits, the electric retrofit kits offer a solution that combines the pleasure of driving with savings and reliability without taking anything away from the style and the original designs of these well-loved timeless classics.”

Exhaust: Only last week, Toyota showed a pair of zero-emission AE86 coupes converted to run on hydrogen or battery power. The plus side of OEMs getting in on the trend for electrifying older models is that the OEM conversions should, at least, come with some factory assurances. The Renault kits are supplied with a two-year warranty and have passed safety tests, providing peace of mind to owners contemplating making the switch. — Nik Berg

U.K. exhaust company takes aim at “modern classics”

Intake: Some of our “modern classics” are getting a bit long in the tooth when it comes to their exhaust systems, which likely need replacing. Rather than go straight OEM, allow us to present Milltek Sport, which has developed bespoke new OEM+ systems for the latest crop of classic performance heroes, including the Audi TT, Honda Integra Type R, Mini Cooper S, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (VII/VIII), Volkswagen Golf R32, and Audi RS4 (B5/B7). “These cars are now passing their twentieth birthday and will soon be considered as classics in their own right. A Milltek Sport Classic system offers the perfect balance of OEM+ design, superior quality and enhanced performance and sound,” said Steve Pound, managing director of Milltek. The company says that while some customers choose larger bore, race-inspired exhaust systems, many customers choose an upgraded item that emulates the original factory design.

Exhaust: We’ve seen Milltek products and have been impressed by their style and quality. — SCS 

Nissan all-wheel-drive system could be an industry leader

Intake: “When cruising along at 40 mph on a sheet of super-slick ice, it pays to have an ultra-responsive vehicle stability system that won’t skate you right off the road,” is how Automotive News introduces its Japanese test of the new e-40rce system Nissan will be using on its all-electric Ariya. E-4orce “combines all computations in one electronic control unit for faster reaction and more precise power adjustment.” It then channels the signal to two sets of electric motors—one for the front axle, the other for the rear. The setup allows for a wide band of power splitting, delivering up to 100 percent to the front axle and up to 100 percent to the rear. The system then blends that power distribution with independent braking control on the right and left sides. On an icy frozen lake bed, “An e-4orce-equipped Ariya sprung quickly off the start with zero slippage, braked with ease in an unwavering beeline, and proved nearly impossible to fishtail on an icy skid pad.”

Exhaust: Nissan’s e-4orce is just one of such systems being offered on this next generation of electric vehicles. The new crop of stability-control systems should definitely be on a buyer’s radar. — SCS

Ford chops prices across Mustang Mach-E lineup

Intake: Ford is cutting prices across the entire Mustang Mach-E lineup. The move is meant to compete with Tesla, who recently dropped prices for many of its vehicles as well, according to the report from the Detroit Free Press. Depending on the model, prices have dropped between $600 and $5900, excluding destination fees. “We’re not going to cede ground to anyone,” Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer for Ford Model e (The company’s EV division), told reporters on a conference call. “We’ll continue to push the boundaries to make EVs more accessible for everyone.” Ford noted that the price drops were in part because of the new tax incentives put into place by the Inflation Reduction Act. Those tax credits—up to $7500 for qualifying vehicles—went into effect at the start of this year. (Tesla’s recent price cuts were also influenced by the new tax incentives coming online.) Ford has sold more than 66,000 Mustang Mach-Es since the model first went on sale in 2021. The Mach-E’s production facility in Mexico is currently undergoing a revamp to handle increased production, and Ford says it will come back online sometime in the first quarter of this year. The goal of the revamped line is to take annual production from 78,000 units to 130,000.

Exhaust: Ford also noted that with its EV supply chain gathering momentum, material costs for the Mach-E were down, and that was another driver of the price cut. There’s good news for dealers as well: Ford said it will drop the 25-unit annual EV sales cap at dealerships, and it is also reducing the costs of that EV certification program for dealerships by $10,000, according to a report from Automotive News. Kudos to Ford for passing some cost relief on to dealers and customers alike. — Nathan Petroelje

More false alarms from iPhone 14 Crash Detection system

Intake: According to 9to5mac.com, the iPhone 14’s Crash Detection system, designed to inform authorities if the owner has been involved in a serious car crash, has caused the fire department of the Kita-Alps, Nagano, in Japan to report 134 false calls between December 16 and January 23, “mainly” from the iPhone 14 Crash Detection system incorrectly triggering as the phones’ owners go down the ski slopes. The site quotes Apple, describing what the Crash Detection system responds to—sudden speed shifts, abrupt changes in direction, cabin pressure changes, and loud sound levels—and the sensors it uses: “A new high g-force accelerometer senses extreme accelerations or decelerations up to 256 gs […] A high dynamic range gyroscope monitors drastic changes in a car’s orientation […] The barometer can detect pressure changes caused by deploying airbags […] While you’re driving, the microphone identifies the extreme sound levels of a collision.” This array is causing false triggers when users are riding on roller coasters, and when they’re skiing and snowboarding, says the New York Post.

Exhaust: Crash Detection is a feature on all iPhone 14 models, as well as the Apple Watch Series 8, second-gen Apple Watch SE, and Apple Watch Ultra. Apple is reportedly working on the problem. — SCS

Alfa wants a big vehicle for the U.S.

Intake: Alfa Romeo is working on a new large “E-segment” fully-electric vehicle to expand in the U.S., CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato said. “We will have to be in the E-segment in North America,” Imparato told Automotive News on the sidelines of the launch of the Tonale compact crossover in Japan. “We are working on that.” The brand’s U.S. lineup tops out with a D-segment entry in the Giulia sedan.

Exhaust: Alfa definitely needs more inventory if it wants to make a serious play for the U.S. The Italian brand has pledged to go all-electric by 2027. — SCS 

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Last August, Mazda Motorsports asked me to race its storied 787 race car at the Monterey Motorsport Rolex Reunion. This annual event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is part of Monterey Car Week. Those around the California peninsula that week are treated to top-tier concours, auctions, and, of course, vintage race cars competing on track.

The white-and-blue 787 that I drove that weekend competed in the top (GTP) class of the 1990 and 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans. Its sister car was the race winner in 1991, making Mazda the first Japanese auto manufacturer to win the French endurance race. This fire-spitting monster is powered by a 700-horsepower, four-rotor engine that draws attention even when you can’t see it. The unique rotary engine screams through its rev range. YouTube is packed with videos of the shrill howler.

My history with Mazda Motorsports is a long one. In more recent years, I served as a factory driver for the marque, driving for its Rolex GT and IMSA WeatherTech Prototype programs. (A prototype racer, in contrast to a GT-class car, is built from scratch and not based upon any publically available, road-going model in the manufacturer’s portfolio.—Ed.) Obviously, there is a big difference between driving the legendary Mazda 787 and a modern-day prototype, but there are a couple similarities.

For instance, those GTP cars from 30 years ago—the Mazda 787, as well as the Porsche 962, Jaguar XJR, and Toyota Mk III Eagle—made an incredible amount of power. Modern prototypes make less, but their power-to-weight ratio is quite similar to their ’90s brethren thanks to modern, lighter-weight materials.

In both eras of Mazda prototype, you get the same kind of throw-you-back-in-the-seat acceleration. According to the data from the modern dash that was installed in this 787, we almost hit one g of straight-line acceleration while racing at Laguna Seca. (For reference, a stock Tesla Model S can pull about .65g in the same conditions.)

The massive tires on the 787 help to put all that power to the ground. From the back the car looks like it’s riding on giant drag racing tires. Given its age, the braking capability of the 787 is very impressive, too. Modern-day prototypes, however, have even better braking capability, thanks to lightweight carbon-ceramic brakes.

In addition to grip from the tires, the GTP cars produce a lot of aerodynamic grip. The 787’s giant rear wing—which could double as a kitchen table—provides downforce. The channeled design on the underside of the car creates a suction effect against the track. These “ground effects” keep the 787 planted at high speed. Newer prototypes have a smaller surface area for the wing and a less dramatic underside design. Nevertheless, they are quite a bit more efficient in the overall bodywork design, so they actually generate more downforce than a 787.

Perhaps one of the biggest differences between the two eras of prototypes is the view from inside the cockpit. A lot has happened in cockpit design over the past three decades. The 787’s interior is filled with dash switches and a very simple, traditional steering wheel. In today’s prototypes, everything is digital, and all the functionality is controlled through toggle buttons predominately located on the steering wheel, which resembles more of a yoke than a wheel. The digital setup doesn’t look more complex than the 787’s, but the control capabilities and adjustments are far more complex.

Another significant difference between a GTP and a modern prototype is the H-pattern gearbox. The box requires heel-toe downshifting as well as clutching on every upshift. In today’s cars, we use paddles that shift in milliseconds and don’t use a clutch at all.

Driving the 787 made me appreciate how important footwork and precise shifting were in these older cars. You had to get everything just right on the upshifts and the downshifts. I had to make sure my heel-toe skills were still sharp. Downshifting a 700-horsepower prototype is a very different experience than downshifting in a modern car.

As special as it was to careen the 787 down the corkscrew and flash across the front stretch, driving it is like driving any other car on track. You must make sure your footwork and steering inputs are smooth, and you have to get your eyes through the corner far in advance. Regardless of prototype generation, all of the basic principles still apply, and it’s incredibly rewarding when you get it all right.

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This red, 427-powered, Gurney-bubble-fitted Le Mans stormer is a real-deal Ford GT40 Mk IV. The paint and bodywork are purely emulative, though; this Ford never saw France at night. No, its history is a bit unique, and some lucky bidder at Mecum’s Kissimmee auction will have the chance to own this car and thus a portion of the lore surrounding America’s most prominent Le Mans endurance racer.

Even though the Ford GT40 Mk II swept Le Man’s podium in 1966, the Blue Oval remained committed to improving upon its venerable mid-engine machine for their next go at the French 24-hour race. Ford engineered its new entry, dubbed the “J-Car,” to be lighter, more powerful, and slipperier through the air. The chassis was formed from lightweight honeycomb-aluminum panels and wore novel, more aerodynamic bodywork.

Testing the new J-Car was critical—and deadly. In August of 1966, two months after he was snubbed Le Mans glory, Ken Miles was killed while shaking down a J-Car at a private test in Riverside.

Ford pushed forward with development of the next-gen racer, eventually maturing into the Ford GT40 Mark IV. In total, 12 chassis were built. Four test mules wore the J-Car bodywork. Four more were fitted with refined bodywork and sent overseas to fight for Le Mans glory. Of the four chassis, J-5 was at the head of its class after 24 hours, with A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney winning first overall. An American team, and American car, with two American badasses behind the wheel—the number-one-sporting red and white livery would be immortalized forever in the annals of sports car racing.

Then, the FIA, Le Mans’ sanctioning body rewrote the rulebook in 1967, after the American’s dominance. The Mk IV was deemed illegal and the final four (J-9 through J-12) were left unfinished.

This is where things get looney. Kar Kraft—the same Michigan-based in-house firm that Ford used for development of the Mk IV—transformed two of the unused J chassis cars into open-cockpit racers. The cars were tested but never saw competition; that is, until they were sold to Agapiou Racing.

Devout Shelby fanatics will recognize this name. Charlie Agapiou was an English-born mechanic who moved to L.A. without prospects and began working for Ken Miles in 1962 while the fellow expatriate was driving a Sunbeam Alpine for Rootes Group. Not long after Miles moved to Shelby American, he recruited to Agapiou to come work for the Texan.

Agapiou worked at Shelby American through the glory years, until he was drafted during the Vietnam era. After a stint in the Army, Charlie and his older brother Kerry started their own road racing team in 1969. They ran pretty successfully with a Lola T70. Then, Ford sold them the Mark IV scraps to the brothers for $1. With the pile, the brothers went off to compete in Can-Am against the likes of Chevy-powered white Chapparals and orange McLarens.

The J-10 chassis was fitted with new bodywork and Boss 429 power. In two years, the open-cockpit racer hosted a hall of fame roster. Peter Revson, Jack Brabham, George Follmer, David Hobbs, and Vic Elford all spent time in the seat, but it was Canadian John Cannon who did most of the driving. After a crash during the 1970 season, J-10 was sent to England where it remained under the Agapiou brother’s ownership until 1989. It was then that the new owners began returning the car to Mark IV spec.

In 1996, the unfinished car traded hands once again. After a four year restoration (see: owner Jim Holden describing his quest for an original spec Boeing 707 wiper motor on a GT40 forum) J-10 finally saw the restoration finish line. Its Mark IV bodywork, which it never wore in period, was even formed by Holman-Moody fabricator Ken Thompson using molds from an original Mk IV. Since J-10 never sported the long tail curves back in the day, it never had a proper livery. Instead, its owners opted for the most recognizable among the 12 Mark IVs: the 1967 Le Mans-winning red and white paint. It debuted to the public at Amelia Island in 2018.

So what can we expect in Kissimmee for this unique GT40 Mark IV? Well, for one, Mecum’s estimate indicates it expects $2M–$2.2M. Large as those numbers are, the average value of a GT40 Mark IV ranges from $3.9M in Fair (#4) condition to $8.1M in Concours (#1) condition. “Even though the estimate is lower than the Hagerty Price Guide value, I think it is appropriate for a GT40 that is lacking so many original parts,” says Hagerty automotive intelligence editor Greg Ingold. “The Can-Am GT40s were highly unsuccessful and the fact that this car has been rebodied back to a coupe isn’t great for its value.”

Sure, J-10 may never have graced the Mulsanne or been doused by Gurney’s champagne spray. But what it lacks in Le Mans provenance it makes up in other history. As with any race car, parts, tires, and bodywork were swapped race-to-race, which means the concept of “originality” is more nebulous than with a road car. When purchasing a desirable vintage racer in the present day, you’re buying a serial number and a story. This car has both.

The post This Ford GT40 Mk IV is a rare, open-cockpit convert appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Subaru brings back the Impreza 2.5 RS

Intake: We’ve shown teaser photos for the Subaru Impreza twice in the last week: Now, here’s the whole car, as revealed at the 2022 Los Angeles Auto Show. The Impreza debuted 30 years ago at the 1992 L.A. show, offering customers a “value-packed compact car with available Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive,” Subaru says. That still applies. The Impreza also laid the foundation for the WRX, the performance car with rally championships spanning four decades. The big news is that the sixth-generation Impreza sees the return of the once-beloved 2.5-liter RS hatchback, with 182 horsepower and alas, no manual transmission, only a CVT automatic, although it does have paddle shifters choosing from eight predetermined ratios.

Exhaust: In the lonesome days before the WRX was available stateside, the 2.5 RS was as good as Subarus got. If only we could get this new, sharp-looking hatch with the current WRX’s potent guts. Today’s reborn RS iteration is functionally a Civic Sport competitor, with similar lukewarm performance but no manual transmission option. Color us curious. –Eric Weiner

Six of nine NACOTY nominees are electric

Intake: The nominees for the North American Car, Truck, and SUV of the Year were announced Thursday afternoon. Twenty-six vehicles were voted semifinalists from an initial field of 47 eligible vehicles, and a second vote by NACTOY’s 50 jurors, all of them journalists for different outlets, determined the nine finalists following an extensive test-drive and evaluation period. The jurors vote based on elements including automotive innovation, design, safety, performance, technology, driver satisfaction, user experience, and value. The three finalists for each category, in alphabetical order, are: North American Car of the Year: Acura Integra, Genesis G80 EV, and Nissan Z. Truck of the Year: Chevrolet Silverado ZR2, Ford F-150 Lightning, and Lordstown Endurance. Sport Utility of the Year: Cadillac Lyriq, Genesis GV60, and Kia EV6.

“Our nine finalists for 2023 represent a diverse cross-section of this year’s best new vehicles, ranging from sports cars to powerful pickups to three electric utility vehicles—which is the first time in our history that all three finalists in a specific category are battery-electric,” said NACTOY president Gary Witzenburg.

Exhaust: The winners will be announced January 11. The 2022 winners were the Honda Civic, Ford Maverick, and Ford Bronco. Full disclosure: I’m a NACTOY juror. –Steven Cole Smith

Kia Seltos freshened for 2024

Intake: The refreshed 2024 Kia Seltos, which made its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show, gets a mildly updated look outside, and inside, a segment-first available panoramic display with two 10.25-inch screens. There’s also a new trim package called the X-Line exterior package that adds a new front grille design, unique 18-inch wheels, a black bridge-type roof rack, and gloss-black door garnish. There’s more power for the optional 1.6-liter turbo-GDI engine, up 20 horses to 195. It can be paired with an available eight-speed automatic transmission instead of the current seven-speed. (Standard is a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 147 horsepower and a CVT.)

Exhaust: The Seltos is one of the more satisfying small SUVs, and the added muscle and the extra gear for the 1.6-liter package should make it more fun to drive. Look for the 2024 Seltos is the first half of 2023. –SCS

Garage 56 Camaro tests for 2023 Le Mans

Intake: In 2012, the organizers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s most prestigious sports-car endurance race, set aside an entry called Garage 56 for a vehicle that showed genuine, and often untried, innovation to run as an exhibition. Not much has happened with Garage 56 since that first year, when the bizarre Delta Wing debuted, but 2023 should be interesting: Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet have entered a Camaro that started life as a 2022 NASCAR Cup Car and has been morphing into a serious road racer. The Camaro tested for three days at Virginia International Raceway driven by 2010 Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller.

“It’s a huge milestone for us,” Hendrick Motorsports vice president of competition and Garage 56 program manager Chad Knaus said—Knaus, of course, being best known as Jimmie Johnson’s crew chief during Johnson’s championship years.

“It doesn’t go without its challenges of course, but that is why you come to the racetrack to test. With all the people here and all the resources that have been here at VIR today, it shows the importance of this program and what a big commitment it has been from everybody.”

Exhaust: You know what would be interesting? If the Garage 56 Camaro has hybrid power, like the 2023 IMSA GTP cars will. NASCAR is, after all, expected to go the hybrid route for its Cup cars sooner rather than later. We aren’t saying the Garage 56 car will be a hybrid, just that the choice would be … interesting. –SCS

Report: NASCAR developing a wet-weather oval package

Intake: NASCAR is working on a package that would allow races to continue in the rain on short oval tracks, says Road & Track, citing “multiple sources in the NASCAR paddock.” The story continues: “Like the package used on road courses, it will include a windshield wiper, flaps behind the wheels, rain lights on the back of the car, and Goodyear rain tires, of course.”

Exhaust: This has been under discussion for some time, with TV a major advocate: Any rain delay usually lasts an hour or more, and you can hear the channel changers clicking across the country when the action stops. We can see it maybe working at Martinsville, Bristol, or Richmond, but anywhere else? Certainly not a given. –SCS

Bradley bites the Bullitt

Intake: Bradley Cooper is set to star as San Francisco cop Frank Bullitt in a Steven Spielberg–directed remake of the 1968 car-chase classic Bullitt. They each have some big driving boots to fill, with Cooper taking over from King of Cool Steve McQueen and Spielberg replacing Peter Yates in the director’s chair. According to Variety, instead of being a shot-for-shot reissue, the new Bullitt will be a different story, scripted by Josh Singer, who co-wrote Spielberg’s The Post. The original Bullitt was a huge hit, generating $42 million in ticket sales on a $4 million budget and winning an Oscar for Best Film Editing (for the chase sequence, we hope).

Exhaust: Cooper and Spielberg are a promising pairing, but what about the cars? A Shelby Mustang GT500 and a Charger Hellcat would be the obvious choices, but if the eco-police are involved, the new Bullitt could debut the first on-screen EV car chase with the Mustang Mach-E GT. Good luck to the sound effects team with that.—Nik Berg

Erik Buell’s Fuell electric motorcycle order books open

Intake: Buell built its reputation on building Harley-Davidson-powered sports bikes, but now founder Erik Buell has switched over to electric and even renamed the firm Fuell. (We sighed, too.) Having launched a high-end e-bike called the Flluid in 2019, Fuell now has its first proper electric motorcycle almost ready.

The Fllow has been designed as a daily driver, rather than an out-and-out sportster, with a top speed of 85 mph courtesy of a 35-kW (47.5 hp) hub motor of the rather exotic, transverse-flux variety. Weighing in at 396 pounds and carrying a 10-kWh battery pack as a structural element of the frame, it will accelerate to 62 mph in a claimed 2.7 seconds, which makes it swifter than Harley’s Livewire One. A realistic range of 150 miles is said to be achievable, with prices starting at $11,995. Customers are being invited to put down a $200 deposit and if, 3000 reservations are received, production should go ahead.

Exhaust: The high specification, Tron-inspired styling, and low price look great, but the funding isn’t in place yet. Question marks remain over whether Buell will get his Fuell flowing. We hope he does. —NB

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The post Impreza 2.5 RS returns, NACOTY finalists announced, will NASCAR go racing in the rain? appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Welcome to a new weekly feature we’re calling In the Moment!

This all started in Slack, the messaging software we use for staff communication. Several weeks ago, Hagerty’s editor-at-large, Sam Smith, began kicking off our mornings by plopping a random archive photo into our chat room. 

In addition to being a lifelong student of automotive history, Smith drinks a lot of coffee. Each photo he dropped into the conversation was accompanied by a bit of caffeine-fueled explanation. 

We liked these drops a lot, so we’re sharing one here each Thursday. Enjoy, and let us know what you think in the comments! —Ed.

**

Morning, everyone! 

We’re going to change things up this week. Unlike our other images, that top shot isn’t from the Getty archive. It has never been published. This photo is quite personal, so this installment is a bit different. 

Fair warning: This post is a long one.

I’m going to share a story. It will begin with cars but not stay there. Regardless, if reading sounds awful right now, I suggest this wonderful piece of mindless entertainment.

Want to stick around? Great! Let’s dive in.

**

Of Audis and Basins and Range(finders)

This is a scan of a 35-millimeter frame of slide film. It was taken with a 1970s Canon Canonet QL17 rangefinder.

The camera and photographer exposed this photograph in Northern California, near the town of Monterey, in a natural bowl in the mountains, in the pits of a track then known as Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

The image depicts a moment on the afternoon of Saturday, October 18, 2008. It shows a pit stop by the Audi factory team during an American Le Mans Series race. The car is one of just two Audi R10 TDIs—diesel Le Mans prototypes—campaigned in that race. This particular R10 finished first overall, but there was contact.

Those carbon panels are dirty. See the scrapes on the number board and the Michelin logo, the fraying vinyl wrap?

The team is doing a quick repair on the engine cover. A 29-year-old German driver named Lucas Luhr sits in the cockpit, waiting. His face is obscured by a mirror. His helmet livery contains multiple small Ls.

I happen to know a bit about this photographer. I know he wasn’t happy with this particular image. It’s a compromise, exposed for shadow and sun and spot on for neither.

I also know that, on the day of this photo, the shooter had a tri-tip sandwich for lunch.

Spoiler: The shooter was me.

This is Kodachrome. The Paul Simon song! The most famous film in history. Again, I took this in October of 2008. I was living in Michigan but visiting Monterey for work. The slide was, for various reasons, not developed or scanned until 2010. At which point I lived in Northern California.

Those details may seem irrelevant. At the core, however, racing resembles photography: a series of decisions compassed by time and your own previous choices.

I began writing about this image as if it were any other In the Moment. Then I realized it was different.

Let’s back up.

***

Fourteen years can feel longer than it is. Ten years and 48 months ago, in the fall of 2008, my girlfriend and I lived in Michigan, in the college town of Ann Arbor. We had met two years prior while working at a now-defunct car magazine called Automobile. Adrienne was a copy editor. On January 15th, 2006, my first day, I stuck my head into her office and introduced myself. She had a master’s in journalism and a penchant for skirts. I was the newly minted assistant editor, 25 years old, a former Jaguar parts guy and one-time contender for the mantle of world’s slowest professional mechanic. Ten months later, we were dating.

To this day, I have no idea what she saw in me. All I knew was that she was smart and funny and looked great in those skirts. Plus, she laughed at my stupid jokes when I swung by to drop off page proofs. (Her, years later: “They weren’t that stupid. Mostly.”)

Salad days are always on a clock. In late ’08, Adrienne and I loaded a moving truck and left Michigan for the Bay Area. Mostly for me, so I could take another job. I told friends it was simply time for a change, and it was. At the core of that was an older truth—I had wanted to live in Northern California since childhood.

Wanting can seem as a good a reason as any, when you’re young.

Not that the change wasn’t practical. Writing about and testing new cars for a living had me in California half the year anyway. The state is thick with carmakers and race shops and fabricators, not to mention killer roads. If I was purposely minimizing anything, it was how the combined salaries of two journalists without family money would only go so far in the long run. But the long run seemed a long way off, as it always does.

Maybe I just assumed we’d find a way to climb. The copy editor had just landed a remote job with a firm in Chicago; she could live anywhere. My writing was beginning to get noticed and had won a few small awards. We had minimal expenses and zero debt. Optimistic, I went job hunting. After a few months, I accepted an editorial position at a small publishing house half an hour north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

That operation produced a few car magazines, including a fairly prominent Porsche title called Excellence. I was so dead-set on the end result that I took a significant pay cut for all this, having caved immediately when the hiring manager balked at matching my old salary. (Not that stupid. Mostly.)

By Christmas, we were established. A tiny apartment, with an attached and 0.75-car garage, near the city of San Rafael. The copy editor had agreed to marry me. I was a few months from turning 28. I could ride my old Honda CB400F to work on deserted back roads all year, then hike in the redwoods on weekends. The burritos were incredible, the outdoors even better. On top of that, my work-life balance was noticeably improved, job travel basically absent.

I remember when I realized it was all falling apart.

The Canonet, that film camera from the Audi shot, had come from eBay a year before. It cost 60 bucks shipped but arrived cleaned and adjusted, a bargain. A photography blog I enjoyed called the QL17 “the poor man’s Leica,” which is nice but also like calling a Volkswagen Beetle a poor man’s Porsche 911.

Still, people like Beetles. The QL17 was a 1970s rangefinder, this fun little clock of parallax. Rangefinders were obsolete 50 years ago, but their unique focus mechanism allows for neat lens construction. As for film, I shot digital regularly for work but was drawn to chemical photography by the abundance of cheap, high-quality used hardware. (Then as now, everyone wanted digital.) I stayed for the dynamic range and creamy shadows, where silicon had yet to catch up.

You get to pick how you drop your blood pressure. If only we could choose what lifts it.

Stress is insidious. It’s also quiet and patient. My selfish choices for a life in California meant, of course, that our money was tight. But we signed up for that, knew it going in. I had never met anyone as kind and thoughtful as Adrienne, and she was, to her credit, game for anything. The greater hurdle, one I feel uncomfortable sharing even now, is how the copy editor and I were perpetual strangers in a strange land.

It sounds silly and small but was one piece of a puzzle. We had dated for two years before moving to California and moving in together. Neither of us had previously lived with a significant other. We were each stupid and territorial about our space, as kids can be. Our families were thousands of miles away. We had maybe two friends locally, fellow transplants from back east, but they tended to socialize in ways that took money we didn’t have.

Californians don’t like to admit it, but the state’s social language is too often a closed door. We tried and repeatedly failed to meet new people and break out of the box of that apartment. Seasons passed. The firmware of our life shifted. I began to loathe my work and couldn’t explain why. Paradoxically, I also began to worry I wasn’t doing enough at that desk. I started staying late to get more done, though it made other problems worse.

I worked in a small office with four supervisors as my only coworkers. My desk sat solo in a converted lobby. Each morning, I would leave the house, where I felt alone, and go to work, where I felt even more alone. 

Wanting to fix things but not knowing how, I aimed for the closest target. I churned more and more, gave longer hours, felt the sanity behind that churn slipping away. When the fighting began at home, I tried for patience and failed. When the arguments grew more regular, I simply made sure the house had enough cheap tequila. And when those fights began arriving twice a day—before work, after work, sometimes a fight about a fight about a fight . . .

Well, I had to decide between giving myself a drinking problem and finding other ways to cope. So I shot more film. 

Those fights were asinine and potent, powered by stress. I was an expert at picking molehills to die on. I insisted on wrestling every single issue down to the ground, as if things like who drank all the juice actually mattered. When our cumulative blood pressure reached a peak, fights seven days a week, we discussed axing the wedding.

We were still undecided when, in the early fall of 2009, I lost my job.

The reason is immaterial. I felt better, years later, when my former manager told me he was sorry, that they had been wrong to let me go. Regardless, we were adrift. As a child, my parents drilled into me the importance of looking difficult moments—to say nothing of your own missteps—in the eye. Adrienne and I each took a deep breath, and then we went triage. We hadn’t been in California long enough to save enough to move back east. If we axed health insurance and every discretionary spend over five bucks, we figured, her meager salary would buy us a few months of rent and cheap noodles. A ticking clock while I looked for work.

So that was what we did. I hustled. In the background, a remarkable thing happened. The arguments stopped. We somehow remembered that we liked each other. Stability had gone out the window, but something else had come back in.

It seemed frivolous, but I kept taking pictures.

We could afford it, barely, but that doesn’t mean we could afford it. The months that followed were a heavy squeeze, even as I found work writing. But we did have those two local friends from back east. One was a former coworker at Automobile, Jason Cammisa, who now works for this company. (You may know him from YouTube; he stood up in my wedding.) The other friend, my pal Michael Chaffee, lived across the Golden Gate, in San Francisco.

Each helped whenever they could. Chaf, in particular, was like a brother to me. We had met, years before, through track days and old-BMW ownership, back when things like E30 M3s were cheap. Just as important, he had in his apartment a scanner and the chemicals to develop black-and-white film. 

“There’s Ilford HP5 in the freezer,” he said, one day. “Yours if you want.” Because he bought the film in bulk, he passed it to me at cost or free, three bucks a roll at most. After I’d run a few through the Canonet, I’d shove the canisters into my jacket pocket, fire up the Honda, and bop over the bridge to Chaf’s apartment.

I was making something. It helped.

No photographer who has made their living with film will romanticize the hours lost to the medium’s logistics. My friend Regis Lefebure has long shot motorsport professionally. “Sure, get romantic and artsy,” he once told me. “You didn’t have to fight the stuff on the road, praying you got the shot. Just take a RAW file, crank up the grain, you’re close enough.”

I’m not a professional photographer. Nor am I a professional mechanic or musician. And yet I take photographs, I rebuild cars, I play instruments. We all have reasons for doing what we do when we’re not getting paid.

***

That second year in California, I made a choice. I consciously changed how I looked at relationships, my wants, and, most important, other people. I built a freelance career that eventually saw me working regularly for places like Wired, the New York Times, Esquire, and Car and Driver. Adrienne and I got married. We acknowledged that we couldn’t afford to live and raise a family anywhere in California that made sense for my job, and we began to pave a road out.

That freelancing eventually led to a position as executive editor at Road & Track, where the team I helped lead was nominated for a National Magazine Award, a car-magazine first. That job led to this one, at Hagerty. I am now lucky enough to work with some of the smartest and kindest people I’ve known.

Which brings us to now. And Kodachrome.

That name fades in meaning with every passing year. It is a brand but also a patented chemical process and a delicate brickwork of saturated dye layers. It was first sold as a color slide film in 1936. Maybe you know that Simon song?

Nice bright colors, he sings.

Sometimes. It’s apparently easier if you’re Steve McCurry. What the film gave amateurs was in my eyes much better, a more subdued and old-world palette, almost cinematic. Plus the kind of crackly, projectable detail—3.5 centimeters of virtually unbelievable resolution—that was, with slide film, once the reason for the season.

Production lasted 74 years. The formula saw changes, but Kodachrome in 1936 was basically Kodachrome in 2009. By the time that last year rolled around, Kodak had narrowed its offerings to just one speed, ISO 64, and one size, 35-millimeter. There was also in all the world just one lab certified for processing—Dwayne’s Photo, in Parsons, Kansas.

Even by the wacky standards of color-positive film, Kodachrome development is odd. The process was designed to produce a perennially stable image of high clarity, and it succeeded. Most color film fades after a few decades, but evidence suggests Kodachrome can hold fast for at least a century. The tradeoff was a painfully narrow exposure window and a recipe so brutally unforgiving that Dwayne’s famously kept a degreed chemist on staff solely to analyze film solutions.

Get the light and cook right, though? Colors that hit like a warm blanket. Or a Monterey summer.

Kodak stopped making this stuff in 2009. Still, the people at Dwayne’s, those heroes, they knew it was still out there. They vowed to keep going as long as they could, as long as Kodak kept shipping the required chemicals. Over the next year, thousands of rolls arrived in Parsons, from all over the world.

My Laguna shot was in there.

***

In early 2010, a few months after our life in California changed, I found in my desk a few forgotten canisters of K64, exposed but undeveloped. They were unlabeled, no dates or subject notes on the cans.

Kodak had already killed the film. Dwayne’s would continue accepting exposures until the end of the year, but I didn’t know that then. I looked up the processing cost online. Three rolls was roughly equivalent to a nice dinner for two, even before shipping to Kansas.

We were still broke. I had no idea what was on that film and absolutely no business paying for expensive and tiny pictures round-tripped from some Midwest chemistry mecca. I grew determined anyway. A door was about to close, and once it did, whatever was in those film cans would be locked in there forever.

We scrimped further. From the cheap noodles to the nearly free noodles. Weeks later, when I had saved enough, I sent the chromes off. More weeks went by. When the film returned, I rode down to Chaf’s place. 

In the end, the Laguna photo was the last to hit the scanner. A decent shot, but nothing special. With that old Kodachrome trick, though: Colors as I remember them, if not as they really were.

In late 2008, I had flown to Northern California for work. I took a weekend off to walk around that idyllic track, shooting the race for fun. A few days after I flew home, we loaded a moving truck and aimed west.

Adrienne and I now live in Tennessee. We have two fun and quirky little girls in elementary school and an old house where the stairs creak at night and I occasionally have to tell those girls to not draw ponies in toothpaste on the bathroom mirror. When we left San Rafael in 2011, it was the responsible choice, heading east to stay with relatives for a bit, to recover financially. In the nine years after, we lived in Detroit, Chicago, Ann Arbor again, Seattle, and, finally, Knoxville.

Each of those moves was driven by family and work and nothing like childish want. I could tell you I don’t miss the West Coast, but I’d be lying. Still, that was then and this is now, and we are, to my only occasional surprise, happy.

This image is then, too. It makes me think of the guy behind the camera and what he wanted. A life that was so close to, but also so very far from, the one he came to need.

Have a good day, guys. And thank you, as always, for reading.

—Sam

**

If you have a minute, click on any of the above film photos to view them in our site’s “lightbox” zoom. The depth in the Kodachrome and Ilford shots in particular is fantastic —Ed.

The post In the Moment: Greens of summer appeared first on Hagerty Media.

For the first time in 50 years, Ferrari is preparing to compete for the overall win at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans with the all-new 499P Hypercar prototype, which will also run full-time for the World Endurance Championship, something that hasn’t happened since the curtain came down on the 1973 season and the Ferrari 312 PB.

At present, Ferrari has no plans to race the car in the American IMSA series, which kicks off in January at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, even though the 499P is legal to run in IMSA’s LMH (Le Mans Hypercar) class.

That said, the first race of the WEC season happens to be the 1000 miles of Sebring in March, which is the only WEC race in the U.S. It’s a companion event to the IMSA-sanctioned Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, and the Ferrari will debut on track here.

The Ferrari 499P—for Prototype, designating a car built from scratch and not based on a production model—differs significantly from the LMDh (Le Mans Daytona hybrid) cars that will populate IMSA and much of the Prototype field in the WEC. LMDh cars are built using a chassis from one of a list of accepted manufacturers, are rear-wheel-drive, and have a mild-hybrid component. The LMH cars are entirely built by the manufacturers, have a very aggressive electrical component, and in most cases, like the Ferrari, are all-wheel-drive. The 499P uses a Ferrari-constructed, all-new carbon-fiber monocoque chassis. That in-house construction was the appeal of LMH, since it isn’t in Ferrari’s nature to use somebody else’s parts to build its race cars.

The 499P’s hybrid powertrain combines a mid-rear power unit with an electric motor powering the front axle. Total power is a mandated 500 kW (670 horsepower) to the wheels. The 3.0-liter engine is derived from the road-going, twin-turbo V-6 family. Transmission is a seven-speed sequential.

The engine, powering the rear wheels, is loadbearing and therefore performs a valuable structural function. “The second ‘soul’ of the hybrid powertrain is the ERS, or Energy Recovery System, with a maximum power output of 200 kW [268 horsepower]. The electric motor is equipped with a differential and is driven by a battery that is recharged during deceleration and braking, requiring no external power source,” Ferrari says.

The braking uses brake-by-wire, allowing for the recovery of kinetic energy by the front electric axle when slowing. The electric-powered front axle uses energy recovered while braking, storing it in the high-voltage battery before transmitting torque to the front wheels when a certain speed is attained.

Said John Elkann, Ferrari Executive Chairman: “The 499P sees us return to compete for outright victory in the WEC series. When we decided to commit to this project, we embarked on a path of innovation and development, faithful to our tradition that sees the track as the ideal terrain to push the boundaries of cutting-edge technological solutions, solutions that in time will be transferred to our road cars. We enter this challenge with humility, but conscious of a history that has taken us to over 20 world endurance titles and nine overall victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”

By 2024, when a couple of manufacturers will be joining the series a year late, Ferrari will be competing against Glickenhaus, Peugeot, and Toyota in LMH, and Acura, Alpine (Renault), BMW, Cadillac, Lamborghini, and Porsche in LMDh. Presently no LMH team is announced for IMSA, though the way the rules are written, LMH and LMDh cars can theoretically compete side-by-side, running the same lap times.

So far, no drivers for Ferrari have been announced, though most of the development driving was done by GT drivers.

“The 499P is a dream come true,” said Antonello Coletta, head of Ferrari’s customer- and GT-racing departments. “This is an important moment for all the people who have worked so hard on this project over the past two years. We wanted to pay homage to our history, with many references, both large and small, to a past made up of successes and titles. We do so however, looking ahead, creating a manifesto of our commitment to the world endurance championship.”

The post 499P Le Mans racer is Ferrari’s “dream come true” appeared first on Hagerty Media.

F1: Verstappen wins it for Didi

Intake: Dietrich “Didi” Mateschitz, the 78-year-old co-founder of Red Bull energy drink and the owner of Formula 1’s powerhouse Oracle Red Bull racing team, died on Saturday, and on Sunday, the team honored him with a win at the 10th anniversary of the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Max Verstappen finished first and teammate Sergio Perez was fourth, and Verstappen said after the race that “This one is for Didi.” Verstappen, who already won the driver’s championship, added the constructors’ championship to a dream season marred only by the death of the team patriarch. Mateschitz, the billionaire Austrian, was an ardent motorsports fan, and gave multiple drivers a ride in F1 in the Red Bull and Toro Rosso teams, and was involved in countless other sports over the years, from air racing to NASCAR. “We gave it everything out there today, and of course it’s a very difficult weekend for us, so this one is definitely dedicated to Dietrich,” Verstappen said. “We had a big chance to win the constructors’ here, and you want to do that in style, and I think we did that today.”

Exhaust: Mateschitz’s death aside, it was a stellar event in Austin, with an announced crowd of 440,000 for the weekend, and a thrilling race where Verstappen lost a big lead after a bad pitstop and had to fight his way back through the field, ultimately passing an invigorated, but winless, Lewis Hamilton for the victory. The turnout had to look good to the organizers of The Las Vegas Grand Prix, due to join the circuit in November of 2023. That race, along with Miami, will give the U.S. three Formula 1 races per season. —Steven Cole Smith

A trio of glorious Ghias is going to auction

Intake: Three rare Ghia-designed Chryslers are headed to Bonhams Scottsdale Auction in January 2023. The mid-century models were sculpted by the Italian carozzeria between 1954 and 1962, and catalog the fast-moving pace of automotive fashion over a decade. In chronological order there’s a 1954 Ghia GS-1 Coupe, finished in turquoise over tan, which is estimated to sell for $600,000-$800,000. Curvaceous and chrome-laden it’s one of just nine built, of which only five remain, and is a three-time class winner at Pebble Beach. Next up is a 1957 Super Dart 400 which is predicted to go for $750,000-$950,000. Exhibited at the Torino and New York Auto Shows this one-off concept was fitted with a 400-horsepower Hemi V-8, and proving that it wasn’t just a show car, the Super Dart has racked up 49,000 miles with three owners, including a trip to Pebble Beach to pick up a class award. Lastly, there’s the L6.4 of 1962. Ghia built 26 of these, with Frank Sinatra among the recipients and 17 are said to remain. This example has covered 33,000 miles and comes with an estimate of $450,000-$650,000.

Exhaust: All three cars are from the John White Ramshead Collection. Ramshead is the son of a New York Dodge dealer who amassed more than 25 all-American classics, but is now parting with many of them at Bonhams. If the Ghias don’t grab you then there are Chryslers, Cadillacs, Buicks, Dodges and Lincolns and Fords to choose from as well. —Nik Berg

One Chinese province has triple the number of EV chargers as America

Intake: According to Bloomberg, one province in China has more EV battery chargers than all of the U.S. does. Guangdong, a coastal province that borders Hong Kong, has 345,126 public chargers and 19,116 charging stations as of the end of September, according to the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance. That’s around three times as many public chargers as exist in the U.S., according to BloombergNEF data. In just the past 12 months, China added 592,000 public chargers.

Exhaust: “With more chargers, there’s less range anxiety. EV sales therefore go up,” David Zhang, an automotive analyst who is also dean of the Jiangxi New Energy Technology Institute, told Bloomberg. That’s what happened in Guangdong, where EV sales went up 151 percent in six months. —SCS

Car theft ring uncovered by Midwest police

Intake: Following the armed robbery of a postal worker in Ohio in January, police have uncovered a ring of people connected to several brazen car thefts in the Detroit area, according to a report from the Associated Press. When authorities caught the man suspected of the armed robbery, they found several high-end vehicles at his home, which led to federal indictments against him and three other Ohio men on charges of conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen vehicles, according to Automotive News. The men arrested in connection with the postal robbery appear to be the ones who were taking delivery of the stolen vehicles; they connected with people in Detroit through Instagram to get the stolen vehicles. As it stands, those directly responsible for stealing the cars appear to still be at large. The thieves are using cloned key fobs to steal Dodge muscle cars and trucks (as well as Ford F-150 Raptors and Mustangs) and other high-powered vehicles from dealerships and even automaker lots in Michigan, then selling them for steep discounts according to authorities and court records. The thieves were selling the vehicles, which were worth anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000, for $3500 to $15,000 to buyers in Chicago, Indianapolis, and cities near East Coast shipping ports.

Exhaust: Despite all the improved security measures on modern cars, thefts still seem surprisingly common, and the thought of a ring of thieves repeating these bold acts feels like something from another decade. The thieves used “pro pads,” a locksmith’s tool that can clone keys by plugging into the interior ports of a vehicle. Once they had the cloned keys, it was as simple as starting the car up and driving off with it. Expect authorities to continue to investigate the ring in the coming months and hopefully nab those lifting the cars and trucks off dealer and automaker lots. —Nathan Petroelje

Isotta plans to enter Le Mans with new car

Intake: According to DailySportscar.com, Isotta Fraschini, the Italian marque revived years after its glory days, has announced plans for an LMH race car designed by Michelotto and aided by Williams Advanced Engineering, and plan to debut the car at the 6 Hours of Spa next year in the Hypercar class of of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship. “Also now confirmed,” reported Daily Sports Car, is that the car will run a four-wheel drive system with hybrid energy deployed via the front axle. The selected internal combustion engine is now confirmed as a 3.0-liter turbo V-6 from a still un-named German OEM supplier.

Exhaust: The debut at Spa next year means the team will miss Sebring and Portimao, but will be ready for the 100th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. So far, no word on drivers. —SCS

Kia to lose its Stinger in 2023: report

Intake: Kia’s sports sedan will cease production in 2023, according to reports coming out of South Korea. Auto Times claims that the lines will shut in April next year and there will be no replacement. Launched in 2017, the rear-drive Stinger was welcomed by enthusiasts, but sales never quite matched expectations, with an average of just 13,000 examples being sold each year in the U.S.A—the car’s biggest market.

Exhaust: Given Hyundai and Kia’s strides in electrification, the Stinger’s demise is no surprise. Kia plans to have 11 electric vehicles on sale by 2025 and the Stinger’s place will most likely be taken by a restyled and amped-up version of the Ioniq 6, just as the EV6 shares its underpinnings with the Ioniq 5. No doubt the new car will be even more rapid than the Stinger, but will it be as fun? —NB

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If you live near the French village of La Sarthe and are still wondering why that DoorDash order of fresh baguettes never arrived, we might know why. The beloved, one-of-one Ferrari 250 GT SWB Breadvan built in 1962 got … a bit bent at this year’s Le Mans Classic.

While running down the Mulsanne Straight during the biannual vintage racing weekend, one of the Breadvan’s three drivers entered the first chicane—a right-left affair known as L’Arche—too quickly and lost control. The spin sent the shapely machine over the left curb and into the tire wall. Luckily, the driver exited the car under his own power just moments after the vehicle shuddered to a stop, and he appeared uninjured.

While the driver was able to walk it off, the Breadvan fared far worse. The crash damaged its front, right side, and rear end, eliminating it from competition.

Disaster for the Breadvan! The one-off modified Ferrari has been crashed at #LeMansClassic. Luckily, Le Mans Classic isn't finished yet, watch it here https://t.co/xpSvqgdqpc#LMC #LeMans #LeMans24 #Ferrari #Motorsport pic.twitter.com/R29fosVotO

— Motorsport.tv (@MotorsportTV_UK) July 3, 2022

The Breadvan began life as a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Competition (chassis #2819 GT), painted gray metallic with red/yellow/black stripe. The car made its competition debut at the 1961 Tour de France wearing the original 250 GT SWB bodywork at the hands of Belgian racing team Ecurie Francorchamps.

Italian nobleman Count Giovanni Volpi purchased the car shortly thereafter, with the intent to take it racing the following year against the Ferrari Factory team’s new 250 GTO. Volpi had initially tried to buy a GTO for his Scuderia Serenissima team to campaign, but Enzo—a historically petty man—refused to sell him one since Volpi had hired a few former Ferrari factory employees to help stand up a competitor marque called Automobili Turismo e Sport (ATS). So much for Volpi’s “most serene” racing stable.

Perhaps invigorated by the drama, Volpi enlisted Giotto Bizzarrini to help him modify chassis #2819 GT to be more competitive with the factory 250 GTOs that were enjoying a strong showing early in the 1962 season. Bizzarrini worked with body specialist Piero Drogo to help develop that unmistakable roofline.

While the boxy rear is the car’s most conspicuous feature, it’s not the only modification made by Bizzarrini and Drogo. They also moved the Tipo 168 V-12 engine and its radiator further towards the car’s center and swapped out the trio of 46 DCN Weber carburetors for six twin-choke 38 DCN Webers. After some weight reduction at the hands of Modena’s Giorgio Neri and Luciano Bonacini (the latter of whom would end up at DeTomaso), the Breadvan was 200 pounds lighter than a contemporary, factory-built GTO.

The Breadvan debuted (in fully modified form) at 1962’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it made quick work of the pesky factory GTOs—until a driveshaft failure forced the its retirement in the fourth hour of the race. (None of Volpi’s cars would finish that year, sadly.) Despite a handful of class victories in other races that year and a few additional competitive showings through the mid-’60s, the Breadvan never succeeded in dominating the factory GTOs.

However, beginning in 1974, the Breadvan became a fixture at historic races—and it hasn’t stopped since. Campaigned by a team of privateers, it’s a regular at vintage racing events on both sides of the pond, at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion (née the Monterey Historics) in California and at the Goodwood events in the U.K.

It’s not babied, either; the car is driven hard everywhere it competes. Though 2022’s crash is significant, it’s not the first battle scar earned by the Breadvan, which suffered nose damage at the 2015 Goodwood Revival before soldiering on to complete the race. The metalwork was lovingly restored following that event.

If we’re lucky, a similar effort is already underway to repair the damage from last weekend’s tire-wall smooch—and get the Breadvan back on track where it belongs.

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With the Goodwood Festival of Speed now in the rearview mirror, the historic racing calendar turns to the Le Mans Classic this weekend. And, like Goodwood, there’s an auction full of delectable cars happening in conjunction with the event. Artcurial—best known in the car world for its Rétromobile sale—will be auctioning 137-vehicles on July 2, including historic racers, sports cars, GTs, modern collectibles and quite a few oddballs. Ever heard of a Bianco, a Teilhol Tangara, a Hommell, or a Tracta-Grégoire? Neither have I, but they’ll all be at Le Mans, along with 19 bikes and automobilia.

Here are the nine coolest and most significant cars we’re keeping an eye on.

1980 Porsche 935 “Baby L1”

Estimate: €1,300,000–€1,600,000 ($1,370,070–$1,686,240)

Porsche 935s dominated sports car racing in the late 1970s and early 1980s, mostly with a 3.0- or 3.0-liter turbo engine. There was, however, a smaller, 1.4-liter version, aptly named the “Baby,” created to race in a class for 2.0-liter cars (or 1.4 with forced induction, as on the Porsche).

This car is a 935 “Baby” built by Swedish driver Jan Lundgardh in 1980. Lighter than a standard 935 and boasting 365 hp, the “L1” raced at Brands Hatch, Le Mans, Nürburgring, and Silverstone but was plagued by reliability issues throughout the 1980 and ’81 seasons. In 1982 Lundgardh wisely swapped in a more conventional and more powerful 3.0-liter unit. Then things started looking better, the best result being a GTX class win at the Nürburgring 1000km in 1984.

Today, the L1 is still an active racer, including at events like the Le Mans Classic and Oldtimer Grand Prix, and has reportedly clocked up several wins and podiums on the historic racing scene. Still powered by a 3.0-liter engine, it wears its original 935 K3 body panels and has never been wrecked.

1971 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman

Estimate: €280,000–€360,000 ($295,090–$379,400)

There’s an old quip about the Mercedes-Benz 600: It’s a dictator’s car. There’s some truth to that. Once the world’s most expensive automobile, the 600 can count Saddam Hussein, Ferdinand Marcos, Chairman Mao, and Saddam Hussein among its list of former owners.

And here’s another one. One of 428 long-wheelbase 600 Pullmans built (out of 2677 total 600s) and fitted with a rare factory rear sunroof, it was supplied new in 1971 to Société d’Equipement pour l’Afrique Gabon, supposedly for use by Gabonese leadership and the entourage of Omar Bongo. That surname might not be a household one, but he was the West African nation’s president from 1967 to 2009, and he became fabulously wealthy thanks to oil revenue and alleged corruption.

As for the Mercedes, it was reportedly restored in Brussels at a cost of over €90,000 and had a full fluid service earlier this year.

1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint 1600 GTA Stradale

Estimate: €360,000 – €460,000 ($379,400–$484,790)

The Giulia GTA (Gran Turismo Allegerita, or lightweight) was a Giulia put on a diet/steroids by Alfa’s racing arm, Autodelta. The Bertone-penned bodywork was changed to 1.2-mm thick panels out of an alloy called “Peraluman 25,” while Autodelta stripped the interior and added plastic side windows. Underneath, Autodelta modified the suspension, added closer gearing for the transmission, and gave a new twin-ignition cylinder head to the engine along with dual 45-mm Webers. For homologation, just 500 GTA 1600s were built between 1965–68, plus a similar number of 1300-cc Giulia GTA “Juniors.”

This GTA sold new to French racing driver Dominique Thir, who ran it competitively (including a class win) at rallies and hill climbs for a couple of years. Its second owner also won his class at the 1968 Ardennes rally, and its third owner won his class at the 1969 Mont Jura hill climb before stripping down the car and putting it in crates in preparation for a restoration that he never started. In 2013, it sold to its current owner, who had the Giulia fully restored.

1986 Toyota TOM’S 86C

Estimate: €500,000–€700,000 ($526,950–$737,730)

Having just clinched its fifth straight victory at Le Mans, Toyota is on top of the world in endurance racing. It wasn’t always that way.

Toyota’s endurance racing exploits go back decades, with plenty of ups and downs. This car dates from the company’s efforts in the mid-1980s, when companies Dome and TOM’S (Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport) were charged with developing Group C cars for the Japanese giant. After a promising 12th place finish for the team at Le Mans in 1985 with the 85C, the 86C arrived the following season with lower weight and modifications to the 2.0-liter supercharged engine that brought a full 900 hp.

Although TOM’S and Dome didn’t record chassis numbers or explicitly label their cars, Artcurial represents this as the only remaining factory-campaigned car, as confirmed by TOM’S. The current owner bought it directly from the team in 1990, then displayed it in his museum in 2017, and finally had it restored that year to its original 1986 configuration.

1937 Frazer Nash BMW 328

Estimate: €500,000–€700,000 ($526,950–$737,730)

With its tubular ladder-type chassis, independent front suspension, hydraulic brakes, and overhead valve straight-six with hemispherical combustion chambers, the BMW 328 was one of the quickest, most advanced, and best prewar sports cars. Beginning in 1934 Britain’s official BMW importer AFN Limited (aka Frazer Nash) got permission to import the 328 to the U.K., where it was sold as a Frazer-Nash BMW. Aside from Frazer-Nash text on top of the blue-and-white BMW roundel, it’s the same great race-winning roadster.

This 328 sold new to Viscount Curzon, later Earl Howe, who raced it in hill climbs and speed trials and also: “drove the car on the road whenever I had the chance. The car never let me down.” Howe sold it after the war, and by the 1970s it had a later Moss gearbox and Bristol cylinder head. In the 1990s, a connecting rod broke and ruined the engine block, which was later replaced. From 2013–15, the car went to BMW Classic for a full restoration to the tune of nearly €200,000.

1962 René Bonnet Djet CGTRB5 “tubulaire” prototype

Estimate: €100,000–€150,000 ($105,930–$158,090)

Credited as the first mid-engine production car and wrapped in a slippery fiberglass body, the René Bonnet Djet was well ahead of its time when it came out in 1962. About 200 were built before Automobiles René Bonnet was taken over by Matra, who sold a further 1500 Matra-badged cars with slightly altered bodywork. Fun fact: Matra gave a Djet to Yuri Gagarin (the first man in space) during his 1965 tour of France.

This car is represented as one of the three original Djet prototypes, distinguished by their tubeframe (later Djets got a heavier backbone chassis). While the other two prototypes raced at Le Mans, this one was reportedly used as a factory demonstration car before being restored at the factory in 1963 and sold into private ownership. Restored about 10 years ago, this nifty French fiberglass coupe is eligible for the Tour Auto and the Le Mans Classic.

1948 Delahaye 135 M Cabriolet “El Glaoui” by Figoni et Falaschi

Estimate: €150,000–€200,000 ($158,090–$210,780)

One of the major highlights of the Le Mans Classic auction this year is the Pierre Héron collection of 24 French automobiles, all in barn-find condition after sitting for 40 years. Along with a Talbot Lago T26, this Delahaye 135M is the highlight among all the scruffy projects.

Shown at the 1948 Paris Motor Show and again at a retrospective exhibition at the 1963 Paris Motor Show, it was bodied by Figoni et Falaschi and is one of a reported 18 cars to wear the “El Glaoui” coachwork, named after the Pasha of Marrakech, who was the first to order it. Héron bought it in 1969 and reportedly drove it regularly in Paris. Today, though, it’s in total barn-find condition. Dust and all.

1983 Renault RE40

Estimate: €800,000–€1,200,000 ($843,120–$1,264,680)

For Senna fanboys, Alain Prost is just Ayrton’s antagonist, but we can’t forget that the Frenchman is a four-time world champion with 51 grand prix wins (the fourth most of all time) as well as a former team owner. And with two ex-Mansell race cars having just sold (1989 Ferrari 640 for €3,605,000 and 1991 Williams FW14 for €4,055,000) F1 fans will be watching this ex-Prost Renault closely. An all-French racer offered in its home country by a French auction house, it should perform well.

Renault ushered in the turbo era of Formula 1, first in 1977 with its 1500-cc four and finally overcame teething problems and reliability nightmares with a first win at the 1979 French GP. This car dates from the 1983 season, Prost’s last with Renault (he was fired for criticizing the team late in the year and moved to McLaren for 1984). In RE40/03, Prost won at Spa and snagged a podium finish in Monaco, while in another RE40 he won the French, British, and Dutch Grands Prix. He finished second in the Drivers’ Championship, just two points behind Nelson Piquet. RE40/03 was also used for test sessions by Prost and teammate Eddie Cheever and was cosmetically restored in the 1990s.

1954 Maserati A6 GCS/53 Spyder by Fiandri

Estimate: €3,250,000–€3,650,000 ($3,425,180–$3,846,740)

The most valuable car on offer at Le Mans this year, this Maserati sold new in France and has some period race history there, including a first-in-class finish (6th overall) at the Tour de France and fourth at Monza as well as an early retirement at the Mille Miglia. It then raced in South America and sold to a buyer in Venezuela, but by the early 1960s it had sold to California and reportedly sat outside at a coconut plantation in La Jolla until 1977.

It has since been restored and did the 1986 running of the Mille Miglia—with none other than Stirling Moss codriving—as well as three more runnings of the Mille Miglia in the 1990s and 2000s.

The post 9 of the coolest cars at 2022’s Le Mans Classic appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Manual-only, droptop 911 is Porsche’s latest U.S.-only treat

Intake: Porsche is continuing a one-off American tradition that began in 1952 by releasing “an open-top, enthusiast-focused sports car made specifically for the North American market.” The 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet America edition follows the 356 America Roadster, introduced in 1952, and the 964 America Roadster from 1992, and is glorious in red, white and blue. Specified only with rear-drive and a seven-speed manual transmission, the Azure Blue 356 paintwork takes its inspiration from 70 years back, the RS Sypder design wheels feature white, silver and red detailing, and “America” decals are white with red accents. The interior theme is black and Pebble Grey with Guards Red stitching, and a white central tachometer. Power comes from a 480-hp, twin-turbo, three-liter flat-six, and performance-enhancing standard features include Porsche Active Suspension Management  with a 0.4-inch height drop, a Sports Exhaust and Sport Chrono Pack. Rear-steering and ceramic composite brakes are on the options list. Sold as a 2023 model the Carrera GTS Cabriolet America will reach dealerships in late 2022, but you’ll have to be quick as only 115 examples will be built. “Passion for driving a Porsche runs deep in the United States,” says Porsche Cars North America President and CEO Kjell Gruner. “In particular, there is something special about hitting the road in an open-top 911 with a manual transmission that fits perfectly here.” Only 16 356 Americas were assembled, while 250 964s were built. The 115-unit production count of this most recent U.S. special splits the difference.

Exhaust: Historically, the United States has been Porsche’s biggest and most important market, so it’s no wonder that we occasionally get a special-edition Porsche all to ourselves. Any recent limited-production 911 has become a hot collector’s item almost immediately, and there’s no reason to believe the same won’t happen with the latest one.

Dodge to host seventh Roadkill Nights on August 13

Intake: The street-legal drag-racing festival known as Roadkill Nights, backed by Dodge, is returning for 2022. For its seventh-year iteration, Dodge will collaborate with the city of Detroit to shut down a stretch of Woodward Avenue—that famous site of ’60s shenanigans—where it will stage an temporary drag strip with concrete blocks, metal fencing, a garden hose, and a whole mess of tire-shredding muscle machines. (With the approval of local law enforcement and the support of emergency services, of course.) The racing is supplemented by food trucks galore, plus car shows old and new, driving simulators, and thrill rides at the nearby M1 Concourse in Pontiac. The celebrity competition “Grudge Race” returns for the second time, this time showcasing Dodge’s Direct Connection catalog: The media stars who compete against each other will do so with cars provided by Dodge and built out from this OEM treasure trove of publicly available speed parts.

Exhaust: This event draws big names within the amateur drag-racing community—plus 38,000 attendees last year—but with an appeal distinct from that of Power Tour or Drag Week. (Each is a week-long “progressive dinner” of drag racing in which competitors drive their prepped cars (many of which are sub-10-second builds) from track to track, towing tires and extra parts.) These battle-worn contestants love Roadkill Nights more as a chance to pop lawn chairs next to their racing friends from across the nation, with a little low-stress rubber roasting and a party atmosphere to boot.

Ferrari’s taking this shadowy monster to Le Mans in 2023

Intake: When else would Ferrari drop the first teaser image of its 2023 Le Mans racer but the weekend of the famous 24-hour race? This is your first peek at the hybrid monster with which Maranello will return to prototype racing, the top class of endurance racing that features cars built from scratch, rather than based on a production car. (Endurance-racing aficionados will be familiar with the 488 GTE Evolution from Le Mans’ GTE Pro class.) 2023 marks the first year of the IMSA/WEC co-sanctions, which allow a team to campaign the same car in endurance-racing series on both sides of the pond: The North America–based SportsCar Championship, operated by IMSA, and the World Endurance Championship, overseen by the FIA. Ferrari appears to be prioritizing the European series over the American one, judging by the “WEC” hashtag on the Instagram post featuring the image above. Ironically, Ferrari built its last prototype—the 333 SP—to compete in the IMSA-sanctioned 24 Hours of Daytona, which it won in ’98, and the 12 Hours of Sebring (overall wins in 1995, ’97, and ’98).

Exhaust: Given the precedent set by the Dallara-built 333 SP in the ’90s, it’s entirely logical that Ferrari adds IMSA competition to its WEC schedule after a season or two getting used to this new LMH-spec car. At the least, we’d expect to see Ferrari bring this new prototype to the 24 Hours of Daytona, even if it doesn’t homologate the car to earn points in IMSA’s GTP class. Either way, the Prancing Horse is back in endurance racing’s top class. It’s a good look—and a great way for the manufacturer to hone its hybrid know-how.

GM Defense expands internationally

Intake: GM Defense is expanding its global footprint with the formation of GM Defense International. According to parent company General Motors, GM Defense will leverage GM’s $35 billion investment in transformational technologies “to support its global defense and government customers’ use of electrification, autonomy, and connected vehicles across the battlespace.” GM sold a defense division of the same name to General Dynamics for $1.1 billion in 2003; GM Defense was reestablished in 2017. Although General Motors built tanks during WWII, it has not strayed—nor will not, it says—that far from its core manufacturing this time around. Instead, GM Defense is focusing on electric powertrains and vehicles, as well as autonomous systems.

Exhaust: The second iteration of GM Defense was expected to be a showcase for the automaker’s fuel-cell powertrains, which rely on electricity that’s generated from hydrogen and oxygen. However, until the military is ready to adopt such technologies en masse, GM Defense is focusing on more near-term business opportunities, including battery-electric vehicles. 

Toyota unchallenged at Le Mans; Glickenhaus first U.S. brand on podium since ’69

Intake: Toyota Gazoo Racing scored a one-two finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, five full laps clear of third-place Glickenhaus Racing. Sébastian Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa took the victory with 380 laps in their #8 GR010 Hybrid and were only ever challenged by team mates Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and José Maria López in the #7 car. For the first 16 hours the dominant duo traded places at the front before López had to pit following an issue with the front electric motor. With both cars’ pace almost identical there was no way to catch the leader before the checkered flag dropped after 3217 miles of racing. The LMP2 class was won by Jota Sport’s Oreca 07-Gibson, Porsche took the GT Pro win with its 911 RSR-19, and Aston Martin took the honors in the GTE Am class.

Exhaust: There was never much doubt that Toyota had the pace and durability to win for the fifth time, though next year it can expect a flurry of new competitors. Don’t overlook the third spot on the podium, however: Glickenhaus’ result marks the first time that an American brand has finished in the overall top three at Le Mans since 1969, when a GT40 Mk I driven by Jacky Ickx and Jacky Oliver took the overall win. 

The post Manual-only, limited-run 911 just for U.S., GM Defense goes int’l, Glickenhaus third at Le Mans appeared first on Hagerty Media.

2023 M2 will be the last gas-only BMW

Intake: Next year’s pocket-rocket M2 will be the last BMW to be powered by an internal-combustion engine unassisted by any form of electrification. The G87 M2 is expected to pack an even bigger punch than the most recent, 365-hp M2 Competition, which boasts a three-liter, turbocharged straight-six; after this iteration even BMW’s M cars will feature some form of electric boost. Interviewed in Germany’s Bimmer Today M division CEO Fran van Meel said, “The BMW M2 with in-line six-cylinder and rear-wheel drive will definitely be a puristic driving machine. We will see increasing electrification in other vehicles, of course in different forms, starting with the 48-volt electrical system and plug-in hybrids to fully electric drives. Seen in this way, the M2 will be the last M with a pure combustion engine drive and also without electrification scope such as a 48-volt on-board network.”

Exhaust: Whether you agree with the electrified future of M, a year after M’s 50th is an auspicious time for BMW to send off gas-only powertrains. (Though it will only be sold in Europe, BMW’s even building the first-ever M3 wagon.) The celebratory echoes won’t have died out when we meet M’s last gas-only hurrah … and we’ll be there with bells on. 

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Rare Monteverdi once owned by Jay Leno goes to auction

Intake: One of just 16 375 High Speed Coupes built by Swiss sports car maker Monteverdi is being auctioned in its home country, having lived most of its life in the U.S.A. Chassis #1003 is an earlier model with coachwork by Carrozzeria Frua, and was delivered in June 1969 to American importer Anselmo of Washington, D.C, after making its debut on the company’s Geneva Motor Show stand. First purchased by a New Yorker, the car then had a number of owners in California, before being bought by Jay Leno in 2006. Leno kept the car for just two years and it was later registered in the Middle East. Now for sale at Bonhams Gtsaad Sale in Switzerland on July 3 the car comes with a 7.2-liter 450-hp Hemi V-8 and automatic transmission. Although it underwent a restoration in 2003, and looks fabulous in the photos, Bonhams says the Monteverdi has been immobile since 2012 and will require recommissioning, which is reflected in the estimate of 70,000 to 100,000 Swiss Francs ($71,500–$112,000).

Exhaust: Just ten 375s were built by Carrozzeria Frua, with the remaining six cars crafted by Carrozzeria Fissore from 1969 onwards. This example is well-travelled, and clearly will need some work to be roadworthy, but is expected to fetch considerably less than even a #4 Fair condition car’s value, which our Hagerty valuation tool puts at $180,000. 

Jeep is still building old Grand Cherokees

Intake: Taking a play from sibling brand Ram, Jeep will continue to build and sell the outgoing WK-generation Grand Cherokee for the 2022 model year, even though the new generation, the WL, has long since arrived at dealer lots. You can have your Grand Cherokee WK in one of three flavors—Laredo E, Laredo X, or Limited. Opting for the cheaper Laredo E with 4×4 (Jeeps without 4×4 feel like pizza without cheese) will run you as little as $40,500, including destination, and you’ll get cloth seats, Jeep’s workhorse 3.6-liter V-6, and an 8.4-inch Uconnect 4 touch screen. Even the “range topping” Limited model will only run you $46,445 out the door, and you still have the choice of adding on some goodies like 20-inch wheels, a $2235 Pro Tech II group that adds adaptive cruise control, rain-sensitive wipers, and more.

Exhaust: A new WL-series Grand Cherokee Laredo two-row with 4×4 starts at $42,120 including destination but the models you want usually ring in closer to the $50K or $55K mark. With that in mind, we’re not surprising to see Jeep continue to offer a handful of these older models—the tooling has likely been paid for, and it’s just profit at this point. What’s more, 2021 was the best sales year on record for the Grand Cherokee (254,445 units)—and the new one only arrived at dealer lots part of the way through the year. That means there was still sufficient demand for the WK platform when its replacement hit the scene. Like Ram did with the Ram Classic and the next-generation pickup, Jeep is going to bolster sales numbers and reap a little extra coin on the cheap. What accountant would say no to that?

Nardone Automotive adds style, power to Germany’s Camaro

Intake: French auto enthusiast Thierry Nardone has made what must be the 911 Reimagined by Singer equivalent of the Porsche 928. Nardone Automotive’s handiwork starts with a lightly modified body that refreshes the 928 to modern standard, complete with fender flares at each corner, an LED headlight design and rear bumper/light treatment reminiscent of a modern Porsche, and 18-inch wheels (with larger brakes) that resemble the original 16-inch “Manhole” wheels. The interior is a minimalist leather and Alcantara affair, with modern infotainment and a gauge cluster that ushers 1970s Postmodern design in to the modern era. But this isn’t a styling exercise as the stock V-8 is upgraded with modern engine controls, a targeted output of 400 hp, and a six-speed manual replacing the old five-speed. But what really separates Nardone’s 928 from any other modified vehicle is the redesigned suspension complete with active dampers, and electric power steering.

Exhaust: The 928 was originally penned by Anatole Lapine in the turbulent economic and regulatory landscape of the early 1970s, and emerged a world-class vision of the future that brought hope and optimism to automotive enthusiasts around the world. (Well, perhaps not to the 911 loyalists.) All we needed was a few photos of Nardone’s recreation to fall right back in love with the 928 once again. Could the Porsche 928 be an automotive bellwether yet again, almost 45 years after its introduction thanks to Nardone Automotive?

Toyota’s Hypercar won’t compete in full IMSA season

Intake: Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) will prioritize Europe’s World Endurance Championship (WEC) over IMSA’s SportsCar Championship in 2023, despite its LMH racer being eligible for both series in the newly converged Hypercar/GTP prototype class. Though it had considered a full season of IMSA competition, TGR’s technical director Pascal Vasselon confirmed to sportscar365 that the team has “no plan to race in IMSA.” Toyota will focus on accumulating WEC points instead, though team director Rob Leupen suggests that it may cherrypick races from the IMSA schedule, such as the series’ crowing event, the 24 Hours of Daytona.

Exhaust: At first glance, it seems discouraging that this endurance-racing powerhouse is shirking the co-sanctions that IMSA and the FIA worked so hard to finalize. It’s worth remembering, however, how deeply invested Toyota Gazoo Racing is in the 24 Hours of Le Mans; it has more to gain by continued victories in that storied race than building momentum in a stateside series. Also, manufacturers must still do a bit of compliance work to bring a prototype built to LMH specifications (which went into effect in the WEC as of 2021) to accumulate GTP points. Peugeot, for instance, would need to race under a Stellantis-owned brand with a U.S. presence; Toyota would need to complete wind tunnel validation testing in the U.S., at Windshear in North Carolina and attend a December test session. The regulatory path is open, but manufacturers are still weighing their individual priorities (and budgets).

Superstar Brad Pitt will go F1 racing (on the big screen)

Intake: Hot on the heels of box office glory, Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski is lining up to helm an F1-inspired film inked with Apple studios, starring Brad Pitt. Untitled as of this writing, the project aims to tell a comeback narrative of an aged driver who comes out of retirement to take a rookie driver under his wing. The production team is a band of Maverick alums, including producers Jerry Bruckheimer, Chad Oman, and writer Ehren Kruger; a recognizable catalyst behind the movie is Lewis Hamilton, who will also produce alongside Plan B Entertainment, Pitt’s company. The deal features a global theatrical release of 30 days at the box office before popping up in living rooms on Apple TV+.

Exhaust: For Kosinski, strike while the iron is hot. Maverick has relit a fire in Hollywood by proving that clever, high-concept ideas paired with proven megastars can still bang out big numbers at the theaters. Unlike Maverick, there won’t be any rooted nostalgia to draft in, although racing has done well with audiences at big screens and on couches of late. Ford v Ferrari was successful with both critics and audiences right before movie-going entered the doldrums, while Netflix’s Drive to Survive gradually took F1 more mainstream over the last four years.

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GTI, beware: Toyota’s hottest hatch arrives Thursday

Intake: Toyota promised the United States a high-performance hatchback back in December of 2021, and, along with the first official teaser photos of the model, we finally have a reveal date: Thursday, March 31, 2022. Expect the five-door hatch to be an all-wheel-drive affair, as indicated by the GR-Four stamping on the sill (shown below), powered by a version of the G16E-GTS turbocharged three-cylinder found in the GR Yaris. In that smaller, WRC-homologation special, the engine makes 260 hp and propels the pocket-rocket to 62 mph in 5.3 seconds. Look for its bigger, Corolla-based sibling to improve on those specs. The GR Corolla most likely debut Thursday as a 2023 model-year vehicle.

Exhaust: When it arrives, the Gazoo Racing–badged Corolla will arguably be the purest GR model sold in the States. The GR Supra was co-developed with BMW and built by Magna Steyr, who designed and built the Pontiac Aztec’s all-wheel-drive system. The GR86—the successor to the GT 86 and, before that, the Scion FR-S—is a joint effort alongside Subaru. Judging by development mules, a CVT should be blessedly absent from the hatchback’s options list; a torque-converter eight-speed unique to GR, plus a standard manual, are likely. Less certain is whether the five-door will replace the 86 as the sub-$30K budget buy of the GR family. Either way, we haven’t been this excited for a Corolla since the AE86. Who’s counting down to Thursday with us?

Toyota

Eletre by name, electric by nature

Intake: The new Lotus electric SUV may be a massive departure from the brand’s lightweight legacy, but it is sticking with one tradition: The car’s name begins with the letter E. The Lotus Eletre is set to make its debut tomorrow in London, and we will be there to report whether the British-designed, China-built e-SUV appears worthy of the Lotus badge.

Exhaust: At least there’s one thing that’s not completely shocking (no apologies) about Lotus’ entry into the world of high-riding, electric vehicles.

ByKolles’ Vanwall prototype is the latest Le Mans Hypercar to slip the silk

Intake: Last week, German-based ByKolles Racing shared photos of its newest prototype: the Vanwall Vandervell Le Mans Hypercar (LMH). In stark contrast to its sleek and sexy curves, the hypercar’s journey to the track has been anything but smooth. According to an interview with motorsport.com, the production of the car was first delayed by supply-chain issues caused by COVID-19 and Brexit. Then, in January, the World Endurance Championship (WEC)—which sanctions Le Mans and like—rejected the team’s application to compete full-time in the Hypercar class for 2022.

To the devout racing enthusiast, the model’s namesake may sound familiar. Tony Vandervell founded the Vanwall Formula 1 team the 1950s and employed up-and-coming stars like designer Colin Chapman and driver Stirling Moss. Despite the German production (and the Austrian flag on the prototype’s nose above), the familiar British Racing Green that once-covered Vanwall’s mid-century open-wheelers now coats this Mulsanne-eater.

Exhaust: While we’ve enjoyed the steady drip of Le Mans Hypercar teasers and headlines, this one is a bit more … complex. In fact, there’s a chance the whole shebang might never make it to France. A possible hard stop doesn’t seem to be dissuading team owner Colin Colles, who tells motorsport.com that his prototype project will endure for the sake of developing a Vanwall road car and track-day machine. We can only hope a road-going hyperbeast will utilize the normally aspirated 4.5-liter Gibson V-8 found in the proposed Le Mans racer.

Can-Am revives motorcycle production, goes electric

Intake: Can-Am announced in a video that it will return to the motorcycle market with what appears to be three motorcycle models and one trike. All four, new offerings will be fully electric and the brand claims riders can expect models “perfect for everyday commuting and, to stay true to the track & trail heritage of the brand, recreational on- and off-road riding.” Expect to see these new models in showrooms mid-2024.

Exhaust: Can-Am is a motorcycle brand best known for burly open-class motocross and enduro models of the 1970s, so a small fleet of electric bikes is a curious revival of the nameplate. From the shadowy video we can expect a sporty street bike, an adventure machine, a muscle bike or cruiser, and what appears to be a three-wheeler. This is a solid four-machine lineup that covers a lot of the current market. Will the lineup prove sufficient in 2024, though? 

Alfa Romeo launches limited-edition Goldilocks trim

Intake: Alfa Romeo has introduced two limited-edition versions of the Stelvio SUV and the Giulia sedan. “Estrema” brings the flavors of Alfa to five and is meant to bridge the gap between the higher-end Veloce models, which boast a turbocharged 2-liter four-cylinder, and the raucous, twin-turbo V-6–powered Quadrifoglio models, which make over 500 hp. Estrema models feature the same 2-liter mill from the Sprint, Ti, and Veloce configurations—an engine good for 280 hp and 306 lb-ft of torque—but crib the active suspension and limited-slip rear differential from the Quadrifoglio trim. Estrema versions of the Stelvio get all-wheel-drive standard, while their Giulia counterparts offer RWD or AWD. Visually, you’ll get carbon-fiber veneers on the grille and mirror caps plus a host of black trim and black wheels. Inside, red stitching and carbon-fiber panels add dashes of contrast to the cabin. Prices are as follows and include a steep $1595 destination fee: Giulia Estrema RWD: $56,685; Giulia Estrema AWD: $58,685; and Stelvio Estrema: $60,545. Order books are open now, and Alfa says these special rides will be available in the Q3 of this year.

Exhaust: Alfa’s Quadrifoglio models are magic at full whack, but they start at $80K and $86K, respectively, for the Giulia and the Stelvio. This new Estrema trim is a fantastic way to get the corner-carving mechanical hardware and racy visual presence while saving $25K to $35K. This is Alfa’s first globally available limited-edition model, although the marque doesn’t specify what that production limit might be. Because this is such an appealing package, the Estrema trim may begin as a limited-edition for analysis purposes and then become a more mainstream configuration in months to come. 

Hybrid four-pot AMG tortures tires at the Nürburgring

Intake: Mercedes-AMG is testing its hot C-Class for 2023 on Germany’s most famous race track. Caught on camera by YouTubers Car Spy Media, the new AMG C63 certainly looks to have poise, but the noise is a little lackluster, tire squeal aside. That’s because the NASCAR-aping V-8 soundtrack is being replaced by a two-liter hybrid turbo four-banger. In better news the C63 looks set to continue as both a wagon and sedan, while the combination of e-motors and ICE is estimated to exceed 600 hp. Drive will be to all four wheels via a nine-speed auto. More news when we have it.

Exhaust: We know that Mercedes-AMG can produce serious power from four cylinders, and adding some electric oomph will most likely propel the new C63 faster than its predecessor. However, it’s hard to imagine that even the pops and bangs of a turbo motor and the instant torque from EV assistance will make up for the character assassination that goes with the loss of an AMG V-8. 

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Toyota goes 1-2 and wins its fourth consecutive Le Mans

Intake: Toyota won the Le Mans 24 Hours race for the fourth successive year after the early hopes of main rivals Alpine and Glickenhaus faded. Glickenhaus led mid-week testing, but Toyota’s Hypercar entry took pole by a comfortable margin and clearly had the pace to dominate the race. However, in an incident-packed 24 hours the weather, accidents, and technical issues led to race that wasn’t quite so easy to win. The #8 car of 2020-winner Sébastien Buemi was tagged by the #78 Glickenhaus on lap one, leaving the #7 Toyota out in front for the rain-drenched start. Safety cars, slow zones, and a brace of punctures meant that the #8 car was able to catch up, despite having a puncture of its own. Towards the end of the race both Toyotas suffered a fueling issue but still managed a textbook one-two, with Kamui Kobayashi scoring his first victory. Behind them in third was the Alpine, followed by Glickenhaus in fourth and fifth. LMP2 honors went to Team WRT, with Ferrari taking first in the GTE Pro class and bagging the win in GTE Am as well.

Exhaust: Le Mans seldom fails to deliver high drama, although this weekend was more about the weather than inter-team rivalry. At least next year, when past winner Peugeot enters the Hypercar fray, there should be a better fight for the front. 

Mazda trademarks hint at rotary return

Intake: A series of Mazda trademark applications unearthed by the Japanese Hatena blog suggest that the rotary engine will indeed be returning. Mazda filed for no less than four different trademarks based around the name e-SKYACTIV R and using a logo that’s very clearly based on the engine’s Dorito-shaped rotor. Mazda recently introduced the e-SKYACTIV name to cover its mild-hybrid models so expect the next rotary to be combined with electrification, while the names e-SKYACTIV R-Energy, e-SKYACTIV R-HEV and e-SKYACTIV R-EV seem to confirm hybridization.

Exhaust: Mazda is taking its sweet time with reintroduction of the rotary engine. First we heard it would be used as a range extender in the MX-30 electric car, but then that was canned or put on hold, depending on who you ask. Hopefully now that the company has gone as far as designing a logo and filing these trademarks, the rotary’s return is edging closer.

Chevy Bolt recall expands to all Bolts from 2017-’22

Intake: GM is officially recalling its entire tribe of Bolt EVs, due to fire risks stemming from a manufacturing defect in the high-voltage batteries. Originally, an earlier safety recall was issued in the fall of last year, diagnosing issues to 50,932 Bolts from 2017-’19 using N2.1 batteries from LG Chem’s Ochang plant in Korea. The battery’s issue, it seems, is tied to charging capacity, where fire risks arise while the packs either hit or near a full charge. GM has since taken action and recently pledged to recall all Bolt EVs and EUVs to the tune of over $1 billion dollars. New modules are set to arrive soon for the swap, with 8-year 100,000-mile limited warranties in tow. In the meantime, current owners are urged to take the following safety precautions: setting a Target Charge level limitation at 90 percent capacity, charging the old battery more frequently to avoid extreme depletion, and parking vehicles outside after charging. Customers are advised never to leave them indoors on a charger overnight.

Exhaust: This setback is no doubt a blow to GM’s mission and momentum to be all-electric by 2035. Manufacturing defects of this sort do nothing for the confidence of the mainstream new-car shoppers that GM is hoping to herd into the electric movement. Although recalls are common across the automotive industry, and some are more serious than others, spending a billion dollars to prevent dangerous fires is pretty much the definition of a rocky start. Determining which party should rightfully pick up the bill, is actively rankling the relations between GM and LG.

As promised, Ford adds green to Bronco palette for ’22

Intake:Amid a second slew of hardtop-related delays, Ford is attempting to lift Bronco customer morale by announcing two new color options for the 2022 model year: one green and one red. Eruption Green, a new paint color we had originally thought would arrive on the 2022 GT500, is a metallic riff on the Mallard Green worn by first-gen Broncos. The ruby-toned Rapid Red Metallic Tinted Clearcoat is gone for 2022, replaced by another shade of red, the orangey Hot Pepper Red that recently debuted on the Maverick. Ford’s removing both Antimatter Blue and Lightning Blue, however, leaving Lightning Blue as the off-roader’s only sky tone, a navy halfway point between the grey-toned Antimatter Blue and the true-blue Velocity. (Antimatter Blue is bigger news here, considering that Lightning Blue was a First-Edition exclusive.)

Exhaust: Isn’t this just a tease for the poor folks waiting on build dates? Not necessarily: The Webasto-sourced roof delays are so bad that if you made a reservation for a hardtop but don’t have a build date, you’ll be getting a 2022 MY Bronco and can choose from the ’22 options menu. Bad news if you wanted Rapid Red on a hard-shell Bronco—but good if you were holding out for green.

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Luck. You need a little bit of it to simply survive the world’s most grueling motor race. To win, drivers, engineers, and manufacturers need a race-transporter load of it.

Tom Kristensen is a 24 Hours of Le Mans legend after winning the race nine times, six of them consecutively. “You have a race only once a year, so you know that you cannot change the world and have a race two weeks later,” he says. The bottom line is that at Le Mans, one of motor sport’s crown jewels, you need luck. Plenty of it. And invariably one person’s pain is someone else’s gain.

Ahead of this coming weekend’s Le Mans motor race, postponed from its usual slot of mid June, we look at 13 times during the world’s oldest endurance racing event when people suffered some particularly bad luck—and more often than not, someone else was the beneficiary.

1952: One isn’t always enough

In the early days, you could drive the whole of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on your own—if you were bonkers. Frenchman Pierre Levegh set himself that challenge in 1952 and almost pulled off an unlikely win, until just after 23 hours of solo driving the engine in his Talbot blew. How gutted would you be?

It still took Mercedes driver Hermann Lang 20 minutes to overtake Levegh on distance. Mercedes then became the first German manufacturer to win at Le Mans, while it was also the first triumph for a closed-bodied car.

1955: Keep on digging

During the 1955 Le Mans, a works Jaguar was the car to have. So Don Beauman was doing the right thing by spending more than an hour digging his D-Type out of a sandtrap at the Arnage corner. Alas, no sooner had he gotten it free when (Lotus founder) Colin Chapman lost control and smacked into his car, rendering Beauman’s efforts pointless.

The unfortunate Beauman lost his life to racing within a month. And the 1955 Le Mans is better known for a bigger crash that cost the lives of racer Pierre Levegh and 83 spectators.

1966: Dead heat or dead duck?

After breaking a six-year Ferrari stranglehold on Le Mans, Ford was determined to engineer a dead heat between its two leading cars in this race. Ken Miles was ordered to slow down to let Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren make up a four-lap deficit so they could cross the line together.

A couple of spurious pit stops followed. The Amon/McLaren car duly caught up and passed the timing line first. A few meters later, Miles took the flag first—but that didn’t matter because of a staggered start. He thus missed out on becoming the only man to win Le Mans, Sebring, and Daytona. He was killed during testing two months later.

1969: Tradition comes to a grisly end

In the likely event that you haven’t heard of John Woolfe, he was a British sportscar racer who was killed in the 1969 Le Mans 24 Hours. And it was his death that led to abandoning the tradition of drivers running across the track to their cars: Woolfe was still struggling into his safety belts when his Porsche 917 flipped on the first lap.

Proving that running to the cars was something of a dangerous nonsense, the race was won by Jacky Ickx, who had strolled to his Ford GT40 in protest. But it was the closest finish in Le Mans history. The Belgian, plus British team-mate Jackie Oliver, won by a mere 120 meters after Porsches had led most of the race.

1971: The race no one wanted to win

Ferrari and Porsche were the titans of Le Mans in the early 1970s. Pedro Rodriguez, Vic Elford, Mark Donohue, Jo Siffert, and Nino Vaccarella all had the chance to win in 1971 but all suffered mechanical mishaps as the two makers battled on.

That left the Martini Porsche of Gijs van Lennep and Helmut Marko to win. The pace had been so frantic, it resulted in the fastest race ever, covering more than 5000 kilometers, a record that astonishingly stood until 2000.

1977: No such thing as a lost cause

Renault was desperate to win Le Mans before taking its then-radical turbo technology to Formula One. With a gaggle of superstar F1 drivers on its roster, it was all looking good until engine maladies put all the French cars out before the 12-hour mark.

Jacky Ickx probably also thought his race was over when his Porsche retired and the 936 he was transferred to was 15 laps behind the leader. But following a series of incredible stints at the wheel, he found himself in an unlikely lead. Then with an hour to go, the car limped into the pits trailing smoke. Mechanics disconnected the turbos, isolated the faulty cylinder and waited. As the clock ticked down to the race’s end, the hobbled car limped out to complete race, still 11 laps clear of the nearest opposition.

1980: Plucky privateer pounds Porsche

Few car makers took Le Mans as seriously as Porsche in 1970s and ’80s. But in 1980 it entered just one semi-works car in the main category. Jacky Ickx (again) was leading but lost 14 minutes replacing a fuel injection pump belt trackside. Then gearbox trouble cost him more time.

All the while French privateer Jean Rondeau was plugging away in his home-grown racer. Co-driver Jean-Pierre Jaussaud was lucky not to hit anything when he lost control on the last lap in pouring rain and finished two laps ahead of Ickx. Rondeau remains the only man to win Le Mans in a car bearing his name.

1983: It only takes two

And who cares if both cars are made by the same manufacturer? In 1983, Porsche’s number one pairing of Ickx and Derek Bell were resounding favorites but suffered a collision and electrical problems early on. Fortune smiled on Al Holbert in the sister car, which, despite its engine seizing on the last lap, managed to restart and reach the finish line a scant 17 seconds ahead of Bell.

1994: Toyota’s wait goes on

Japanese automaker Toyota first entered Le Mans in 1985. Then followed years of huffing and puffing and failing to finish first. The 1994 race was one of those failures.

With three hours to go, Toyota was leading when it needed repairs to its a gear linkage. Off-duty F1 racer Eddie Irvine got in for a final stint and overhauled the second-place Porsche with two laps to go, but a Porsche still won—with a 10-year old design entered by a German fashion magnate.

1999: Mercedes goes airborne

Having a car take off once might be considered unfortunate, but the Mercedes-Benz CLR went airborne three times over a Le Mans weekend. Following Mark Webber’s second aerial event, his car was withdrawn. He was lucky to be unhurt.

The cars of teammate Peter Dumbreck and a third entry were lightly modified, and the drivers were told not to follow other cars too closely. Even so, Dumbreck took off four hours into the race. The car got to 15 meters off the ground and somersaulted three times before coming to rest in some trees. Dumbreck staggered from his wrecked car, whereupon a French police officer breathalyzed him: Le Mans is, after all, partly run on public roads.

2003: Unlucky Audi UK

After three consecutive wins on the trot, the Audi R8 was on a roll of domination. As a consequence, Audi UK entered a car with high hopes for three-time winner Frank Biela, Mika Salo, and early 1990s F1 nearly-man Perry McCarthy at the wheel.

During his third stint in the car, Biela was ordered to stop for fuel, but a slower car prevented him accessing the pit lane. He duly conked out on that lap, despite using the starter motor to try getting the car back to the pits. It was another car that McCarthy didn’t get to drive.

2011: Unlikely Audi beats Peugeot

When crashes with errant backmarkers (lesser paid drivers) eliminated two of Audi’s three entries, the German firm probably thought this wasn’t going to be its year. But following a tactical game of cat and mouse, the remaining R18 TDI held off three Peugeot 908s to win by a mere 13.8 seconds. “To be dueling with several cars over 24 hours with gaps of seconds … I don’t think the world has seen anything like it,” said Audi Sport technical director Ralf Jüttner.

2016: Toyota’s wait goes on (part 18)

You can’t say Toyota isn’t persistent. Despite years of failing to win at Le Mans, it has plugged on. And in 2016, racing a twin-turbo, petrol-electric, hybrid-powered prototype, Toyota looked like it was finally going to break the Japanese firm’s hoodoo. Fate had other ideas, and the TS050 suffered a power unit failure just three minutes from the checkered flag. The beneficiary? Porsche, naturally.

Via Hagerty UK

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Want to put your noggin in the same safe space as the King of Cool? Then you’re in luck as a Bell crash helmet worn by Steve McQueen during the filming of 1971’s Le Mans is up for auction.

Le Mans was McQueen’s take on the definitive racing film. Shot during the 1970 24-hour race, the original plan was for McQueen to compete himself, but insurers vetoed the idea. Instead, additional footage was shot of McQueen behind the wheel and then intercut with real racing material from camera cars, including a Porsche 908 fitted with three Arriflex cameras. It was an epic shoot that ran to five months, went $1.5 million over budge, and saw directors and writers disappear almost as quickly as the cars on track.

The crash helmet was mostly worn by Swiss actor Fred Haltiner, who played Johan Ritter, Michael Delaney’s teammate (played by McQueen). However the auction listing says that McQueen also donned the lid during filming, along with racers Brian Redman, Jo Siffert, and Derek Bell.

The helmet has been signed by 13 drivers and actors, including Jackie Ickx, David Piper (who lost a leg in a horrific crash during filming), and even Dr. Wolfgang Porsche.

This remarkable piece of movie and motorsports memorabilia comes with a set of gloves and photographic evidence of McQueen wearing it. The helmet is being offered at the Automobilia Ladenburg Auction and can viewed at the liveauctioneers.com website. Bidding starts at €18,000 ($21,782) and the auction ends on May 7.

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Gordon Murray isn’t shy when it comes describing the Cosworth engine in the T.50 hypercar. “For me this is the greatest V-12 ever made,” he says. “And it’s likely to be the last great V-12.”

While that’s something that you can debate in the comments, there’s no denying the naturally-aspirated, 3.9-liter engine is pure engineering art. It will rev to a 12,100 rpm redline, producing 653 hp along the way. With no turbos to add lag or hybrid system to add weight Murray says the throttle response is unprecedented.

Then there’s the noise. Murray has designed the ram air induction system to resonate sound through the roof that to give “a gorgeous growl on throttle opening.”

The T.50 is still undergoing testing and has yet to be run to its 230 mph top speed out in the real world, however the engine has just been put through one of its toughest trials on a simulated lap of the Le Mans 24-hour circuit, including revving out on the infamous Mulsanne Straight.

Pop some headphones on, sit back, and bask in the glorious wail of this V-12 on full song. It could well be the last of its kind.

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Phil Hill was a giant in the world of motorsports, winning races ranging from the 24 Hours of Le Mans (three times), the 12 Hours of Sebring (four times), and most important of all, in 1961 he became the first—and so far, only—American-born driver to win a Formula One championship. He also retained a huge amount of items that were part of his racing exploits, whether it be a program, poster, entry ticket, armband, pin, or, on occasion, a trophy.  Now you can own a piece of that history.

Gooding & Company is auctioning off the Phil Hill Automobilia Collection, a series of online sales featuring noteworthy items from the legend’s archives. Let’s take a look at some of the cool stuff going under the hammer in the next auction on Friday, February 19:

1959 German Grand Prix at AVUS Trophy, Driver Armband, and Regulation Book

Estimate: $2000–$4000

At the 1959 German Grand Prix at AVUS, Hill drove his Ferrari 246 Dino to third place, resulting in a 1-2-3 finish for Scuderia Ferrari. Included in this lot is Hill’s Ehrenpreis trophy, as well as his driver armband and race regulation book.

1962 24 Hours of Le Mans Distance Cup

Estimate: $20,000–$40,000

A distinguishing trait of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is that the race is won by the car that travels the farthest distance in 24 hours. This beautiful Coupe Annuelle a la Distance was presented in 1962 to Hill for his third and final overall win at Le Mans, sharing a Ferrari TRI/61 with Olivier Gendebien. A highlight of The Phil Hill Automobilia Collection, this trophy represents an incredibly rare opportunity to acquire a winner’s trophy from the world’s most prestigious endurance race.

Chaparral Team Jacket, circa 1966

Estimate: $10,000–$15,000

This incredibly cool bit of kit was Hill’s personal Chaparral Team jacket. He wore it during 1966 and 1967, his final season in professional racing. It’s an extremely rare piece of American racing history and one of the few significant examples of Chaparral memorabilia in private hands.

Original Script for the 1966 MGM Film Grand Prix

Estimate: $2,000–$4,000

An exceptional piece of Hollywood history, this is Hill’s personal copy of the script for what many consider to be the best racing film ever made, Grand Prix. Directed by John Frankenheimer (who also directed that other cinematic masterpiece, Ronin), Grand Prix won Oscars for Best Sound Effects, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound; Frankenheimer was nominated for Outstanding Directing by the Directors Guild of America. This famous film included stars such as James Garner and Françoise Hardy, and also featured cameos from leading drivers of the day including Hill, Juan Manuel Fangio, Graham Hill, and Jim Clark. Hill was particularly involved in the film; he was hired to serve as the technical advisor and drove many of the specially built camera cars, which captured the film’s realistic racing footage.

There are many more items available; check out the catalog here, and remember to bid early and often!

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The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a French motorsports institution, not to mention one of the biggest and most high-profile events in the whole country. The event has run nearly every year since 1923, other than in 1936 thanks to a workers’ strike (another French institution) and a little break from 1940–48 in light of World War II. It is by far the world’s most important sports car race, but the list of the 24-hour race’s winners makes clear that the home team hasn’t always come out on top. With 15 Le Mans wins by French cars, France is ahead of Italy (13 wins) but trailing the Brits (17 wins). All are way behind the Germans, whose cars have taken the checkered flag at La Sarthe 34 times.

More than a decade has passed since a French car (a Peugeot 908 HDi in 2009) won Le Mans, but that’s hardly the driest spell in the country’s history. Back in the early 1970s the French were really struggling, having last tasted victory in 1950 with Louis Rosier’s Talbot Lago. After years of persistence, some rule changes, and a little luck, a home-grown team finally took home the hardware in 1972. The Matra MS670 was a French car powered by a French engine, and piloted by a French driver.

That very car is now bound for auction at next month’s Artcurial “Parisienne” sale in Paris. It is expected to sell for €4.0M–€7.5M ($4.84M – $9.08M), but there is at least one loud French voice protesting its public sale.

Industrial origins, racing ambitions

Founded during the 1940s, Matra (Mécanique Aviation Traction) was part of a larger industrial conglomerate that over time built everything from cluster bombs to bicycles. When it won Le Mans it was still fairly new to the car business but had accomplished a lot in a short period of time. In the mid-1960s, after acquiring a small cash-strapped carmaker called Automobiles René Bonnet, the company formed “Matra Automobiles” and sold a Matra badged version of Bonnet’s small sports car—the Djet. It was a handsome little coupe and Matra even gifted one to Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin during his 1965 tour of France. Then, to help promote and sell its road cars, Matra eyed motor racing.

Largely thanks to company boss Jean-Luc Lagardère, Matra embarked on a methodical, multi-year campaign to win at the highest levels of both open-wheel and sports car racing. Matra started with single-seaters in Formula 3, taking its first win at Reims in 1965. Two years later Matra broke into Formula 1, and by 1968 was seriously competitive with Ken Tyrrell managing the team, Jackie Stewart driving, and the venerable Cosworth DFV V-8 powering its car. Matra won both the F1 Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships in 1969.

In sports cars, meanwhile, Matra first had a go at Le Mans in 1966 with its BRM V-8-powered M 620. Unfortunately, all the Matras dropped out of the race. The same thing happened at Le Mans in 1967. By 1968, though, Matra had built its proprietary V-12—a 60-degree 3.0-liter screamer developed for both F1 and endurance racing—with funding from the French government. If you’ve never heard a Matra V-12 at full song, even through your computer speakers, do yourself a favor and feast your ears:

Matra entered a single MS 630 longtail with its new V-12 engine for the 1968 running of Le Mans, with Frenchmen Johnny Servoz-Gavin and Henri Pescarolo driving. After qualifying fifth, the blue Matra scrambled into second place behind the Ford GT40 that eventually won. Late in the race, unfortunately, an electrical failure forced the French car to retire.

In 1969, the Matra squad finished a respectable fourth and fifth at Le Mans. The 1970 race was a disaster, with all three Matras suffering piston ring failure within a few laps of each other. (Even still, none of the 3.0-liter prototypes, Matra included, were really competitive with the 4.5- or 5.0-liter Porsche 917s and Ferrari 512s.) The solo MS 660 entered for 1971 again worked its way up into second before ultimately bowing out.

A taste of victory pour la France

For the 1972 race, a rules change effectively barred larger sports cars like the Porsche 917 from competing at Le Mans. The cars in the 3.0-liter prototype class were suddenly the top dogs.

Seeing a path to victory ahead, Matra pulled out all the stops, entering four cars (all painted blue, of course), including three examples of its newest car, the MS 670, which benefitted from lessons learned over the previous four years. Matra also made sure to put a French driver in each car, completely ignored the rest of the 1972 racing season, and prepared for an all-out assault on Le Mans. It was a matter of national pride. Expectations were high. The French President was there to watch.

Coincidentally, Matra’s greatest opponent, Ferrari, took the opposite approach. The 312PB dominated the rest of the season and had already clinched the ’72 World Championship for constructors, but Ferrari felt that the car wouldn’t perform over the full 24 hours and opted instead to entirely steer clear of Le Mans. Matra’s biggest competition therefore came from the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT3, the Cosworth-powered Lola T280, and the aging Porsche 908s.

With President Georges Pompidou serving as the honorary starter, the race began at La Sarthe on June 10, 1972 with a French Matra driver in each car for the first stint. The engine in Jean-Pierre Beltoise’s MS 670 expired after the car completed just one lap of the race, but luckily that didn’t presage doom for the rest of the team. Matra’s remaining cars were running 1-2-3 during the night. Jo Bonnier (F1 veteran and two-time Targa Florio winner) in the quickest of the Lolas fatally crashed during the morning and the MS 660C of Jean-Pierre Jabouille and David Hobbs retired with less than 90 minutes left thanks to gearbox problems, but other than intermittent rain there was little drama at the front. At 4 p.m. on June 11, Pescarolo and Hill’s MS 670 won with a comfortable 11-lap lead over the second-place MS 670 piloted by Francois Cevert and Howden Ganley. It was the first win for a French car in over 20 years, and Graham Hill became the first and only driver to take victory Le Mans, the Formula 1 World Championship, and the Indy 500.

Prelude to a three-peat

Having proved a point, Matra nevertheless expanded its efforts in 1973 and actually paid attention to the rest of the racing season, winning both Le Mans and the world championship for sports cars in 1973 … and 1974.

The 1972 Le Mans winner, Chassis 670-01 (the first MS 670 built) was also part of Matra’s 1973 campaign, taking third at Monza and a win at Zeltweg (Austria). It later became a promo car, in the process dressing up with altered bodywork, a different engine, and a Porsche gearbox. Matra put the car on display at its museum in 1976, and it never left the company’s ownership. Matra started restoration work in 2002, but the veteran racer wasn’t drivable until 2008. Four years later, in 2012, it stretched its long-dormant legs on track at Le Mans for the 40th anniversary of its victory.

A potentially sour end

Now that MS 670-01 is up for auction, controversy surrounding the car’s fate is playing out in the French press.

Back in the early 2000s, Renault had a contract with Matra for the latter company to build its Espace and Avantime (both minivans), but Renault canceled that contract and Matra closed its factory in 2003, firing all its employees. The employees successfully sued Renault for a settlement totaling … wait for it … €4.2M. Curiously close to the presale estimate for Articurial’s Matra lot, no? Indeed, The Lagardère Group, which oversees now-defunct Matra Automobiles and the Matra museum, is angling to sell off the historic machine to pay the compensation.

Henri Pescarolo, the driver who piloted the car to its hard-fought triumph for France, isn’t happy about the decision. “Scandalous! Stupid!” is how he described it to the French AFP news agency. “Arnaud Lagardère is destroying everything his father created,” he contends. Pescarolo, who after driving 670-01 went on to win Le Mans three more times and start his own team, has even tried to get the car classified as a historic monument. That would at least prevent it being sold off to a foreign buyer that would see it leave France.

The Lagardère Group is pressing on regardless, so the car will cross the block at Artcurial’s “Parisienne” auction, which will take place in February despite the rest of the Rétromobile Paris festivities being postponed until June. Other highlights from the sale include a sweet collection of Group B rally cars, an Aston Martin DB4 GT, and a wild one-off DeTomaso Pantera prototype. But this Matra is clearly the belle of the ball, and even though we’re just weeks in to 2021, it will be one of the most significant cars to sell all year. The last time a Le Mans winner sold at auction was in 2016, when the Jaguar D-Type that won the race in 1956 brought $21.78M.

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Just about everyone who has a passing interest in motorsports knows Phil Hill. He was the most successful member of the first wave of Americans to compete in European road racing after World War II. Besides being the first Yank to win an F1 race (at Monza in 1960) and the World Championship (in 1961), he won Le Mans three times (1958, 1961, 1962) as a Ferrari factory driver.

Fewer know that Hill’s influence on cars extends far beyond what he drove. Hill, who died in 2008 at the age of 81, amassed an automotive memorabilia collection so extensive and diverse—everything from a vintage powder-blue Dunlop race suit and a Sebring 12 Hour winner’s trophy to a Panhard & Levassor spare parts catalog and a Magneti Marelli ignition key—that it’s being sold by Gooding & Company in not one, not two, but three online auctions.

“He collected everything. He just couldn’t help himself,” says Phil’s son, Derek. “It’s absolutely gut-wrenching to put it up for sale. But at the same time, what good is all this stuff if it’s just stored in boxes?”

The auctions—the first of which closed last week, with others to follow in February and March—feature pieces of automotive history large and small as curated by America’s first Formula 1 World Champion. The collection itself also sheds light on the essential, though largely unsung, role Hill played in nurturing the modern collector car hobby.

Most race car drivers treat cars as little more than appliances. Hill, however, was infatuated by automobiles as mechanical and aesthetic objects. He was a founding member of the Classic Car Club of America, and his family’s 1931 Pierce-Arrow, which he restored, won the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance award for best of show in 1955 (the same weekend he won the Pebble Beach Road Race in a Ferrari 750 Monza).

After retiring from racing in 1967, Phil started working on some of his own cars in his home garage in Santa Monica. Along the way, he began “trading time” with fellow Packard owner Ken Vaughn. “Phil was a fearless mechanic. He would take anything apart,” recalls Vaughn’s son, Glenn. “And my father was really, really good with cosmetics.”

In the early 1970s, Hill and Vaughn bought two collections totaling about 50 cars and began restoring them. It was less a business than a way to stay engaged in semi-retirement while paying for their own projects. But word got around, and would-be customers started asking them for help with their cars.

“We kept telling them that we don’t do that,” recalls Bob Mosier, who began working for Hill as a teenager and later, with Hill’s blessing, went on to own one of the country’s premier restoration shops. “We just fixed up cars for resale.”

Of course, the restoration landscape looked a lot different back then. Remember, this was before televised auctions, before Cars and Coffee, before Sports Car Market and Hagerty Insider. The car collecting hobby was tiny, and so was the universe of collectible cars. A 10-year-old exotic was nothing more than a used car, and obsolete race cars were left outside to rot in the rain.

Top-shelf car collectors like Briggs Cunningham, J.B. Nethercutt, and Bill Harrah had staffs in-house. But full-on restoration shops were light on the ground, and most collectors served as general contractors, lugging their cars to individual craftsmen who specialized in engines, bodywork, paint, and so on.

After much badgering, Hill and Vaughn finally agreed to restore a Packard for a local ophthalmologist. Before long, they’d moved to larger facilities elsewhere in Santa Monica and began operating as Hill & Vaughn. Although it’s impossible to verify that this was the first large-scale high-end soup-to-nuts restoration shop in the country, there’s no question that Hill & Vaughn dramatically raised the bar.

In 1977, the company claimed its first best of show award at Pebble Beach, and Mosier remembers one year when it had no fewer than five entries judged as 100-point cars on the lawn. “If you wanted to be the cock of the walk at Pebble Beach, you came to see us,” he says.

By setting new standards for the business, Hill & Vaughn blazed a trail for dozens of no-expense-spared restoration firms for everything from Duesenbergs to muscle cars and hot rods.

But even as Hill was working with Vaughn on classic cars, he was also at the forefront of the burgeoning sport of vintage car racing. When Steve Earle was putting together what would be the first Monterey Historic Automobile Races at Laguna Seca Raceway in 1974, he asked Hill to come on board. “He said, ‘Sure, sounds like fun,’” Earle recalls. “He was a genuine car guy.”

At the time, hardly anybody cared about old race cars, either as investments or as playthings. By giving them a place to be seen and exercised, the Monterey Historics helped create a market for vintage race cars, which, in turn, enhanced their value and made restoring them a sensible (or at least defensible) business proposition.

Hill’s celebrity and willingness to participate in every aspect of the event attracted people to the Monterey Historics and conferred credibility on the vintage-race scene—and not just with collectors. “He was the catalyst who got other [pro] drivers to come,” Earle says.

But more than that, Hill led with “soft” power—the strength of his passion, the depth of his knowledge, and his unflagging accessibility and affability. “He was an ambassador for the sport,” says Phil Reilly, whose restoration shop—focused on race cars—sometimes competed against Hill & Vaughn. “At Monterey, if he was available and you asked him a question, he’d tell you a story or he’d tell you how to fix it or he’d help you fix it.”

Hill’s willingness to help fellow hobbyists was legendary. “My dad was so generous with his time,” Derek Hill says. “I have endless memories of him on the phone with anybody who called him up to ask a car question. He loved to help people solve car problems. He was like a hotline for car people.”

In addition to connecting with people on an individual level, Hill served as a sensei for millions of readers through the many “Salon” features he wrote for Road & Track, usually illustrated with luscious photographs by his close friend John Lamm, who died earlier this year.

Over a 30-year stretch, Hill covered not only the Ferraris he’d raced back in the day but also rivals such as a Lotus 18, oddities such as an 1886 Benz three-wheeler replica, icons such as a high-wing Chaparral 2F—even a 2001 Winston Cup Monte Carlo. Although Hill’s stories included his uniquely informed driving impressions, they were far more than mere road tests.

In these pieces, he did a masterful job of evoking a bygone time and place as well as profiling the people who created these seminal machines. But even though he wrote as the expert he was, he still geeked out over mechanical wonders and took childlike delight in the opportunity to drive the magnificent machines that he, too, had always fantasized about.

That was what made him such a great advocate for the hobby: Despite the fact that he was a giant of motorsports, he was, in the end, one of us—a besotted hobbyist who loved looking at cars, talking about cars, working on cars, and, most of all, driving cars.

“Phil was totally obsessed with cars long before he started racing them,” says longtime friend David Gooding. “I don’t think there was anybody who was more knowledgeable or passionate than he was. He was a huge influence because he touched so many people—not just in the racing world but in the collector car world as well.”

Via Hagerty Insider

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The 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans was notable for two reasons.

Firstly, it took place in September because of the pandemic, missing its traditional June timing for only the fourth time in almost a century. It was also the first time that an all-female team raced in the LMP2 category, making headlines on the way to finishing 13th overall and ninth in class.

The sterling effort put in by Tatiana Calderón, Sophia Flörsch, and Beitske Visser in the 600-hp Richard Mille Racing Oreca, was not, however, the first time that a team of female racers had torn up the track at La Sarthe. That honor goes to Englishwoman Barbara Skinner and her six-strong team of “Dancing Daughters” in their factory-backed MGs. The year? 1935.

Barbara was born to drive. Her father Carl had founded the SU Company, making carburetors for the fledgling automotive industry. Barbara and her brothers all took to the wheel, but she was the real natural talent, only she wasn’t allowed to prove it as the British Automobile Racing Club refused to let women race until 1928. At first the rules were changed to permit Ladies-only events, but finally, in 1932 the BARC agreed that women could race men.

It was, quite literally, a gift for Barbara. On April 6, 1932, Carl gave her his Morris Cowley Special as a 21st birthday present and she entered it into the Shelsley Walsh hillclimb that September. In her debut drive she won the MAC Ladies Cup for the fastest time of the day. Barbara would continue to be a regular at Shelsley Walsh throughout her racing career.

As was typical at the time Barbara showed her skills across multiple motorsports, entering the RAC Rally in 1933 and finishing a creditable 30th overall in her Morris. The highlight of her driving career would come two years later at the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours.

The six Dancing Daughters had three MG PA Midgets at their disposal. The cars were race prepared at the MG plant in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, where they were fitted with lightweight aluminum cycle fenders, an aluminum hood, and a single aero screen for the driver. Stone guards were placed over the lights and radiator and a second fuel pump was installed, while space was made for carrying spare wheels and tires. The little 847-cc MG engines were blueprinted, fitted with uprated valves and springs, a lightweight flywheel, and polished cylinder head to increase performance.

Barbara was teamed with Doreen Evans in car 55, car 56 was piloted by Joan Richmond and Barbara Simpson, while Margaret Allen and Colleen Eaton drove car 57.

It was a grueling race and only 28 of the 58 starters would make it to the finish. All three MGs were among them. They may not have had the outright speed to challenge the leading Lagondas, Aston Martins, and Alfa Romeos, but they had the reliability—and the women behind the wheel were more than skilled enough to “keep it on the island” without incident or accident.

When the checkered flag fell, Barbara’s car 55 came home in 25th place, sandwiched between the number 56 and 57 MGs, having covered 153 laps and some 1284 miles.

Sadly, Barbara was killed in a road accident in 1942, but her pioneering spirit—and that of the other Dancing Daughters—lives on with the growing number of women performing at the highest level of motorsports.

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It’s Le Mans weekend and McLaren has timed it perfectly to release images of five stunning Senna GTRs built in tribute to the F1 GTRs that came home in first, third, fourth, fifth, and 13th places in the 1995 race.

The five customer LM edition cars each took more than 800 hours to create and are based on the track-only Senna GTR, but with even more go to add to the show. The 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 now has over 850 hp for extra shove down the Mulsanne straight. And the five very fortunate buyers will get the chance to experience exactly that in 2021 when McLaren will stage a special driving event at the world’s premier endurance race.

Strapped into the competition seat with a six-point harness, gripping the bespoke LM steering wheel with its anodized gold shifters, feet dancing on the titanium nitride pedals, those five owners are in for a treat. The revised engine revs to 9000 rpm thanks to valve spring retainers made from metal matrix composite, higher grade steel valve springs, and hand-polished CNC-ported cylinder heads.

The cars, each numbered one of one, are modeled on the liveries of the five cars that stormed the 1995 race and required McLaren to seek special permission from sponsors of the day, including Gulf Oil and Harrods. Additional tributes come with recreated scrutineering stickers and an etched dedication to its forebearer, including the names of its original drivers.

Built by McLaren Special Operations, the cars have all been sold. Managing Director of MSO Ansar Ali declared: “We wanted to make a major statement with this collection.”

We think it’s fair to say McLaren has succeeded, but you can judge for yourself with the galleries below.

Car no. 1 is dedicated to the outright winner. Known as “The Ueno Clinic” car it was driven by Yanick Dalmas, Masanori Sekiya, and JJ Lehto.

Car no. 6 is “The Harrods car” and was piloted to third place by Andy Wallace, Derek Bell and his son Justin.

Car no. 2 is “The Gulf car” raced by Maurizio Sandro Sala, Mark Blundell, and Ray Bellm to fourth position.

Car no. 7 is known as “The Jacadi car” and was run by French team Giroix Racing with Fabien Giroix, Olivier Grouillard, and Jean-Deni Deletraz sharing driving duties. It placed fifth.

Finally, numbered 5, is “The Cesar car” run by French team Société BBA and driven by Jean-Luc Maury-Laribiere, Marc Sourd, and Hervé Poulin to finish in the 13th position.

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Good news for motorsports fans: The 88th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, rescheduled from June, will go off as planned—or replanned—September 19–20.

Bad news: Like the 2020 Indianapolis 500, whose organizers had hoped to have spectators present but ultimately decided against it, Le Mans will be held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After discussions with French public health and safety authorities, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest and the Sarthe Prefecture announced earlier today that fans will not be allowed trackside for the iconic endurance race.

“Over the last few weeks, we have looked at many ways in which we could hold our event in September with fans present, albeit in limited numbers. However, given the constraints involved in organizing a festival-scale event over several days in the current situation, we have opted [against it],” Pierre Fillon, president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, said in a statement on the Federation Internationale de L’Automobile website. “There were still too many question marks regarding health and safety.”

A limited number of journalists will be allowed access to Le Mans’ Circuit de la Sarthe, located about 130 miles southwest of Paris. Ticket holders will be contacted by the ticket office, and fans will be given options to follow the race digitally.

“You don’t compromise where safety is concerned,” Fillon said.

The 24-hour race will be televised on ESPN2, starting Saturday, September 19 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time (2:30 p.m. in France).

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Taking inspiration for the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans race-winning livery, Sean Bull Design has designed a fantasy rendering 2022 Porsche GT1 endurance racer. The whale-tailed Le Mans fighter wears its flowing, carbon-like striping in a similar spirit to the white-and-blue 1998 Porsche 911 GT1 driven by Laurent Aïello, Allan McNish, and Stéphane Ortelli against an onslaught of GT and Prototype cars.

1998 was a high water mark for OEM involvement in Le Mans’ top classes, with the likes of BMW, Chrysler, Ferrari, Ford/Roush, McLaren, Nissan, Panoz, and of course, Porsche, who twisted the rules as much as they could to introduce the full-aero 911 GT1. That ambitious racer would’ve otherwise fallen into the Prototype class, but instead qualified as a GT-class racer thanks to Porsche’s batty decision to homologate and produce road-going versions of the purpose-built endurance racer.

The move was spurred by the need to link Le Mans back to road-going cars, though the 911 GT1 barely shared any hardware under its silhouette. Despite the loose connection to the road car, it began to chisel away at the Porsche WSC-95 LMP cars that had been carrying Porsche to the top of the podium the prior two years, finishing second overall in its GT1 debut in 1997 behind the WSC-95.  The following year, Nissan, Mercedes, and Toyota responded with their own street-homologated GT-class race cars, but by then there was little their newly-built missiles could do. The Mercedes CLK GTR and Toyota GT-One were quicker but proved to be mechanically troubled early, leaving the door wide-open for the persistent Porsche to count laps while their rivals solved teething issues. In fact, it was Nissan who gave Porsche the biggest shakedown with its R390s, whose fleet took 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 10th overall.

Ed. Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed this artist’s rendering as future Porsche livery. Turns out, Sean Bull‘s design, based on a rendering by Hakosan Design, fooled us on a Friday.

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By the late-1990s, the Viper’s widowmaker status had already become known, and its brash V-10 and Hot Wheels-wild styling made it a favorite poster on the walls of garages and bedrooms. It’s not too hard to imagine yourself near the end of summer 2001, grinding through lower class races and license tests on a brand-new copy of Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. The game was stingy with credits, meaning that stacking up the 1 million required for a Viper GTS demanded a fair bit of time investment; often, your ambitions were defeated by the game system itself. The ORECA-built Vipers had graced the Real Driving Simulator’s car list before, but few stood out like the red-and-white 2000 GTS-Rs found in the winner’s circles of race tracks and PlayStation consoles.

It’s now 20 years later, and you’re not sure you know where that original copy of GT3 is—or if it’s readable by the laser of a similarly old PS2, even if you could dig it out of the depths of the past. However, maybe the time is right to buy the very Viper you once idolized in a tube television, because it’s finally for sale at LBI Limited.

Chassis s/n 31 is up for sale, and it the kind of hero you really should meet. This masterpiece of international speed is that poster car, the 1-million-credit Viper GTS—and more importantly, the 2000 Le Mans class-winning Viper that cemented the French-built snake’s place in history after three years of owning the GTS class at the famed 24-hour race. It took the ALMS GTS Championship by winning seven out of the 10 races, smacking back the likes of Porsche for the third year as well.

The ORECA Vipers were particularly special beasts; they were constructed in France after receiving a rolling chassis from Roush and bodywork from Reynard Motorsport. In total, 57 GTS-Rs rolled out of the legendary speed shop. Chrysler knew that to make the Viper dominate worldwide racing, it would need to outsource to the experts, and the Viper couldn’t have been in better hands with ORECA, who had just came off the high of building and operating the Mazda 787B to its ground-breaking Le Mans win in 1991.

Under this GTS-R’s massive clamshell hood is the 620-hp race-prepped V-10 that sat just below the 8.0-liter displacement cap, though it shares most of its foundation with the street-going Vipers. An H-pattern T-56 is responsible for splitting torque ahead of the massive slicks mounted to center-lock BBS wheels. Massive six-pot/four-pot brakes clamp down on steel rotors to harness all that power.

OK, so, maybe you want a GTS-R, but the notion of paying the provenance tax on s/n 31 isn’t your game. This updated GTS-R was campaigned by Paul Belmondo Racing and, though its track record isn’t as famous as that of s/n 31, s/n 25 still offers a lot of hardware thanks to its lengthier stay in competition. To match contemporary GT1 specs, s/n 25 gained a new Swiss-built Mader V-10 matched to a rapid-firing Holinger sequential gearbox. Updates also include a unique front fascia, which replaced the classic crosshair grille for a cleaner profile with the newer GT1-spec aero package. It raced prolifically between 2000 and 2003 before returning for its final pass through the Le Mans series in 2005; but without the pedigree of the ORECA-campaigned GTS-R, it’s possible to grab this machine at a relative song.

Freed from the chains of legacy, this GTS-R could become a rowdy vintage racer or weekend warrior thanks to its original modernization and the recent restoration performed in the last year.

So what are they worth?

Digging through our records, we were able to pull two price points to serve as a baseline here. This GTS-R sold at RM Sotheby’s back in 2016 for just over $270,000, and the most valuable Production Viper is this 2017 Concierge-built version at $280,000, a 1:1 special-ordered ACR which took advantage of Dodge’s custom-ordered send-offs in the Viper’s final years of production. Sure, the ACR isn’t exactly the full-race GTS-R, but the street-legal ACRs carried the Le Mans lineage to the average human—at least, before they became out-of-production collectibles.

Both s/n 31 and 25 are listed for “if you have to ask, then you can’t afford it.”

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The Love of Cars returns to pit row from last week’s discussion of the larger automotive and creative industries. Hosts Justin Bell and Tommy Kendall welcome not one, but two podium finishers at Le Mans: Allan McNish and Patrick Dempsey, both of whom share a passion for the event and an open mind about the sport’s online future.

The first-ever virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans was held just this past weekend, June 13–14, so it’s a natural starting point for the discussion between Bell, Kendall, and McNish. While McNish is a three-time winner of the infamous 24-hour race, he didn’t sit behind a steering wheel—at-home rig or actual racecar—for this running, participating instead as an expert analyst.

“I was surprised at how well it went—the feeling, the emotion of it,” McNish says. He especially loved the chance to watch drivers’ faces during the race, captured on live feeds without the obstruction of their helmets.

How legitimate did the virtual Le Mans running prove in the eyes of the larger motorsports community? As a team principal of Audi’s Formula E team, McNish is particularly qualified to answer. “I think it was a game-changer,” he says. “It’s taking e-racing and putting it in to be a sport.” The staff ran the virtual event just as seriously as the in-person one, according to McNish—rulebook, driving standards, drivers’ briefing, and all. “They treated it with the same level of importance as the real Le Mans, and [with the] same level of professionalism they wanted everyone to go at it with.”

Based on his own experience in developing race cars, McNish also gives helpful context to what it’s really like to spend all day in a racing simulator. Though the physical loads are minimal in sim racing, he says the mental load is intense—possibly, even more than on a real track. Scratching your head at that one? Consider that the drivers rely on every sense to process and anticipate their car’s behavior. In a simulator, “you’ve lost your backside movement sensor,” McNish explains; drivers must focus even harder to scrounge that missing sensory information from other gauges, statistics, and readings.

“A day on the sim was definitely harder, mentally, than a day on the track,” he sums it up.

McNish also gives full respect to the virtual event’s overall winner, Nick Tandy. Even though Tandy has also won the in-person Le Mans, there’s no conflict in McNish’s mind: Tandy deserves the trophy. “If you win a 24-hour race at the level of competition that was there, you deserve it.”

What’s the future role of virtual racing? “It won’t replace motorsports,” McNish is quick to assert, “but it will be part of it in the future.”

McNish traces his own love of cars to his childhood, growing up around his father, who sold high-end used cars. When a young McNish saw a Rolls-Royce at his father’s dealership, he begged his father for a ride—only to return after school to discover his father had already sold the Rolls. The disappointment taught McNish something about his father—and about himself. “I realized that, for my father, cars were a way to put bread on the table.” For his son, however, cars would grow to become an expression of a person, not just a piece of metal sitting in the corner.

“The day I go away in a box is the day I’ll stop loving cars,” McNish says. We couldn’t agree more.

The show’s second endurance-racing guest is likely a familiar face—but not primarily because of his Le Mans appearances. Patrick Dempsey was a fixture in eleven seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, but somehow found time to develop his passion for racing and train himself to be a truly world-class driver.

Like McNish, Dempsey says he loved “the humanity behind the wheel,” in the words of Justin Bell, revealed by the virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans. “We’re living in a new era, that’s for sure,” he says.

Dempsey recalls his first trip to Le Mans as a participant, which was in 2009. On top of his rookie status, Dempsey also faced the additional pressure generated by his acting career—dozens of cameras followed him, and Bell remembers that, during the traditional Le Mans drivers parade, Dempsey caused quite a stir.

Though he acknowledges the challenge of pacing oneself up to and including the race day, Dempsey says everything fit into place when he was behind the wheel of his car. As if his rookie rating and high visibility weren’t enough, the third driver on Dempsey’s team fell sick, forcing Dempsey and his remaining teammate to pick up the extra shifts. “I’ve never felt more pressure or nerves in my life,” he laughs.

However, Dempsey’s verdict about Le Mans remains: “It’s a magical experience. We finished the race, that’s the greatest thing—the sense of satisfaction. To be in that world and be able to compete was life-changing.”

How did it all start? Like his son today, Dempsey’s father was a team owner. “Every Friday, he would bring me back a Matchbox,” Dempsey recalls. He paints a vivid picture of the moment when the automobile first captured his imagination. Dempsey grew up in a small town in Maine, through which ran Route 4.

“In the summer, I would sit on the hillside on weekends and watch all these vintage cars drive by. I remember the first time I say a Jag 120 in person—and I was blown away. [There was this] beautiful woman driving it, and I had never seen anything like that in my life. Breathtaking. And that’s where it started.”

Dempsey’s current role as team owner reflects his decision to step away from the track to focus on his family, investing in his children, and helping them pursue their passions. “Nothing replaces racing,” though, and so, with the support of his wife and children, he’s getting back into the car. Under the current circumstances, his exact plans remain unclear: “If I were a young man, starting my career over again—Super Cup racing, that’s where I’d go,” he says.

This episode represents the final installment of The Love of Cars, presented by Hagerty and featuring Justin Bell and Tommy Kendall from The Torque Show. Enjoyed this one? The show may be over for now, but you can always catch up on previous episodes including this one, starring Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason. You never know in what unexpected community you may find a fellow—though, possibly, much more famous—car lover.

The post The Love of Cars stars Le Mans podium finishers Allan McNish and Patrick Dempsey appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Twenty-five years on from winning Le Mans with the F1 GTR, McLaren has announced a special tribute 720S.

Just 50 models will be produced to celebrate the 1995 24-hour event in which JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya took victory on McLaren’s first attempt at the grueling race.

Each 720S Le Mans has a roof scoop like the GTR, plus unique five-spoke wheels that echo the original racer. There’s a lightweight polycarbonate rear window and gold-painted brake calipers to finish the look. Inside there are carbon fiber bucket seats, trimmed in Alcantara, with headrests embroidered with an anniversary logo. Only two exterior colors are offered: McLaren Orange or Sarthe Grey, with interior trim to match.

The scoop is more than cosmetic, channeling extra cooling and extra heat evacuation. Louvres in the carbon-fiber front fenders slash weight and reduce lift. Both give the 720S Le Mans that extra bit of track focus.

Cynics may bemoan yet another limited series McLaren, but this one does, at least, mark something momentous. And, with the company struggling to stay afloat, laying off staff and potentially selling part of the Formula 1 team, you can hardly blame them for trying to cash in with this $360,000 special. We’ll take ours in orange.

The post McLaren celebrates legendary Le Mans victory with limited-run 720S appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Nick Mason was into cars long before he was into music. He just became a better drummer than a driver, and he gained fame and fortune on the stage, not the track.

He wouldn’t have minded if it had been the other way around.

“Cars have been on my shopping list since I was 5 years old,” the Pink Floyd drummer tells co-hosts Justin Bell and Tommy Kendall on Episode 6 of The Love of Cars, presented by Hagerty. “My dad, Bill Mason, made films about motorsport. He worked for Shell. And he raced himself. He had a vintage Bentley, and he did a lot of club racing. So, I was taken to Silverstone when I was a really small boy.

“The thing I get asked all the time is which came first, the music or the cars? It has to be the cars, because in 19-whatever-it-was, I don’t think rock and roll had been invented yet. So it was cars, cars, cars …

“My driving never really got good enough. My drumming is still … it works. But’s it’s pretty basic.”

Despite his modesty, Mason became a good enough driver to experience the thrill of big-time racing firsthand. A few months after Pink Floyd released its iconic album The Wall in 1979, Mason raced a Lola T297 in his first 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished 18th. He later raced the Rothmans Porsche 956 and is a regular at vintage races like Goodwood. “As I started in sports cars … It was a case of really seizing the opportunities as they came along—in a world that was so much less professional than it is now,” he says.

Mason’s most prized automobile is his Ferrari GTO, one of only 39 built from 1962–64. A 1962 version like Mason’s sold for a record $48.4 million two years ago. He bought his Ferrari long before that—and for much, much less. “I wanted to go racing, so I was looking for, generally, cars that were fun to use,” he says, admitting he was fortunate to purchase the car when he did.

When asked if the GTO is now so valuable that he’s reluctant to drive it, Mason says, “I don’t think these cars ever become too valuable to turn on.” Owning one “has been a remarkable thing,” he continues. “It looks wonderful, it’s great to drive, it gets invited everywhere, and it makes me look so clever.”

Mason, 76, says driving is “a great complement to the music. It’s a very different sort of discipline. One of the big things about being in a band is it absolutely relies on four or five of you working together. The great thing about being in a car—racing it—is you’re on your own. It’s down to you. I think that’s part of the attraction.”

Hagerty Vice President of Content Larry Webster followed Mason on the show and discussed Hagerty’s commitment to save driving during the rise of autonomous vehicles. He also turned the tables on Bell and Kendall, asking them about their racing careers and the mental side of motorsports.

Webster was followed by Mazen Fawaz, CEO of Singer Vehicle Design, who discussed the intersection of artistry and machinery. Fawaz became friends with Singer founder Rob Dickinson when Dickinson was reimagining his first Porsche. Now the company has built more than 100.

“I met Rob when he was doing car #1,” Fawaz says. “It was a passion project. No one ever really saw the business coming …

“Rob has an eye for design … I always compare it to knowing someone who can write hit songs. There’s just something [about him]. He can change something, even [as little as] 2 or 5 percent, and it makes a world of difference.”

There’s much more to enjoy in Episode 6 of The Love of Cars, which originally aired on June 2, so check it out. If you want to watch the show live each week, new episodes air every Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. Next week’s scheduled guests are Henry Ford III and Pixar’s creative director of Franchise, Jay Wood.

The post The Love of Cars: Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason hasn’t hit The Wall appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Porsche announced today that it is hanging up its laurels and is terminating its factory support in the GT Le Mans class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at the end of the 2020 season. Porsche cited the financial crisis surrounding the coronavirus pandemic as its reason.

“The decision to halt our factory involvement in the IMSA series was not an easy one for us,” says head of Porsche Motorsport Fritz Enzinger. “With a view to the current corporate situation in connection with the coronavirus pandemic, it is only logical for Porsche Motorsport to make a contribution to coping with the economic fallout.”

The move sets the stage for the possibility of just two manufacturers remaining in the GT Le Mans Class in 2021, depending on whether BMW decides to continue with its M8 GTE program alongside the factory Chevrolet Corvette C8.Rs.

Porsche’s parting from GTLM will not affect any of its customer programs in North America, including teams in the GT Daytona class, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, and the single-make Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA and Canada series.

Launched in 2014, Porsche teamed up with the CORE autosport to run its operation and took the checkered flag in its debut in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Since then, the Porsche team campaigned by CORE autosport has won multiple races and GTLM titles, including:

• 48 GTLM Podiums
• 17 GTLM Poles
• 18 GTLM Wins (including four overall wins)
• 3 GTLM Manufacturers Championships
• 2 GTLM Team Champion Championships
• 2 GTLM Drivers Championships
• 2 North American Endurance Championship Team Titles
• 2 North American Endurance Championship Driver Titles
• 1 North American Endurance Championship Manufacturer Title
• 1 podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

“This has been an amazing seven-year partnership,” says CORE autosport COO Morgan Brady. “I’m extremely proud of everything we’ve accomplished. While we continue to prepare for the remaining 10 rounds of the IMSA Championship, we’re sensitive to how this departure will affect our team members and their families.”

While not confirmed, Porsche’s move to cease operations for its GTLM program could potentially set the stage for an effort in the Le Mans Daytona hypercar (LMDh) class for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2022. Running two parallel factory-supported programs in LDMh and GTLM/GTE would be a huge financial commitment, even for a juggernaut such as Porsche.

As the season stands thus far, CORE autosport and Porsche are in second place. The series is set to resume July 4–5 at Daytona International Raceway. Porsche’s sights are set on winning back-to-back IMSA championships, which would be a fitting end to a tremendously successful run of seven years of racing.

The post Porsche pulls plug on GT Le Mans efforts appeared first on Hagerty Media.

When was the last time you thought of the Ligier JS2? Staring blankly into the ether? That’s hardly surprising. Ligier may have been a force in Formula 1 from 1976 until 1996, but lately the French company has focused on microcars with tiny diesel engines rather than mid-engine fire-breathers.

However, back in the mid-’70s, the JS2 emerged as a proper Le Mans contender available both in road and in race car tune—only to be first sabotaged by Ford, then ruined by the financial troubles of Citroën. Redemption came in 1975, when the factory-backed pair of Jean-Louis Lafosse and Guy Chasseuil pushed their Cosworth DFV V-8-powered JS2 into second place behind the Gulf-Mirage GR8 of Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell (which was, coincidentally, also DFV-equipped). Despite the podium finish, the 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans was the JS2’s last big event in period, as Ligier moved into Formula 1 for 1976.

The adventure began in 1969, when Automobiles Ligier launched the fiberglass-bodied JS1, powered by Cosworth four-cylinders like the 1.6-liter FVA and the 1.8-liter FVC. Weighing under 1750 pounds with 240 hp onboard, the JS1 was a peppy little prototype, but only three were constructed before Guy Ligier moved on to the JS2 for the 1971 season. The JS2 came with an aluminum honeycomb chassis for racing or a standard steel one for the street. The first prototype displayed in 1970 used Ford’s 2.6-liter Cologne V-6, but since Ford had big racing plans for that engine in its GT70, it decided not to supply a French team with a powertrain.

Having modified the rear of the car accordingly, Ligier went to Citroën for the SM’s Maserati-sourced 2.7-liter V-6. This was later replaced by the Merak’s 3.0-liter 191-hp engine, but after the oil crisis hit in 1973, the partnership with Citroën started to show some cracks. Ligier retired from quite a few races due to the unreliable nature of these Maserati engines, and once Citroën was forced to merge with Peugeot, control of Maserati landed in the hands of Alejandro De Tomaso. The Argentinian-Italian master of platform recycling immediately discontinued the old V-6, and with that, the Ligier JS2’s road-going version became history.

However, sponsored by tobacco giant Gitanes in 1975, Guy Ligier got the final chance to enter two factory-backed JS2s at Le Mans, with Cosworth DFV V-8s installed in place of the Maserati engines for a change. That year, those DOHC prototype engines were detuned to reduce fuel consumption, but as you can tell from video shot at the Circuit Paul Ricard during the 2019 Dix Mille Tours, that has since been fixed on this DFV JS2:

The post Listen to this Cosworth DFV V-8-powered Ligier JS2 appeared first on Hagerty Media.

You may not recognize his name or his face at first glance, but if you’re an addict of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, you surely know his voice. John Hindhaugh has spent more than 30 years behind the mic of some of the world’s greatest racing events, and in that time he’s branched out as one of the early adopters of virtual racing and the growth of organized competition behind it.

If cars are his first love, the art of radio broadcast is surely his second, as his career has spanned the gap from local hospital jazz hours to becoming one of the leading analysts in motorsports journalism. Behind that suave North English accent is a caretaker of the sport, one that’s determined to propel the sometimes anachronistic racing industry into the modern world. Hindhaugh offers a perspective forged under every facet in racing, whether it’s a pack of radio-controlled buggies bombing down an indoor track at 70 mph or a fleet of prototype aero warriors burying their tachometers in top gear roaring down the Mulsanne Straight.

How did the “Voice of Le Mans” get started in commentary?

In the late ’60s through the ’70s, there wasn’t a lot of motorsport television in the U.K. So what coverage there tended to be was on radio, some of it was live but not very much. But I do remember this thing on the BBC, on a Sunday afternoon and hearing the report from the Grand Prix Monaco and things like that. By the mid- to late ’70s, I knew a little bit more about Le Mans because of the movie, Le Mans, which I saw in a school movie club. 

I left school at 16, while many of my friends stayed on to do further education and go to college or university. I went to work at a bank and had free time on my hands, so I went to volunteer at the hospital radio station. When I talked to the guy, Graham Anderson, he sat me down in front of a microphone and asked, “Can you read that?” And when the red light came on, I read what was effectively the news and the continuity announcement, which I thought was some kind of voice test or audition. And in fact, he put me live on the radio!

That’s basically how I started doing it. So, I was presenting music shows and magazine shows, I was going around the hospital, talking to the patients and getting their vinyl-record requests and things like it. So I fell into it that way and later found out that I had an ability to find sponsorship early on. We started doing outside broadcasts, and we had to do all of our own fundraising. I learned I have an aptitude for that [fundraising]. So literally at age 16, I fell into it and I stayed there for a while before I went to work for a local independent commercial radio station

For a radio commentator, what’s a unique problem that you have that other hosts don’t on a different medium, say TV?

There are things that you do on the TV when you’ve got pictures to fall back. You have to be more descriptive on the radio. The other thing I learned is that radio is far more dynamic and direct in some respect—it’s a terribly personal thing. And in my later life, I’ve found that commentating solely for TV is very different from commentating for radio. Although you can [syndicate] radio commentary [to other media] you can’t multi-task TV commentary into just audio-only. It just doesn’t make any sense. And so in some way I’m really pleased that I’ve got the radio grounding before I’ve gone on to visuals.

When we do motorsports commentary on radio, you are taking the audience part of the way on the journey. They have to use their imagination to actually create the picture. So no two people who listen to any of our commentary see things exactly the same, even if they know the tracks, even if they understand that the 911 Porsche that I’m talking about is driving down the Mulsanne Straight toward the second of the chicanes. Not everybody will see that in their mind’s eye in exactly the same way, which makes it intensely personal and of course it’s coming directly into your ears, without a filter.

From hospital to commercial DJ, you then took a turn for Radio Le Mans in 1989, correct?

The reason that I got involved was because while I was at Metro Radio running the sales, promotion, and marketing department, I got a phone call from a chap who wanted to come and talk to me about doing a promotion in New Castle. We had a good reputation at that time for what we did with our DJ presenters and our promoters.

I get a phone call from this guy, called Antony Landon, and he asked me if I’d like to meet him. I went to New Castle and had lunch, and he arrived wearing a Silk Cut—who were Jaguar sponsors in the Group C era—Radio Le Mans jacket and I said, “So I’ve just been reading about that in Motoring News,” which was a weekly motoring newspaper. He says, “Yeah, yeah, my company, Studio 6, we do that.” I said, “Oh really, that’s fantastic. Listen, whatever else happens, if you ever need anybody, I’ve got a big record collection, I’m happy to bring them down, I’ll sit and play records for you, whatever you need me to.” He said, “Alright, I’ll bear it in mind,” and we shook hands, that was in the summer. Never heard a word from him, until following May when he called me up and said, “So, do you still want to go to Le Mans?” That was 1989, I had less than a month’s notice and drove down there. I slept on the floor of the studio the first two years.

How did Radio Le Mans get its start?

Still, by far, the biggest single group [at Le Mans] in terms of nationality would have the Brits and particularly the English. And the drive down there, long before the channel tunnel and the advent of cheap European air flight, in your classic car or whatever you could get your hands on was a part of the enjoyment and the challenge of the event as a spectator. And you pitched a tent, drank the strange French beer, and ate the strange French food—and apparently there was a motor race going! Probably a goodly proportion of the Brits out there would have neither known nor cared who had won the race until they got back to read Autosport or the Motoring News the next week because there was no English-language commentary on the P.A. It was an event and it was fun, but the racing was almost incidental.

It became obvious in the late ’80s and the early ’90s that in order to maintain interest from Brits, it would make sense to give them an opportunity to follow along with what was going on. It might even expand the amount of Brits who would go, and that’s how Radio Le Mans was born. So it didn’t suffer the slight malaise that hit sports-radio broadcasting because it wasn’t available to anybody outside of the track. It performed for a specific and unique niche for English-language speakers who didn’t understand what was being said on the French P.A. system.

And so the service became established as part of that event as much as the German Baker in the village was at that time; as much as the French pancakes, the crepe stores—that sold fantastic Grand Marnier and cream crepes—all of that, it became part of the mythology and part of the event. So in some ways, it was in a better position to start the revolution, and it did start the revolution, of Internet broadcasting

You’ve played a large role in professional eSports as organized events have come together, but when did you first pick up a virtual racing wheel?

The first game I remember really getting into, like buying a steering wheel and pedals for, was Sports Car GT. The biggest coincidence was in the sound-effects part of the game. The commentator, whom they sampled in the background, was a gentleman who became a great friend of mine—and I use “gentleman” in every sense of the word—Jim Martyn. He was the first person I worked with in the States, at the 1998 Petit Le Mans. From the very moment I started working with him, it was as if I had known him all my life! It took me until halfway through the next season to realize that he was the voice I had been listening to on Sports Car GT!

We competed in leagues, but back then, there was no online racing. So what you did was you did whatever the race was for that week, the race would last like three hours, and you then sent your game file at the end of that, and then two or three days after it, they came up with a set of results and points. 

There are people who argue that virtual racing and other forms of eSports aren’t legitimate forms of racing and competition. What do you think of that notion?

The matter of which we abide at Radio Show Limited is a simple one. We commentate for the most part on endurance racing, but we do sprint races as well. We also commentate remote-control scale-model racing, right up to the world championships. Another on our team is one of the foremost producers of R/C racing TV content and streaming in the world, and he does all the big European and world championship events. And our mantra as I say is simple: the platform, the skill, whether in the real world or virtual isn’t any different.

Because the car could be full-size, they could be 1/12th scale; they might be internal-combustion engines, they might be electric; they might be real-world races or they might be virtual, and so might the tracks. But what is always real, very real, is the skill, the talent, the dedication—and more important—the competition. The competition is always real and everything else that goes into it. If you’re going to be good at something, the amount of time that you put in, particularly in motorsport, where the hand coordination you have to have, the skill that you have to have sitting in Argentina when the guy that you’re racing is sitting in Australia, and the server is in Boston, and you’re racing millimeters apart at 180 mph hour down the Döttinger Höhe at the Nürburgring Nordschleife… The skill that you have for that, along with the time and dedication that you have to put in, that’s all real. So it’s the essence of the competition. It’s real racing! And to cover it any other way than how we do our “day job” with Radio Le Mans would show a lack of respect for those people involved. 

While the COVID-19 pandemic has put eRacing in the spotlight, will real-life racing take note?

It’s no secret that NASCAR in the real world has been concerned about its demographic and how much older it’s gotten, and how there’s no one coming in at the bottom. On the network shows in the U.S. of NASCAR eSports, they are increasing the 16 to 34 demographic to the point where it’s bigger than it was in the real racing. Both in real terms and percentage terms, NASCAR is doing better with an eRacing on network TV than it is doing with its own product. That has got to be a siren call for the series, that it can reach an audience that currently it isn’t reaching, for whatever reason. Here is an opportunity for Formula 1, for IMSA, for IndyCar—for any of the international and regional series to reach a new audience who currently they’re not reaching. And that alone should be enough for them—and their partners, let’s not forget—to ensure at the end of this that we keep some of this momentum that eSports has got going and use it as a stepping stone in the same way that going to the junkyard or going to Saturday night short-track racing used to be. 

We’ve got to accept that the world is changing, and I think that is the opportunity for it. It’s a two-way street here and I think it’s gotta be seized, it has to be saved. Otherwise, we will have missed a phenomenal opportunity.

The post What does the “Voice of Le Mans” think of eRacing? John Hindhaugh sounds off appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Several excellent racing books have appeared in the past 18 months, many with ambitions to be their subjects’ definitive accounts. Tim Considine’s Twice around the Clock: The Yanks at Le Mans ($350, YanksatLeMans.com) now tops this list. Released early in 2019, the book has already won a slew of awards in the U.S. and Europe.

Twice took more than six years to write, with research beginning almost 30 years ago. Its 1000 pages and 925 photos are spread over three volumes. Including its handsome slipcover, the collection weighs an impressive 14.6 pounds. Considine, 78, has plans for another four volumes, for which he has named a successor in case he is unable to finish them.

The title suggests a narrow focus, but Considine’s intention was to capture every detail of Le Mans in the years his book covers, 1923–79, as well as the feeling of actually being there—all the sensations unique to the 24-hour race. He wanted to convey the thrill of Porsches and Ferraris doing 250 mph on the Mulsanne straight and also the world of mechanics and engineers behind the pit wall. In the countless individual stories that comprise Twice, he has succeeded. The book has involved an army of researchers, fact checkers, and historians here and in France.

From the sections about me, to which I naturally turned first, I can attest to Considine’s thoroughness and accuracy. He has uncovered facts I’d either forgotten or never knew, and where I had facts or impressions to compare, his are in perfect accord.

Considine is a gifted interviewer, and with his deep knowledge of Le Mans history, he put at ease familiar heroes such as three-time winner Phil Hill and Dan Gurney, who wrote the introduction. The interviews sound more like conversations with good friends. The combination of those interviews and abundant imagery brings you as close as possible to the experience of being there.

Maybe Considine’s greatest achievement, however, is that, despite its physical presence and the wealth of information within, the book never feels like a tome; despite all the work, it doesn’t feel overworked. Somehow, Considine has created an account of Le Mans that manages to be comprehensive and satisfying in every respect and leaves you anxious for the next installment—even if it takes another six years.

The article first appeared in Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Click here to subscribe to our magazine and join the club. 

The post This deep dive book into Americans racing at Le Mans is the ultimate recounting appeared first on Hagerty Media.

On an unseasonably toasty afternoon earlier this fall, the pit lane at Virginia International Raceway was suddenly shaken by the unmistakable crackling idle of a Ford big-block V-8. Every head snapped toward the cacophony, which was thundering from a black 1966 Ford GT40 Mark II splashed with a large “2” on both doors. As soon as the car came to rest, the mechanics, engineers, and Ford employees, who had assembled at VIR for their own event meant to showcase the much newer Ford GTLM race car, swarmed toward the 53-year-old relic. All the planned activities for the day came to a full stop.

This particular GT40, chassis number P/1046, represents hallowed ground. It’s the car that the late, legendary Kiwi duo of Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon crewed to Le Mans victory in 1966, fulfilling Henry Ford II’s ambition of smashing Ferrari on its home turf. A half century after the checkered flag fell, the car and its gobsmacking moment in history still inspire controversy as well as books and movies, including the freshly released Ford v Ferrari film that features a small constellation of big-name stars. Rob Kauffman, an entrepreneur and founder of RK Motors, a vintage-car dealership and restoration shop in Charlotte, North Carolina, isn’t one of them, but he currently owns P/1046. He commanded me to climb aboard his GT40 with the words, “Get into McLaren’s seat.” I carefully wriggled my knocking knees under the steering wheel and parked my unworthy butt on the throne of kings. This day was about to get 427 times better.

Ford had invited a handful of journalists to VIR in south-central Virginia to drive the descendant of the GT40, the 2016 GTLM race car. The GTLM is the competition version of the Ford GT, the low and slinky $500,000 supercar that Ford continues to build and sell to charmed millionaires. This particular GTLM is one of the quartet of cars that Ford entered in the GTE Pro class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016. The quartet finished first, third, fourth, and ninth (this car) in class; the winning car is in The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. With Ford winding down its Le Mans program this year, it seemed a good time to let some of the secrets out, put a few grubby writers behind the wheel, and get some more ink for what was a furiously focused corporate effort to bring home a Le Mans victory exactly 50 years after Ford did it the first time.

It was also an ideal moment to see how far racing technology has advanced in five decades, so we decided to try snagging an original GT40 for the day. This is where Kauffman enters the picture. Like so many race cars, P/1046 was cast off after winning the race, passing through a few owners until finding the perfect steward in 2014. Kauffman sent the Le Mans racer to Rare Drive in New Hampshire for a painstaking, 5000-hour restoration to return it to its 1966-winning configuration, which is well chronicled at GT40.RKMotorsCharlotte.com. He’s also generous with his artifact and trailered the car to Virginia for us.

Having wormed into the GT40, I wondered how the drivers did the old-style Le Mans start, where they ran across the track, hopped into their cars, and took off. I looked around. A large, elegantly stenciled tachometer dominates the dash. A strip of tape denotes the 6300-rpm redline. Smaller auxiliary gauges spread to the left. You sit on the right side of the car, but the shifter is still to the driver’s right. I heard a sound; it was either the ticking of the pit clock at Le Mans or my own galloping heartbeat.

So much has happened in the 53 years since this car raced. Just a glance shows how differently the GTLM treats the air with half a century of accumulated aerodynamic knowledge behind it. The GTLM is wide, like a hammerhead, and it then tapers inward from the base of the windshield to the rear. There’s a deep channel between the rear fenders and the flying buttresses bridging the gap. The design element channels air into fender-mounted intercoolers, which chill the intake charge that the twin-turbo V-6 engine breathes. Those buttresses help split the turbulent flow from the smoother current rushing along the car’s flanks. Every square inch of the outer body was designed to make the rushing air perform—for cooling or to reduce drag or to press the car down to the pavement for increased cornering grip. The air is a tool.

Conversely, the air was the devil for the gorgeous GT40. The early cars got light over 150 mph, like a plane taking off. Indeed, two of them crashed in testing. Automotive aerodynamics were poorly understood in the 1960s, so the Band-Aids and modifications made peace with the airflow rather than harness it. Between the early cars and Kauffman’s Mark II, the most obvious changes are the metal plate tacked across the rear bodywork as a spoiler, and a shorter, reconfigured nose that channeled the air through the radiators and out of the hood. The challenge was reducing lift without adding drag, since the major feature of the Le Mans circuit then was its 3.7-mile Mulsanne straight. Top speed always matters, but more so at the Circuit de la Sarthe. In the 1966 race, P/1046 reached 200 mph every lap, a stunning speed considering the 427-cubic-inch V-8 produced only about 485 horsepower.

Interestingly, the GTLM goes no faster. Chicanes added to the Mulsanne in 1990 to reduce ultimate velocity had the desired effect, and the rules of racing have expanded and evolved as well. Nowadays, they limit the horsepower such that the GTLM produces about 550, a stout figure from a smaller, 3.6-liter V-6, but also a fluctuating one. The number has varied throughout the GTLM’s life as racing officials jiggered the turbo boost and other engine parameters so the wildly different cars in the production-based pro class—the Ferrari 488, the Porsche 911, the Aston Martin Vantage, and the Chevy Corvette—would be on a somewhat level field. Bemoan this managed competition if you will, but it’s now a staple of nearly every racing series.

Before I sat in the GT40, I had already driven the GTLM, losing all sense of dignity as I clumsily wedged through the steel driver-protection cage that is bolted to the main carbon-fiber tub. It is downright claustrophobic inside, the windshield far away and framed by the deep dash and massive A-pillars. Rearward visibility is so poor there’s a screen to the driver’s right that is hooked to a rear-facing camera. It’s not just video that is projected on the screen; there’s a system that identifies with colored arrows which of the following cars are closing or retreating.

The steering wheel—it’s not a circle but a pair of hand grips joined by a panel of switches—includes a screen that displays lap times and the gear selected. A tiny bank of lights illuminates when it’s time to shift, the driver selecting one of the two wheel-mounted paddles. Squeeze right for an upshift, left to drop a gear. There’s still a clutch pedal, but it’s only used to get the car moving.

Chugging out of the pit felt as if I were in a video game. The car is a cocoon—nicely air conditioned, by the way—and everything seems far from your reach. In the first few corners, I can’t get a sense of what the front tires are doing—a consequence, I later learned, of the column-mounted electric-assist motor that insulates road feel. In most race cars the engine is a bellowing beast, but in this one it’s stuffed up with turbos and strangely subdued. The brakes require a firm push and are likewise lacking in the usual feel. Since ABS is banned, to help combat lockup, a light flashes to alert the driver that a wheel has locked.

Against the computerized GTLM, the GT40’s door jamb has a typed chart comparing actual engine rpm with what the tach reads. It could be handy, but the driver can’t see it when the door is closed. “We don’t know why they did that,” Kauffman said, “but we bought four typewriters until we found one that mimicked the original look [of the typed numbers].”

I press the GT40’s starter button while gently prodding the throttle. Whereas the GTLM makes a distant thrum, the big-block V-8 wakes like eight Napoleonic cannons firing behind my back, shaking the car. The hallmark of the Mark II GT40, that engine gets more power with less stress. Kauffman, in the passenger seat, cradled a fire extinguisher in his lap, a layer of caution in a car estimated to be worth north of $20 million.

The big, raging Ford FE moved the 2600-pound racer off with barely a blip. Every control is stiffer than in the power-everything GTLM. Compared with other cars of this bygone era I’ve driven, the GT40’s structure feels stout and much better screwed together. It was, after all, a big-dollar factory job and the most sophisticated sports car of its time. The chassis eschews a steel-tube frame for an aircraft-like monocoque of folded and riveted steel sheets, just like the Formula 1 cars of the day. A control-arm suspension graces all four corners.

Things have changed since Phil Remington—Carroll Shelby’s master of all trades—was improvising fixes to the GT40 and Bruce McLaren was testing them on the track. The GTLM came together on a computer, and its drivers were trained on a computer. “The sim,” as it’s called, lives in Ford’s Performance Technical Center in Concord, North Carolina. “Racing is not just a marketing enterprise for us,” explained Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports. “We built the center in 2014 to be a conduit between our racing efforts and our engineers in Dearborn.” There are now two simulators in constant use. There, an exact copy of the GTLM cockpit rests on a movable platform that replicates g force. A curved screen provides a simulated field of view for the driver as different setups and driving techniques are tried. An adjacent control room with its chilled closet holding five computer banks requires two people to run it. We saw NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick seated in the second simulator, practicing for an upcoming race.

Ol’ Shel would have seen this Futureworld and spit on the ground, but the six laps I drove the GTLM wouldn’t have been as quick without my prep in the simulator. My favorite part was the coaching via headphones by Ford team driver Billy Johnson. With my heart rate at maximum barreling toward the simulated 150-mph climbing esses at VIR, Johnson would say in a soothing and relaxed voice, “Okay, now turn.” In the sim, I was able to run the esses without lifting—and ended up crashing through the retaining wall and flipping into the trackside condos. Hey, it’s all fun and games until you kill 20 simulated fans having a pixel BBQ.

Soon enough, though, I was on the real climbing esses, one of VIR’s signature features and a chain of gentle but nerve-jangling high-speed bends that separate champions from chumps. After a few runs at it in the GTLM, I got the nerve to try Johnson’s instructions to the letter. And, damn, if he wasn’t right: The car carved through so quickly I could scarcely keep up with the required flicks of the wheel. There was no drama, no sliding, no oh-my-god-my-hair’s-on-fire panic.

At 150 mph, the GTLM’s downforce plants the car, so perhaps that performance should be expected. A high-performance street car can corner with about 1.00 g of grip; in high-speed turns, where the downforce comes into play, the GTLM sticks more than twice as hard, with roughly 2.00 g of grip. Even in the low-speed turns—say, under 50 mph, where downforce isn’t so much a factor—the car still grips at over 1.50 g.

You also have to factor in how much tires have progressed in 50 years. The GTLM’s foot-wide slicks are modern track glue that come with their own Michelin engineer to fuss over them. I can’t imagine what Ken Miles would have done with a set of these babies. The GT40’s doughnuts aren’t even slicks; they’re treaded, and the rubber chemistry is from the era of Mister Ed. Yet the GT40 still digs into corners. The manual steering is on the slow side, and I have to shuffle my hands in the tighter turns. I’m not at the limit, but the 53-year-old car still feels composed.

I was able to push harder in the GTLM. Compared with the older Ford, the newer car feels much stiffer at first, like it’s never pitching while braking, or rolling at all in the turns. I thought this made sense for a racing car that doesn’t encounter potholes on today’s glass-smooth racing circuits. However, today’s tracks have curbs, and two curbs are rarely the same height or shape. That’s important because the ability to drive over them can yield speed by effectively widening the track and increasing the corner radius.

Thus, there are two opposing requirements for a modern racing suspension: It has to be stiff enough to keep the tires square to the pavement and not collapse under the huge downforce, as well as supple enough to take advantage of the curbs. The GTLM felt like it favored the former, but an exploratory trip over a particularly tall curb on the inside of a second-gear Turn Four proved me wrong. The car glided over with nary a shudder. I then drove over every curb Johnson had instructed me to wallop in our sim session the day before; each time the GTLM seemed to know what to do. Amazing.

The odd thing is how little I thought about the turbo V-6 thruster behind me. Sure, it’s fast, but there are many street cars, including Ford’s own 647-hp version of the GT, with more poke. The turbochargers muffle the sound, and there’s no vibration in the cockpit. The engine does its job; when you step on the gas, the world goes whoosh.

The GT40’s V-8 also makes the scenery blur, but it splits the heavens while doing so. Redline, shift. Redline, shift again. Redline once more—if your ears don’t explode first. Compared with sitting in the push-button GTLM, the GT40 is a visceral sweat box in which you inhale petrochemical adrenaline from a seemingly living thing. The view out is comparatively expansive, like you’re in the environment, not just observing it from a distance. The trees and the guardrail posts and the gawping faces of onlookers rush by with a startling speed that I’m much more aware of. How Gurney and the other boys kept their concentration amid all this sensory overload is a diamond-plated mystery. Meanwhile, I’m just sitting there, foot down, waiting for the car to get light and start sniffing around the track looking for something to cream. But it doesn’t sniff, it tracks as if on subway rails. Kauffman later told me that when he drove it in the biennial Le Mans Classic race, he didn’t realize how fast he’d gone until after-fact calculations revealed he had passed 200 mph. He never intended to go that fast, but the GT40 had its own plan.

With the GTLM, I feel a pang of empathy for the drivers. Hang with me here because it sounds odd to pity a well-paid professional, but the car felt so stoically competent, almost video-game like, that the drivers are then required to be perfect, too. The tool is there, so now the onus is on them to extract every bit of speed while simultaneously processing a fire-hose spray of data. Lap after lap. Back in the day, McLaren and Amon and Gurney and Miles and the others rocketed headlong into the night with nothing more to focus on than the track, a few gauges, and keeping themselves alive in an era of sudden and painfully routine death. I mentioned this to Johnson, who just shrugged as if to say, “Duh.” Young people. They just take the world as they find it. They don’t fuss about how it used to be.

By 1966, the GT40 had morphed into an exceedingly competent long-distance racer. Its genius wasn’t simply speed and durability but driver comfort, too. Most cars then, when technology was changing so fast year over year, bore some flaw the driver had to mind and adapt to. That’s not the case with P/1046. The engine pulls with such torque from idle to redline that downshifts are optional. The rear tires deftly handle aggressive throttle inputs, and corner handling is well balanced. That’s not to say when the car is pushed hard things won’t go awry, but the well-sorted handling explains how just two drivers could pilot the GT40 over 24 hours, as McLaren and Amon did in 1966.

We shot a few more photos, and then I watched Kauffman back P/1046 onto his trailer. I thought about that car and the endless hours devoted to it, and likewise to the sweat and corporate reputation invested in the GTLM. People don’t race or build race cars because they need a job. It’s a calling and a passion, and in 1966, as now, it produces miraculous things that come with fabulous stories.

The article first appeared in Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Click here to subscribe to our magazine and join the club. 

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Ford v Ferrari, Hollywood’s take on Ford’s 1960s Le Mans assault, hits theatres today. With a budget north of $100 million, the filmmakers are looking for box-office gold, and with A-list stars such as Christian Bale as driver Ken Miles, Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby, and Alex Gurney playing his father, Dan Gurney, the producers are also angling for critical acclaim.

Based on the dismal track record of previous racing movies, I’m not optimistic on either score. Movies that bill themselves as being based on a true story—or, in this case, “the remarkable true story”—inevitably shade the truth in matters big and small and disregard it entirely whenever it’s inconvenient. Which isn’t a showstopper, of course, since the movie is a drama, not a documentary, and most people go to their local multiplex to be entertained rather than edified.

Then again, even without embellishment, the real story of what Ford accomplished with its GT40 racers is one of the greatest sagas in motorsports history. Anybody curious about the true true story has plenty of sources to choose from. Leo Levine (Ford: The Dust and the Glory) and Karl Ludvigsen (The Inside Story of the Fastest Fords) wrote definitive histories of the Ford GT program shortly after it ended. More recently, A.J. Baime’s breezier narrative, Go like Hell, became an unlikely best seller (and purportedly inspired Ford v Ferrari). In 2015, I published my own recap of the subject under the unconscionably cumbersome title Ford GT: How Ford Silenced the Critics, Humbled Ferrari and Conquered Le Mans.

Any lack of optimism aside, you’re probably as eager to see the flick as I am. But here are some truths about the Ford-Ferrari Le Mans rivalry that you ought to know before they dim the lights.

Although the film focuses on a mano-a-mano battle between Enzo Ferrari and Henry Ford II, there is much more to the story than that.

In 1963, Enzo Ferrari was worried that his artisanal road-car operation could no longer generate enough money to support his colossal racing aspirations, so he let it be known he was looking for a corporate sugar daddy. Ford beancounters were dispatched to Maranello to inventory the factory, and Lee Iacocca sent his right-hand man, Don Frey, to negotiate directly with Enzo. After a storybook bromance full of intimate late-night dinners and hair-raising drives, a deal was struck. But Enzo had commitment issues, and at the 11th hour, he bailed. “My rights, my integrity, my very being as a manufacturer, as an entrepreneur, as a leader of the Ferrari works, cannot work under the enormous machine, the suffocating bureaucracy of the Ford Motor Company,” he thundered in operatic Italian.

Frey didn’t remember any histrionics, which suggests that Enzo’s screenplay-ready aria may have been an ex post facto fabrication. When Frey returned to Dearborn bearing only a signed copy of Enzo’s autobiography, he was summoned to the private dining room of Henry Ford II, a.k.a. the Deuce, a.k.a HFII. The grandson of Henry Ford, HFII was American royalty, and he was every bit as autocratic as Enzo. When Frey explained that Ferrari had blown him off, the Deuce growled, “All right, if that’s the way he wants it, we’ll go out and whip his ass.”

It sounds too good to be true. And maybe it is. Not that the conversation didn’t occur; Frey recounted this story many times, and he had no reason to lie about it. But HFII didn’t care about racing, and as he said later, “I don’t know, honestly, whether racing sells cars.” It’s hard to imagine he would have committed his company to what was at the time the most expensive and ambitious racing project ever undertaken simply over a fit of pique.

Leo Levine, who knew all the players, says flatly the Ford GT program was green-lighted by Iacocca, not the Deuce. Iacocca was the driving force behind the Total Performance marketing campaign, which leveraged racing to raise Ford’s profile with younger buyers. The company was already funding Indy cars, stock cars, and drag racers. Sports-car racing rounded out the motorsports portfolio. It’s no coincidence that Iacocca introduced the GT40 personally when it debuted in April 1964. “The Ford GT is more than a car,” he told the media. “It’s a test of Ford engineering skill and ability.”

Contrary to the naysayers, the original Ford GT40 wasn’t simply a rebodied British race car.

The goal: Win Le Mans. The problem: None of Ford’s 350,000 employees knew how to design or build the sort of exotic mid-engine monocoque sports car needed to turn this dream into reality. For chassis expertise, the company had to go to the race car experts in England.

Ford established a shop near Heathrow Airport. Eric Broadley, the founder of Lola Cars, was hired to design a chassis, and John Wyer, another Brit famous for ramrodding Aston Martin’s Le Mans victory in 1959, managed its construction as well as the race team. The only Ford employees embedded in the U.K. were executive Roy Lunn and three American engineers.

This small American footprint led some Anglophilic Ford critics to argue that the program was largely a British project and the GT40 was nothing more than a warmed-over Lola. Not true. Lunn, Broadley, and Wyer explicitly rejected this charge. The car was very much an Anglo-American collaboration. To be fair, Ford designers came up with the basic shape and dimensions of the prototype to be, and they picked the GT40 name (not Carroll Shelby, who wasn’t even involved yet), chosen because the car stood 40 inches high. Ford provided the engines, starting with a pushrod version of the 255-cubic-inch Indy V-8, then moving to an upgraded version of the 289 small-block found in the Cobra, and ultimately settling on a road-racing version of the 427-cubic-inch leviathan that had conquered NASCAR. But despite the Lola heritage, it wasn’t very good out of the box.

Two ill-prepared cars appeared at the Le Mans test in 1964. Both of them crashed on a wet Mulsanne straight. GT40s then posted seven consecutive DNFs before racing at the year-end Nassau Speed Weeks, where they were trounced by a Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport and, adding insult to injury, a crude Cobra. This prompted consternation in Dearborn, where, after much finger pointing, top brass decided the car was fine but the Brits running the show weren’t. Ford executives cut their ties with Broadley and distanced themselves from Wyer. Subsequently, they handed the reins of the program to their in-house cowboy and resident snake charmer, Carroll Shelby.

Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles weren’t the saviors of the Ford GT program.

In December 1964, Shelby took possession of the two Ford GTs that had failed so miserably during their rookie season. After two months of breakneck development in Southern California, Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby drove one of them to victory at Daytona.

After this, the Ford brass thought Shelby and Miles walked on water. As it turned out, the win was a miracle or a fluke—take your pick. At Sebring the next month, the GT40s were waxed by Jim Hall’s new Chaparral, and Ferrari humiliated the Fords at Monza, the Targa Florio, and the Nürburgring. Then came Le Mans 1965, where the team’s fortunes went from bad to worse. Six cars started the race, and six cars broke. At least they were consistent.

Ford never lost faith in Shelby. Although he was a salesman rather than a designer or engineer, Shelby deserves credit for bringing together a stellar team under the Shelby-American banner. He was able to draw on a vast talent pool in Southern California, which was the cradle of hot-rod civilization and the epicenter of the American racing and aerospace industries. He also attracted craftsmen—like Miles—from the U.K., Europe, and the Antipodes.

An expatriate Brit with a caustic wit and abrasive personality, Miles had moved to Los Angeles after World War II. He ran his own service shop and dominated smallbore sports-car racing on the West Coast. In 1962, Shelby hired him to help get the Cobra off the ground, and Miles emerged as the team’s most successful driver. When Ford gave Shelby operational control of the GT racing program, Shelby put Miles in charge of development.

Miles was a superlative test driver—a useful skill considering the GT40 was plagued by so many gremlins. He was also an excellent racing driver, fast and tough, with a spectacular track record in Cobras and Porsches. But in the long-distance endurance races of the day, fields tended to be decimated by mechanical failures, so drivers focused primarily on longevity rather than blazing speed, and the cars were more important than the guys behind the wheel.

No single person in the Ford GT program—not Shelby, not Miles, not even Henry Ford—played a bigger role in improving the breed than Phil Remington. A one-time hot rodder who’d worked on everything from Indy cars to F1 thoroughbreds, Rem was a jack-of-all-trades and the master of every one of them. Bunyan-esque tales are told about his unrivaled endurance and craftsmanship when it came to fabricating, welding, machining, and general wrenching. According to legend, hundreds of sketches for Ford GT components bore a common stamp: “Draftsman: Remington.” “Designer: Remington.” “Engineer: Remington.” “Approved: Remington.”

There was nothing Rem couldn’t fix, improve, or replace with something better. When the Cobra broke a stub axle during its debut at Riverside, he fabbed up a replacement that went into production and never broke again. He reworked the trouble-prone fuel-delivery system of the first Ford GT after riding in the cockpit, sans seat, with Bruce McLaren during hot laps at Brands Hatch. Later, he designed quick-change tools that allowed worn brake pads to be replaced during pit stops. Later still, when it became clear the Mark II version of the GT40 wasn’t fast enough to beat the new-for-1967 Ferrari 330P4, he almost single-handedly (and working entirely from intuition) fashioned the bodywork of what was to become the all-conquering Mark IV.

“Without him, [the Ford GT] would have been an unbelievable failure,” said the late Pete Weismann, who worked on the program before becoming a world-renowned transmission guru. “Whatever the engineers dreamed up, he was the one who made it work.

Ford was a mortal lock to win Le Mans in 1966.

The biggest lesson Ford learned during the disheartening 1965 Le Mans loss was that there was no replacement for displacement. The small-block GT40 was allowed to wither on the vine, and the company doubled down on Mark II models packing 427 cubic inches of Dearborn iron.

Ford opened the 1966 season with Miles and Ruby leading a 1-2-3 sweep at Daytona. Miles and Ruby won again at Sebring when leader Gurney’s car died on the last corner of the last lap (Gurney pushed the car across the line, rashly disqualifying himself instead of earning second place). Next, Ford descended on Le Mans with the biggest armada Europe had seen since D-day—eight factory-backed big-block Mark IIs, plus a backup car, seven spare engines, 21 tons of parts, and a mobile workshop containing everything from lathes to welders.

Leading this expeditionary force was Ford motorsports commander-in-chief Leo Beebe. A straight arrow and collegiate star athlete, he’d bonded with the Deuce while they were serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Beebe oversaw the Ford GT’s transformation from a doormat to a dominant force in endurance racing. He was acutely aware that anything short of winning Le Mans would be considered a failure. A few weeks before the race in 1966, the Deuce handed Beebe a piece of light-blue cardstock. Handwritten on it, in HFII’s decisive script, was a single command: “You better win.” It was signed “Henry.”

The Fords crushed it during practice. In the three Shelby-American entries, Gurney set a track record while qualifying on the pole, with Miles second and McLaren fourth. The fastest Ferrari was fifth, and the Italian team’s wispy chances of matching the Fords evaporated when star John Surtees quit before the race because of a dispute with the Ferrari team manager over who was the number one driver.

Ford suffered a few hiccups early on. Miles’s door didn’t shut properly during the Le Mans start. After pitting at the end of the first lap to make repairs, he clicked off a string of fastest laps to make up for lost time. Bruce McLaren’s situation was more complicated. He’d recently negotiated a tire deal with Firestone to support his own fledgling race team. At Le Mans, the rest of the Fords were on Goodyears, but McLaren was on his Firestone sponsor tires. When it started raining, the Firestone intermediates kept throwing treads. After losing several laps, McLaren made the politically fraught decision to junk the Firestones and slap on a set of Goodyears. As his co-driver, Chris Amon, was about to drive off for his first stint on the new rubber, McLaren leaned into the cockpit and shouted, “Let’s drive the door handles off the thing!”

Halfway through the race, Ford GTs were first through sixth, and the Ferraris were nowhere. But team manager Beebe had seen this movie before. In 1964, all three Fords had broken after leading, and in 1965, all six broke after dominating the race. To preserve the cars, drivers were ordered to change gears at 5000 rpm (the normal shift point was 6200) and slow to lap times of four minutes, or 30 seconds off the qualifying pace.

Through the night and well past dawn, the lead swapped hands repeatedly among Miles, Gurney, and McLaren, but only due to pit stops, not because they were trading paint or pushing their cars to the limit. With the Ferraris out to lunch and Beebe spooked by the possibility of mechanical breakdowns, it was a long, slow slog to the finish. About 10 a.m. Sunday, Jerry Grant pitted in the Ford he was co-driving with Gurney. The water-temperature gauge was pegged—a blown head gasket. Nobody was going to catch Miles and McLaren now. “The rest of the race was a bit of a farce,” Amon told me a few years ago, shortly before his death.

Ford didn’t steal the win from Miles.

Conspiracy theorists are convinced the fix was in to prevent Miles from winning Le Mans. “Ford wanted to say, ‘Ford wins Le Mans,’” Miles’s old crew chief, Charlie Agapiou, told me at the Rolls-Royce service shop he now runs in suburban Los Angeles. “If Ken had won, people would have said, ‘Miles wins Daytona, Sebring, and Le Mans.’” Late Ford designer Bob Negstad even claimed Ford officials went to the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, which sanctions the race, and asked ACO officials to dock Miles a lap so McLaren could catch up.

This strikes me as crazy talk. Miles had done the lion’s share of the development work on the cars. He’d been the lead driver for the Ford GT’s three victories. He was tight with the Ford honchos and a best bud of Shelby’s. If there were a knock on Miles, it was that he didn’t always toe the company line. At Sebring, Shelby had climbed up on the pit wall and furiously brandished a wheel hammer at Miles to warn him to stop dicing with Gurney. At Le Mans, Amon claimed, the only reason Miles was so far ahead was because he kept cutting fast laps while McLaren dutifully obeyed Beebe’s orders to back off.

McLaren could see where this was going. So he approached Ford officials with a cheeky proposition, later outlined in a letter to his father: “Why don’t you bring the cars over the line together?” Beebe was on this idea like a stripe on a skunk. At this point, his biggest fear was that Miles and McLaren would crash each other out of the race. Besides being a public-relations coup, staging a tie would eliminate any temptation they might have to fight for the win.

Surprisingly, the notoriously capricious ACO signed off on the dead-heat finish. Miles and McLaren synced up and waited for the last remaining Mark II, running third, 10 laps down, with NASCAR refugee Dick Hutcherson at the wheel. While the trio circulated serenely around the track, mayhem erupted in the pits when the ACO informed stunned Ford executives that a tie was no longer possible. Why the about-face? Nobody knows. Whatever the reason, the ACO now ruled that if two cars crossed the finish line side by side, then the one that had covered the greater distance would be declared the winner. Since McLaren had qualified fourth and started the race about 20 feet behind Miles, McLaren and Amon would get the victory garlands for that extra distance.

This was long before race cars were fitted with radios, and the situation was too complex to explain via signboards. As a practical matter, it’s doubtful Beebe wanted to tell Miles and McLaren about the ACO’s new position for fear they might do something stupid. Beebe admitted later that Miles’s “devilish” behavior for ignoring the slowdown orders during the race was a factor in his decision. But ultimately, his primary obligation wasn’t to Miles or McLaren; it was to Henry Ford II. Beebe realized the safest course of action was to do nothing, so nothing was exactly what he did.

Other than the ACO and members of the Ford inner circle, nobody knew what was going to happen when the Mark IIs crossed the finish line—not the 300,000 spectators lining the course, not the reporters in the press room, not the crews in the pits, and especially not the drivers on the track. When the race ended, Agapiou tried to push Miles and his car to the victory celebration, and it was only when French gendarmes blocked their way that they realized they’d come in second.

The anticlimactic finish prompted a subdued reaction from the crowd and scathing reviews from the media. On the victory rostrum, McLaren and Amon grinned sheepishly, like little boys who’d just gotten away with shoplifting dirty magazines, as they sipped champagne with Henry Ford II. “I didn’t think 10 minutes of politics could win a 24-hour race, but there you are,” McLaren wrote to his father. “Nice guys don’t win ball games, they say.”

Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction—even fiction based on a true story.

The article first appeared in Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Click here to subscribe to our magazine and join the club. 

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Lamborghini is eyeing the 2021 Le Mans hypercar class, according to a report from the UK’s Autocar. If Lamborghini decides to commit—and Lambo bossman Stefano Domenicali was clear the company has not yet decided—it might fiddle around with the one-off SC18 as an entry point.

“We don’t have the budget to invest in a totally new project, but the SC18 shows that we have a base for what could be an interesting approach,” Domenicali told Autocar. “The car shows that we have internal capabilities for such a project.”

Translation: Lamborghini could dominate Le Mans… if it wanted. We hear hypercar muscle-flexing happening, and that’s exciting.

The SC18 is a one-off built by Lamborghini motorsports division Squadra Corse tapping into the Aventador SVJ’s raucous V-12. Yes, it looks properly pointy and obscenely aggressive—but we’d be most excited to hear an appropriately-regulated version of the high-revving V-12 around the Circuit de la Sarthe. The streets are aliiiiive… with the sound of Lamborghini…

Whether or not Lamborghini commits to the new top class at Le Mans, the new regulations seem to be successfully attracting new competitors. Aston Martin will tote along a version of the Valkyrie—though it was sure to remind us that the naturally-aspirated 1160-horsepower V-12 will require detuning to fit WEC regulations. McLaren is demonstrating interest in the class, as well, reports motorsport.com. (Ford and Ferrari, meanwhile, don’t seem keen.)

Toyota, unsurprisingly, appears eager to continue in the replacement class for today’s LMP1 group. Back in 2018, Toyota laid down the gauntlet for anyone hoping to challenge its recent dominance of the top class. This spring, the Japanese automaker announced it is producing a road-going version of the GR Super Sport hypercar concept as a homologation special that will give the green flag to the Le Mans-going hypercar version.

We’re pumped for wild new concepts to go through the endurance-racing wringer. The unofficially-named Le Mans hypercar class will hopefully bring new manufactures wheel-to-wheel and ignite the fumes of high-powered rivalries. We can only imagine the network of drivers among F1, DTM, and GT circuits that Aston Martin, Toyota, and McLaren could attract to this hypercar class—let alone the privateer efforts that these new regulations could entice.

If we can be patient, who knows what may trickle down the production car pipeline?

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When Cameron Healey bought a little red Porsche 356 spyder in 2009, he knew that it was a special early Porsche. He just had no clue how special it really was.

Before the Porsche family relocated their company back to the Stuttgart area in 1949, Ferry Porsche made a limited run of aluminum-bodied coupe and convertible versions of the 356 in  Gmünd, Austria. Fifty-two aluminum 356s were completed before the move, with a few more unfinished bodies fabricated. Those bodies were completed by Tatra under contract and then shipped to Zuffenhausen, including #356/2-063, a coupe, where assembly was finished.

In 1951, Porsche competed for the first time at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team at Zuffenhausen prepared a number of cars for the race but accidents during testing and training meant only one Porsche actually competed, 356/2-063, with Auguste Veuillet and Edmond Mouche driving. They averaged 87.61 mph over the 24 hours, taking a class win, Porsche’s first victory at Le Mans.

The car was slightly modified, moving the turn signals and adding better lighting for the Liège-Rome-Liège road race, and then set three world records in time trials at the Montlhéry track south of Paris. Its competition days over, Porsche repaired and repainted 2-063, bringing it up to production specs, and sold it, along with two other 356 SL cars, to U.S. importer Max Hoffman.

The car passed through a number of owners in the 1950s, including racer Johnny von Neumann, who had coach builder Emil Diedt remove the roof in order to save weight. Number 2-063 eventually ended up on the possession of Chuck Forge, who had the car restored (as a spyder) in 1981, adding a roll bar to be able to compete in historic racing. Porsche enthusiast Cameron Healey knew about it and stayed in touch with the owner, but Forge didn’t want to sell the vintage 356.

After he passed away, Healey purchased the Porsche from Forge’s estate.

Healey turned the car over to “356 Outlaw” Rod Emory who started to restore it in his North Hollywood shop. Emory discovered details that indicated it wasn’t just any Gmünd aluminum convertible, and in fact hadn’t started out as a spyder. There was evidence of the relocated turn signals, as well as scratches on body panels and damage to a wheel cover that matched period photos from the ’51 Le Mans race.

Healey researched the Porsche archives in Zuffenhausen, discovering documents indicating that his 356 was likely to be Porsche’s first Le Mans winner.

“I couldn’t believe it at first, but all the evidence suggests it’s 063,” said Healey

The other two Gmünd aluminum coupes that Max Hoffman imported still exist. Emory made a wooden buck from laser measurements taken from those cars, and remanufactured a new aluminum roof, using period-correct metal forming techniques. While the 1981 restoration wasn’t done poorly, it was mostly a cosmetic restoration, done to the era’s tastes. Emory, however, did a period-correct restoration, taking the little red Porsche back to its original silver finish.

As rare and as valuable as it is, it’s still in regular use, street legal and registered in California. You can see Healey driving it on California’s twisty Highway No. 2, wearing the same #46 that the 46 horsepower car carried when it won its class at Le Mans. Ferry Porsche wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Sixty-four years ago, on June 11, 1955, the worst incident in motorsports history took the lives of 82 people, mostly spectators, when Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes-Benz racer went airborne and into the stands at the Circuit de la Sarthe, at Le Mans, France. Levegh (born Pierre Boulin) was thrown from the car, crushing his skull, while his Mercedes-Benz broke into pieces, scything through the crowd.

Levegh, who came close to winning the 1952 race, was offered a factory ride by Mercedes-Benz in 1955: its magnesium bodied, air-brake equipped 300SLR. Levegh’s skills had diminished with age and some felt the car was beyond his capacities. While the 300SLR had a retractable air-brake, Mike Hawthorn’s Jaguar D-Type had state-of-the-art disc brakes, allowing him to slow his speed quicker than the other drivers.

On the 35th lap, Hawthorn was racing the great Juan Manuel Fangio, also in a Mercedes, for the lead, and was about to pit per his team’s directions. Hawthorn had just lapped Levegh, who was then in sixth place, and as the British driver approached the pits, he overtook Lance Macklin, in an Austin Healey 100S.

[In the 1950s, the Le Mans course still had exposed pits at the right hand side of the starting straight, with the road narrowing as it passed the pits on one side and the grandstand on the other. Drivers just pulled into their pit, and then pulled right back onto a hot racetrack, with no acceleration or deceleration lanes. Just before the main straightaway was a slight righthand kink in the road.]

Macklin moved to the right, allowing Hawthorn to pass, but Hawthorn braked suddenly and pulled right, into his pit. Macklin was taken by surprise by how quickly the disc brake-equipped Jaguar slowed, and he pulled further to the right, putting two of his tires off the racing surface. He quickly corrected, but that resulted in a brief slide across the road to the left, putting his car right in front of Levegh, who was closing at over 120 mph.

Macklin’s Austin Healey had a rear end that tapered down behind the rear wheels. Levegh’s right-front tire rode up on the left rear of Macklin’s car, which acted as a ramp and launched the 300 SLR into the air. Because the collision happened right at the kink in the course, that sent the Mercedes directly towards the grandstand.

Levegh’s car hit the berm between the spectators and the track, bounced, and then disintegrated as it hit a concrete stairwell. The engine, radiator, and front suspension continued for another 330 feet, mowing people down, while the hood of the car decapitated tightly packed spectators. The rest of the car landed on the embankment, causing the fuel tank to rupture and explode. Magnesium is flammable, and the bodywork burst into flames, showering the crowd with white-hot burning metal. Unknowing rescue workers, unfamiliar with metal fires, tried to put out the fire with water but only made the conflagration worse. Levegh’s car burned for hours.

The race continued, supposedly to keep spectators off the roads and allowing ambulances to convey the wounded to hospitals. Hawthorn won, but his victory was tainted by the tragedy. He would later die in a road accident in the UK driving a Jaguar, ironically while overtaking a Mercedes-Benz.

As a result of the outcry that followed the Le Mans tragedy, the German Grand Prix that year was cancelled, Spain and Mexico temporarily banned racing, and Switzerland slapped a ban on auto racing that continues to this day. Two years later, Alfonso De Portago went off the road in Italy’s Mille Miglia rally, killing him, his passenger, and nine spectators. That same year, a Mercury went into the crowd in a NASCAR race in Virginia.

All of that carnage prompted American automobile manufacturers to withdraw their public support for racing. While back-door support continued, that formal ban lasted until 1962, when Henry Ford II got behind Ford Motor Company’s “Total Performance” marketing slogan in a big way, returning to NASCAR and running Ford V-8s at the Indy 500.

It would be more than a decade before organizers of the Le Mans race created a proper pit lane and ended the traditional but dangerous race start, with drivers running across the live track to their cars waiting in the pits.

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The checkered flag has waved at the 86th 24 Hours of Le Mans, and Toyota claimed its first overall win in after 20 attempts. In addition, earlier in the week leading up to the victory, the automaker announced a new supercar headed for production using technology gleaned from the TS050 LMP1 race car.

Winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans is no small feat, a point underscored by Toyota entering 47 cars prior to this year’s finish at the top of the podium. The TS050 race car represents the pinnacle of Toyota hybrid technology. As a highlight of the advancements gained with the hybrid system, the team claims the 2018 race car used 35-percent less fuel than 2012, when Toyota returned to endurance racing. The ability to stretch fuel stops and allow for more advanced pit strategy certainly helped the team.

The fuel economy technology from the unlimited LMP1 race car will now carry over to a production hyper car by Toyota Gazoo Racing. The new model is the GR Super Sport concept and carries a twin turbocharged six-cylinder with a total system output of 1000 horsepower. The GR Super Sport concept shares a lot of its silhouette with the TS050, and the team alludes to the underpinnings being similar as well.

“We started this project because we believe that creating a super sports car that delivers the same appeal as the TS050 Hybrid greatly adds to Toyota’s involvement in WEC,” says Shigeki Tomoyama, President of GAZOO Racing Company. “And at some point in the near future, customers will have a chance to get behind the wheel of this incredible machine and experience its astonishing power and driving performance.”

The hypercar market is getting crowded in recent years, but Toyota believes they have a shot at standing out. With 1000 horsepower and race-car looks, we can hope the concept reaches production with minimal changes.

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The 24 Hours of Le Mans is auto racing’s greatest test of endurance on a paved track— so physically demanding, in fact, that most teams rotate three drivers. Think that’s impressive? There are actually television viewers out there who watch the race from start to finish. Now that takes stamina, as well as some very careful planning (don’t think about it too long).

Americans who believe they’re up to the 24 hour challenge can watch this year’s race in its entirety on the Velocity channel. It hasn’t always been that easy, of course. Once upon a time, fans missed large portions of the race that weren’t televised or were required to do some serious channel surfing to see the whole thing.

The 86th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans starts Saturday, June 16, at 9 a.m. (Eastern) and finishes—you guessed it—on Sunday, June 17, at 9 a.m. The race, part of the FIA World Endurance Championship, will be contested on the 8.5-mile Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France.

The field of 60 cars is divided into four racing categories. The fastest and most technologically advanced cars compete in LMP1 (Le Mans Prototype 1), while the LMP2 class includes 20 cars powered by Gibson Tech V-8s. The GTE (Grand Touring Endurance) Pro class is made up of four Ford GTs, four Porsche 911 RSRs, three Ferrari 488 GTE EVOs, two Corvette C7.Rs, an Aston Martin Vantage AMR, and—in Bavarian Motor Works’ return to Le Mans—a BMW M8 GTE. The GTE Am class includes 13 privately-financed teams competing in Porsche 911 RSRs, Ferrari 488s, and Aston Martin Vantage GTEs.

Sure, you could DVR the race, but this is your chance to show your motorsports mettle. Who needs sleep anyway?

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In 1982, it was the 50th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the year Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell won together for the second year in a row; it was the debut of the incredible Porsche 956, which not only took home a 1-2-3 finish but would go on to win at Le Mans every year until 1985. Feel that tradition in the air! That proud European sports car tradition, intermingled with legends at the Circuit de la Sarthe. And it was the same year that a pair of badass Camaros crashed the party with a field of NASCAR ringers.

It’s important to remember that, sometime before the GT40’s last victory and the resurrection of Corvette dominance, a big honkin’ V-8 tank ripped straight from Daytona would occasionally line up at the grid of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Europeans loved it. The 1976 running saw a NASCAR Ford Gran Torino, a Dodge Charger sponsored by Olympia Beer (“The Two Monsters,” the French called them), and a 600-horsepower Chevrolet Monza built by Dekon Engineering all squaring off at Sarthe. Before the ‘70s ended, a pair of AMC Spirits tackled the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. In 1982, at the beautiful golden beginning of the Porsche 956’s dominance, a shovel-nosed, box-flared 1982 Camaro would finish second in its GTO class—with NASCAR driver Billy Hagan of Lillie, Louisiana, and IMSA Camel GT champion Gene Felton of Atlanta, Georgia, driving number 81.

The story begins a year earlier. Hagan owned an oil field services company called Stratagraph, and therefore had both the money and the talent to give this sort of thing a shot. In 1981 he enticed the legendary Cale Yarborough to join him in France with a stripped-down, 600-horsepower second-generation Camaro. “This is one of the best-built cars, and better prepared for the race,” he bragged. After 13 laps, a brake failure forced Yarborough into the wall. He narrowly dodged some spectators, who later helped him push the car out from under a guardrail. “Next year I’m comin’ back here with two cars and I’ll blow their damn doors off,” Hagan told Sports Illustrated.

1982 came, and Hagan made good on his promise. In addition to Yarborough’s aforementioned second-gen, he secured a new-for-1982 third-generation Camaro, and immediately sent the new car to Tex Powell of his eponymously-named Tex Racing Enterprises in North Carolina. It received a 358-cubic-inch Chevrolet V-8 producing 580 horsepower and a T-10 four-speed manual transmission that attempted to send all that power to a Ford nine-inch rear end and massive rear tires.

Race car builder Dennis Frings supplied the chassis. It weighed hardly a tick over 2000 pounds. Shovel-nosed and box-flared, the #81 car was ugly in the brutal way your average ‘80s race car was—stripped down inside and out, with thumbnail rear spoilers and SEV Marchal lights. A red, white, and blue stripe package fit perfectly. A golden USA decal left no question to its provenance.

For the recycled second-gen #80 car, Hagan enlisted NASCAR drivers Richard Brooks and Hershel McGriff—two drivers who had once faced each other in 1976, with Brooks in the Torino and McGriff in the Charger. And in the #81 car it was Hagan and Felton, who had won the IMSA American Challenge Series championship four years in a row. Powell served as chief of a very small crew. Their tools amounted to what Felton labeled a fisherman’s tackle box.

“We qualified very well,” Felton reminisced in 2014. (Hagan passed away in 2007, at the age of 75.) “So well that they invited us to the office for a little talk. They just about tore the car down. They found nothing wrong with it. They couldn’t understand why we were so fast… I just knew we could run right up with the best of them.”

There was one Achilles heel: the Borg-Warner four-speed. After just two hours, #80 was in the pits, and Powell’s crew sought to swap out the transmission. It would take hours.

So it was down to Hagan and Felton in the #81 car. They started 33rd, but they just kept on gaining, and gaining, and gaining. Eventually it was down to them and Porsche’s 924 Carrera GT, fighting for the GTO class. It was a hard and bitter battle that scarred them both. The Porsche lost fifth gear, laming it for the Mulsanne Straight. The Camaro’s alternator went out, and with it the Marchal lights it had powered. “I remember going through a forest, and all you could see was the outline of the trees,” said Felton, “There was no way you could have enough lights.”

In the end, the Porsche took the GTO class—just as it took the whole race. Hagan and Felton’s Camaro finished just four laps behind it, a second-place finish for the class and 17th overall. The other Camaro? After a seven-hour transmission swap, it finished—218 laps behind the winning 956. Not ideal, but it finished with its dignity.

The #81 Camaro went back to America and immediately kicked butt—winning its class at the Miami Grand Prix, at the 24 Hours of Daytona, and the the 12 Hours of Sebring. In 1984, it retired to upstate New York. Powell kept in touch with the owners. In 2013, the car underwent a full restoration, and reemerged shining, triumphant, and brutally quick as it ever was.

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Brian Redman is a British racing driver who won the 12 Hours of Sebring twice. He also won the Targa Florio (in Sicily) and the American SCCA/USAC Formula 5000 Championship three years in a row, 1974-76. But his victories tell us a lot less than a successful contemporary, like Mario Andretti, sharing personal insights in the introduction to Brian Redman: Daring Drivers, Deadly Tracks:

Brian Redman has been both my teammate and my competitor. Surprisingly, over 30 years of racing, our careers overlapped just twice, leaving us more peers than pals. Still, I know a lot about Brian. When you’re part of a factory team, you learn if drivers can work together to make everyone faster. And when you’re late braking at 170 for a one-car corner in a tight championship, you find out about the other guy’s car control, and his grit.

In 1972, Brian and I were paired with Jacky Ickx in Ferrari 312PBs, not bad yardsticks for measuring quickness. Neither Ferrari nor Jacky suffered slow teammates gracefully. That year, Jacky and I took four wins with Brian and Jacky notching another two. Essentially, we three drivers ensured that Ferrari won the World Sports Car Championship.

When I raced against Brian in Formula 5000, I discovered something else about him. He fought hard but he fought fair. I felt safe around Brian, knowing his will to win was never more important than his life, or mine. I think we brought out the best in each other, and that made our racing sharper and more fun. We each won a lot of races, and championships; his were in Formula 5000 and sports racers, mine in Formula 1 and Indy cars. No driver can do everything but, as an Italian, I sure wish I had a Targa Florio trophy and I bet Brian wouldn’t mind having his name on one in Indianapolis.

Now it turns out that Brian writes like he drove, right to the point and always with passion. He has managed to cap a pretty terrific racing career with a pretty terrific racing memoir. Buckle up, readers, you’re in for a great ride.

Redman’s book, co-authored by Jim Mullen, is a memoir of one of the most dangerous periods in motor racing, 1965-1975, which happened to correspond with most of Redman’s career.

Of course, the book includes the highs and lows of racing moments at tracks like Daytona, Le Mans and the Nurburgring, and his memories of long-gone greats like Graham Hill, Bruce McLaren and Jochen Rindt. But aside from the racing stage’s drama, the book’s most relatable passage follows. It came on the heels of a testing accident in the small Québec town of St. Jovite when his Lola T333 became airborne, and flipped end-over-end, after a small aerodynamic tweak. When his car landed upside-down and still carrying considerable speed, Redman’s helmet helped slow the car by grinding into the asphalt. “By the time the medics arrived, my heart had stopped but (as is self-evident) they got it running again.”

Two weeks after the accident, the doctors removed the ‘halo’ that immobilised my broken neck, a space age-looking device attached by self-tapping screws to each side of my head, and braced against my shoulders. Finally, with just a collar I could move my neck, if only slightly. In my confused state, this now meant I was fully mobile. I woke at 1.00 a.m., worked my way down the bed, climbed over the bottom rail, pushed the table out of the way, and dropped my legs onto the floor. Triumphantly, I stumbled into the nurses’ room having no idea why I thought this might be prudent. The medical staff went totally berserk and decided I was self-destructive. To prevent further break-outs, they strapped me to the bed with knotted cloths around my legs and waist as if I were a disruptive mental patient. Once again, I had rendered myself helpless until, lesson learned, I became the model patient and the restraints were loosened.

Companionship in this bizarre setting was equally surreal. There was another patient who had sustained spinal injuries and the staff decided that he should be my hospital buddy. Every morning they’d push him to the foot of my bed in a wheelchair so he and I could silently commune. The fact that neither of us ever spoke makes me suspicious that he was as heavily drugged as I was, but stare at each other we did, uncomplainingly for long hours. Out of frustration one day, my new best friend got a gleam in his eye and, with a conspiratorial glance at me, laboured strenuously to free his urine bottle. In what I can only imagine was a statement of befuddled defiance, he hurled it onto the floor. I mention this distasteful prank only to note that it was the single most entertaining thing that happened during my entire hospital convalescence. Life on the ward had come to that.

I recall being quite happy over these weeks but now realise that I was probably just stoned. After more than a month in a narcotic-induced reverie, I was released from the hospital and flew home to England by myself, thankfully in first class. I was oblivious to the fact that there were almost eight months of rehabilitation ahead of me and no visible means of income. In my mentally decoupled way, I really didn’t care.

Retrospective considerations about those days suggest that, even though I was off the drugs, they continued to exercise a negative influence on my mood. All I could do, or chose to do, was lie around Taira House in an uncommunicative silence, expecting to be served by Marion [Redman’s wife] while oblivious to her needs. I couldn’t think clearly, had a hard time paying attention to conversations, and exhibited no interest in anything, including getting well.

It’s also possible that I was suffering a head trauma from being dragged upside-down on the road. There was evidence that I did bruise my brain – giving Marion every opportunity since to insist it was an injury from which I have never recovered. More likely I had received serious concussion, the effects of which were unknown in those days. Slowly my physical health began to return, as did the feeling I had lost between my chest and toes. By November, I was able to take walks in the village of Gargrave, sort of shambling along until, finally, I could even jog a little. The curious thing was that I didn’t feel capable of any sort of driving, even our family car. As a result, Marion was required to add the role of chauffeuse to her multiple obligations.

Bless her, she ferried this morose passenger through the countryside daily, hoping the simple therapy of sunlight and beautiful byways might encourage my return to normality. Astonishingly, Marion’s wish came precisely true, in a most unexpected way…

If you’re interested in purchasing a copy, which won the 2016 British Royal Automobile Club Motoring Book of the Year Award, click here.

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Cadillac’s recent entry into prototype endurance racing no doubt raised a few eyebrows. While the company has produced legitimate tarmac-shredders with its V-series offerings, the full-race, prototype DPi-V.R might as well be a spaceship. Powered by a 600hp 6.2-liter V-8, it’s unlike anything that Cadillac has ever done before – right? As it happens, this new beast has a decades old bloodline, one we can trace back to an American racing entrepreneur and a car the Le Mans spectators called Le Monstre (The Monster).

Briggs Cunningham was born in 1907 with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. His father founded the Citizen’s National Bank, and was a director of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Cunningham would also marry into money, wedding the granddaughter of a Standard Oil co-founder in 1930. They honeymooned in Europe, taking in such sights as the Monaco Grand Prix.

Cunningham was athletic and competitive, and he excelled in racing yachts and other well-heeled pursuits. Moving into sportscar racing simply made sense.

At the same time as Cunningham was experimenting with custom-built racers at Watkins Glen, a Milanese-born mechanic and racer named Luigi Chinetti was enjoying success in endurance racing. Co-driving an Alfa-Romeo, he won the very first Le Mans he entered, finishing atop the podium in 1932. He would become one of Le Mans most prolific drivers, competing in every single race between 1932 and 1953. During that stretch he immigrated to America in 1940, remained during the war, and eventually became the first Ferrari dealer.

Chinetti and Cunningham became friends – later, Chinetti would even sell the very first Ferrari in America to Cunningham – and the two bonded over their shared love of speed. No American team had ever competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans before, but Chinetti extended both an invitation and a challenge to his friend. If Cunningham could develop two racing entries, there would be two spots open; if his two cars managed to finish the 1950 race, they’d be invited back the next year.

Cunningham’s first attempt, in 1949, was almost a traditional American hot-rod. At the time, he was very familiar with the “Fordillac,” a custom that mechanic Bill Frick created. Frick made an entire career out of stuffing big, powerful OHV Cadillac engines into smaller Ford bodies, and his creation seemed ideal for racing. Unfortunately, the Le Mans scrutineers took one look and turned the Fordillacs down.

Thus Cunningham was stuck fielding a pair of mostly stock machines. He bought a pair of manual Cadillac Series 61 Coupes, and began preparing them to race. One he kept in nearly factory trim, adding twin carburetors, brake-cooling, and an extra fuel tank for better range. The other became Cunningham’s monster.

Recruiting an aeronautical engineer by the name of Howard Weinman, Cunningham set about creating a roadster version of the Cadillac coupe with radically altered bodywork. The result was tested in a wind tunnel used for evaluating slow-flying aircraft, and a tube-frame structure was added to improve crashworthiness.

The unnamed modified Cadillac looked like a cross between an early WWI tank and a hovercraft. The Le Mans scrutineers couldn’t believe the audacity; however, after hours of looking it over, it was confirmed that the Cadillac’s chassis was stock. The 331-cid V-8 had been tuned to run with five carburetors, but it was still operating within the rules.

The French crowd called the gruesome two-seater Le Monstre, and the name stuck. It roared around the corners and down the Mulsanne straight with robust V-8 thunder, hitting 130mph on the straights. Cunningham’s gamble worked: Le Monstre’s streamlining meant it could outrun the standard coupe at the top end.

However, not much time had been taken to test the cars extensively, and the team was relatively green. The resulting race contained more than a few farcical moments, kicking off with the traditional Le Mans sprint to the cars. Turns out the Coupe team had forgotten to leave their car unlocked. Then, on the second lap, Cunningham crashed Le Monstre into a sandbank, and had to spent twenty minutes digging it out by hand. The Coupe, which the French nicknamed Petit Pataud (Little Clumsy), rolled through the corners on its stock suspension, and then had to come to a complete halt while a stray dog crossed the racetrack.

However, soon both entries were hammering around Le Mans at very respectable speeds. Le Monstre clawed its way back from 35^th to finish 11^th, and the Coupe finished one place ahead. Both Cadillacs were far from the podium, but they both finished the race, an achievement in itself. The crowd cheered the team with hearty approval of the Americans’ can-do attitude. Le Monstre was ugly as all hell, but it had heart.

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Playing with cars

In 1963, the story of the World Sports Car Championship was one of Ferrari’s dominance with its mighty 250 GTO. By the tenth round, the annual running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it was clear nothing could touch them, and in fact, Ferraris finished the race in the top six places.

Far from the glamour of the fast end of the grid, where the 3-, 4-, and 5-liter cars did battle, the list of entries officially “not classified” in the record of the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans contains just two cars: the experimental Rover-BRM Turbine of Graham Hill and Richie Ginther (which did 310 laps and ran well enough to have finished 7th had it been something a bit more… conventional); and the tiny and distinctively French René Bonnet Aérodjet LM6, with Renault power, which completed 211 laps.

There was a third car, however, also not classified on the day but purged for the last five decades in an unfortunate post-race clerical error. Edward Kincaid’s strange little Jaguarsche SWB Aero never made it off the grid. These were the days of the drivers’ dash across the track, the frantic starting sequence, the furious surge from stationary to wide-open throttle. It was in the last bit that things went south for Kincaid and his car.

The SWB Aero was the eccentric Kincaid’s even more eccentric vision of the perfect racecar, and the British banker and sometimes-gentleman racer spared no expense to make his dream a reality. He engaged tiny Putnam Race & Fabrication of Liverpool to do the build, which required removing 15 inches, the entire straight-six driveline, and nearly everything else from the chassis of a standard E-Type Jaguar. Fascinated by Porsche’s successes with small-bore, horizontally opposed engines, he purchased and had Putnam finagle an incredibly complicated 2.0-liter four-cam Porsche boxer (Type 587) into the back(!), and then oversaw fabrication of a fiberglass body to cover it all.

The result was a comely little car with a bulging front hood that accommodated the fuel tank and a tail that finished in a near-perfect point. It was arguably better proportioned than the tiny-wheeled, sharp-at-both-ends Aérodjet and at least as appealing as the 356 Carrera it only partially paid homage to. But the question most asked in the weeks leading up to the race, and indeed on race day itself, was WHY? Who would do such a thing just to do it?

Kincaid took an odd pride in being the answer to that question, and in a three-page profile that appeared in Le Monde early that summer, he is quoted as saying, “I am quite rich, quite unattached and quite devoted to the present task. I own and drive Jaguar and Porsche both, and it was little more than a personal challenge which arose out of boredom, to marry the two marques in whatever best way I could endeavor.” Retrospectively unrealistic in his pursuit, Kincaid believed that “placement in the top 10 is attainable.”

The starter’s flag fell at 4 p.m. that June day, and 50 drivers sprinted to their cars; 49 drivers fired them up and roared away. Only Edward Kincaid and his Jaguarsche SWB Aero remained on the grid. The car would not turn over. No spark, no fuel, nothing. In the loud and smoky haze of the start, he signaled furiously to his hired French crew and the car’s builder, Richard Putnam, who pushed the Jaguarsche back to the pits for work. Despite their best efforts, they never did trace the problem and, post-race, said only that the racecar suffered a catastrophic failure.

Following Kincaid’s departure from Le Mans, the Jaguarsche SWB Aero was not seen again. He is rumored to have had the car destroyed that summer (one wild account claims that Kincaid hosted a party at his estate, where he and select guests took turns bombarding it with cannon fire), and Kincaid himself never returned to racing in any Jaguar, Porsche or otherwise.

Playing with Cars is new automotive fiction from Hagerty. No cars were harmed in the telling of this tale. See more folded paper and short fiction at instagram.com/shortcars.

The post Footnote to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 1963 appeared first on Hagerty Media.

For Pt. 1 of the gallery please click here.

This is not the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. This is the Le Mans Classic, which features 24 vintage races over the preceding 24 hours. And on Sunday, July 10th, at 4 p.m. local time the checkered flag fell on the last heat.

Although the 24 hours obviously separate the victors from the punters, the festival really begins three days prior as scrutineering of more than 550 racecars starts on Thursday. Hosted every other year at the Circuit de la Sarthe, this was the Classic’s eighth running. With some of the roughly 120,000 spectators dressed in varying period attire, the celebration focuses on the yearly event’s history. Competition, through day and night, is open to all cars built between 1923 and 1993, which have actually raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Scrutineering involves the typical safety inspections, but at the Classic it also verifies and considers the cars’ historical background. The on-track competition isn’t simply an unobtainium parade for the wealthy. Not completely anyway, as the vehicles’ cumulative value is in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

For instance, in Group 5 this year, a 1968 Lola T70 Mk3 defeated a ’69 Lola T70 Mk3B by only twelve-thousandths of a second, along with the rest of the field.

The cars are divided into six era-based classes allowing all teams three races to hash it out. Whichever team has the lowest cumulative time wins their group. Hometown favorites include Alpines, Matras and Delages but other nations are well represented too. This year saw nine Ford GT40s in attendance as well as at least one Chevy Corvette. Several 1960s Ferraris along with C- and D-type Jaguars were present and Porsches were visible throughout the later groups. Smaller names like Frazer-Nash also compete spiritedly.

In addition to the six racing groups there were multiple exhibition races, including Group C (Le Mans prototype racers from the 1980s and ‘90s) and third-scale racecars piloted by kids.

Among the 1000 [grown-up] racers that descended on the French countryside to battle in the 24 45-minute races, were several former Le Mans racers and winners. “For me it’s a real joy to [sic] coming back to Le Mans,” said Jürgen Barth, winner of the 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans. Time to start planning for 2018.

The post This is what 70 years of Le Mans history looks like Pt. 2 appeared first on Hagerty Media.

This is not the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. This is the Le Mans Classic, which features 24 vintage races over the preceding 24 hours. And on Sunday, July 10th, at 4 p.m. local time the checkered flag fell on the last heat.

Although the 24 hours obviously separate the victors from the punters, the festival really begins three days prior as scrutineering of more than 550 racecars starts on Thursday. Hosted every other year at the Circuit de la Sarthe, this was the Classic’s eighth running. With some of the roughly 120,000 spectators dressed in varying period attire, the celebration focuses on the yearly event’s history. Competition, through day and night, is open to all cars built between 1923 and 1993, which have actually raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Scrutineering involves the typical safety inspections, but at the Classic it also verifies and considers the cars’ historical background. The on-track competition isn’t simply an unobtainium parade for the wealthy. Not completely anyway, as the vehicles’ cumulative value is in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

For instance, in Group 5 this year, a 1968 Lola T70 Mk3 defeated a ’69 Lola T70 Mk3B by only twelve-thousandths of a second, along with the rest of the field.

The cars are divided into six era-based classes allowing all teams three races to hash it out. Whichever team has the lowest cumulative time wins their group. Hometown favorites include Alpines, Matras and Delages but other nations are well represented too. This year saw nine Ford GT40s in attendance as well as at least one Chevy Corvette. Several 1960s Ferraris along with C- and D-type Jaguars were present and Porsches were visible throughout the later groups. Smaller names like Frazer-Nash also compete spiritedly.

In addition to the six racing groups there were multiple exhibition races, including Group C (Le Mans prototype racers from the 1980s and ‘90s) and third-scale racecars piloted by kids.

Among the 1000 [grown-up] racers that descended on the French countryside to battle in the 24 45-minute races, were several former Le Mans racers and winners. “For me it’s a real joy to [sic] coming back to Le Mans,” said Jürgen Barth, winner of the 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans. Time to start planning for 2018.

For Pt. 2 please click here.

The post This is what 70 years of Le Mans history looks like Pt. 1 appeared first on Hagerty Media.

In 1985, Jack Griffin arrived in France to race in the fabled 24 Hours of Le Mans. Despite being a native Texan driving for a French team (Bussi), Griffin’s automotive heart belonged to Germany – specifically to Porsche.

On the track, Griffin’s race ended prematurely due to mechanical failure and he was forced to watch from the sidelines as Klaus Ludwig took a Joest Porsche 956B to victory.  The festivities now concluded, Griffin planned to just wander the European countryside with his girlfriend for a few weeks before heading back home to his life and real estate business in Dallas.

A new friend, Manfred Janke, had a better idea.

Janke, who, after a stint as Porsche’s motorsports director, became the company’s public relations chief, was a tennis enthusiast. And earlier that week, he and Griffin, also a crack tennis player, struck up a friendship on Le Mans’ tennis courts.

As much as the two men loved cars and racing, they both claimed tennis as their first love – indeed, Griffin still claims that he “won at Le Mans” by citing his victory over Janke in the tennis tournament the day before the iconic race. The two men bonded quickly, their connection cemented by on-court rallies and via a shared passion for Stuttgart’s air-cooled machines.

“Why don’t come back to Germany with me,” Janke suggested. “You’ve never visited the Porsche factory, have you?”

Conceding that he hadn’t, Griffin soon found himself standing next to Janke at the end of Porsche’s assembly line in Stuttgart, watching as new 911s, 928s, and 944s rolled off the line. Afterwards, they remained in touch, their friendship strengthening along the way.

In early 1988, Griffin dropped a $60,000 check in the mail to Stuttgart as down payment on a Porsche 959 Sport. Soon thereafter, he received a letter from Porsche letting him know that his new supercar would be available for pickup in Germany anytime after May,1989.

Griffin, however, never got his 959. Instead of taking delivery of a new car, Jack opened his mailbox in May, 1989 to find another envelope from Porsche. This one contained a refund of his $60,000 along with a letter explaining that the spoilsports at the Environmental Protection Agency – not believing the story that this was to be a track-only race car – had cancelled his plans to import one of the era’s fastest production cars into the United States.

Griffin nevertheless decided to visit Germany as originally planned. He wouldn’t be getting his 959, but at least he could hang out with his buddy Manfred and, besides, a trip to Porsche HQ was always fun.

When he arrived at the factory, Griffin found himself staring at a lineup of fresh-out-of-the-oven 1989 911 Speedsters. He had read of this new Porsche model and seen pictures in magazines but, until this moment, he had not been impressed with its looks.

With the cars now in front of him, however, he was completely taken with the Speedster’s styling and decided that he had to have one. It might not be a 959, but it was a special car nonetheless.

Not so fast, Janke informed him. The Speedster was a limited edition model, with only 2,100 produced worldwide, of which a mere 820 were destined for the U.S. market. Every car was already spoken for, said Janke. Griffin was welcome to put his name on the waitlist but it wasn’t likely to make a difference.

About a month later, back home in Dallas, Griffin found another envelope with a Stuttgart return address in his mailbox. Inside was a note from the office of Ferry Porsche himself, informing Griffin that Rich Ford, Porsche North America’s Vice President of Operations (who would eventually become Chief Operating Officer of Porsche North America) had been directed to find Griffin a Speedster.

Janke had obviously not taken his defeat on the tennis courts of Le Mans personally. While Jack was on a flight back to Texas, Janke had walked down the hall of Porsche headquarters to the office of Dr. Porsche, son of founder Ferdinand Porsche and, at that time, head of the whole operation. Was there a dealer in the United States, Janke wondered, that might not need one of those Speedsters after all?

So it was that Jack found himself writing a check to a Porsche dealer in Columbia, Missouri, for a red 1989 Porsche 911 Speedster, knowing all the while that a nervous salesperson in the American midwest was simultaneously trying to figure out how to explain to a local dentist that he wouldn’t be getting that German sports car he’d coveted after all.

The post A Porsche 911 Speedster was this Le Mans racer’s consolation prize appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Winning the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Ford GT40

Ford’s great victory at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans came in the third year of trying. The team that won did it with brains as well as the steering wheel.

In fall 1964, Ford’s Le Mans planning group sat down in Dearborn to map out the upcoming season. That year’s first forays for the GT40 had shown speed, but they knew they’d have to be even faster in ’65 to gain a margin over the new cars expected from Ferrari. Ford needed more power, ideally a reliable 450 horsepower. They found that power under the hoods of their toughest racers — the stock cars that terrorized the South.

Ford’s 427-cid V-8 won 23 races in 1963 to claim the NASCAR championship. It was easily capable of the desired output. Ford asked Kar Kraft, the Dearborn-based arm of its GT racing program, to install one in a GT40 to find out if the heavy V-8 would work. Using passenger-car parts, Kar Kraft made a new transmission to handle the 427’s torque. In what they called the GT Mark II, a new nosepiece made room for bigger radiators and wider wheels and tires.

In mid-May 1965 — only weeks before Le Mans — they tried the hybrid on Ford’s five-mile banked track. With British racer-engineer Ken Miles at the wheel, the test car lapped at an average of 201.5 mph, reaching 210 mph on the straights. Miles’s verdict was brief and to the point: “That’s the car I want to drive at Le Mans this year.”

Around-the-clock work began immediately to build a second Mark II. Spoilers and fins tamed high-speed instability that team driver Phil Hill called “absolutely frightening.” Although Ford’s jury-rigged 1965 effort in France soon failed, Hill set a new Le Mans lap record at a heady 138.4 mph. The Mark II clearly had the potential that Ford was looking for.

Leo Beebe, whom Henry Ford II personally placed in charge of the racing effort, created a new organization for 1966. Carroll Shelby, who was already entering racing cars for Ford, joined the fold. Holman-Moody, hitherto mainly associated with Ford’s stock cars, also came into the GT picture.

Now, at long last, in its Mark II form, the GT was to get the intensive testing and development it should have had at the outset. Every component of the GT Mark II was proved with testing at Daytona and at Ford’s Kingman, Arizona, proving grounds. Phil Remington, Shelby’s chief engineer, led the effort to refine every part of the car.

Ken Miles summed up the tests: “We increased the engine power, and the transmission broke. We beefed up the transmission, and the transaxle broke. We strengthened the transaxle, and the hubs broke. We beefed up the hubs, and the wheels broke. We strengthened the wheels and then found that with all the extra weight we’d built in, we had to strengthen the chassis. We found that with all this speed we’d developed, the car shortened a half-inch under heavy braking. So as far as we were concerned, there was no way for the Fords to last 24 hours.

“Evidently we were wrong,” added Miles. With Lloyd Ruby, his #98 Mark II won the Daytona 24-hour race in February 1966, with Fords sweeping the podium. Sebring saw another Ford victory with the 427-powered cars finishing 1st and 2nd.

Two improved GT Mark IIs went to Le Mans for the April practice weekend. This turned tragic for Ford when veteran driver Walt Hansgen’s car aquaplaned on the damp track and he crashed mortally at high speed. Ignoring the weight penalty, Ford beefed up safety with roll cages and built-in fire extinguishers.

Ford entered eight cars at Le Mans in 1966, three each by Shelby American and Holman-Moody and two by the British Alan Mann team. This followed a Ford decree laid down after the 1965 fiasco that no team, no matter how good, could be expected to take care of more than three cars. Shelby’s star driving team was Dan Gurney with Jerry Grant. Ken Miles paired with New Zealander Denny Hulme, while two more Kiwis, Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon, drove Shelby’s third entry.

After Daytona, McLaren told his friends that he was sure Ford could win Le Mans. They scoffed, pointing out that the first-string Ferraris had not gone to Florida. For Le Mans, seven top-line Ferraris were fielded. Said Amon, “Bruce and I were fairly certain that Dan Gurney would go fast at the start, and if this happened we knew Ken Miles would go after him, so we decided to hang back.” Honorary starter for the 1966 race was none other then Henry Ford II himself. Cards distributed to the team members said, “Henry wants you to win.”

The traditional Le Mans running start was still used in 1966. “I was very careful not to break a leg running across the track and clambering into the car,” Bruce McLaren said. He took his silver-striped black Ford safely along the pit wall instead of barging out into the traffic stream. By 9 a.m. the next morning, the #2 GT40 was in the lead.

With the opposition annihilated, their Ford and the second-place Miles/Hulme Shelby American car were running half-a-minute slower than their capabilities, controlled by an “EZE” sign from the pits. But when Bruce pitted with three hours still to go, he was surprised to find the rival Ford hot on his heels: “In the previous five laps Miles had caught up about 30 seconds, when we were both supposed to be lapping at four minutes and no faster or slower. He had a very rapid pit stop and handed over to Denny.”

Watching his own pit stop as Amon took over, McLaren was surprised to see a tire changed. “A Goodyear man said, ‘Change that wheel!’” he recalled. “At the time I thought there was something fishy about it but I didn’t realize, until I thought about it, that he hadn’t looked at the wheel!

“Fifteen minutes ago we had been 30 seconds ahead,” Bruce reflected. But after the burst of speed by Miles and the suspicious tire change, “we were now about 40 seconds behind Hulme and supposed to lap calmly at the same speed until the 4 p.m. finish. I asked Shelby how the race was going to be finished. He said it had been decided to let the car that was ahead after the last pit stop win, so that it would give the crews on each car a nice feeling!” Bruce suspected that because he and Chris were Firestone-contracted drivers, the Goodyear-linked Shelby team was not about to do them any favors.

McLaren thought this was unfair. He and Chris had obeyed the slow-down orders from the pits that their rivals had ignored. He decided to act. Bruce went over Shelby’s head and pointed out that he and Amon could easily step up their pace to pass the other Ford, but that they had loyally raced to orders. He made a shrewd suggestion as well: “Why don’t you bring the cars over the line together? You are paying dearly for pictures in the paper, so get a good picture!”

Bruce’s arguments won the day. At the last pit stops an hour before the finish, the drivers were told to adjust their speeds to finish in a dead heat. McLaren and Miles were at the wheels of their respective Fords. Joined by a third, lapped, GT40, the leaders came up to the final turns together. Chris Amon recalled the sight: “Coming out of that last corner Bruce made bloody sure he was in front! He made certain that it was no dead heat, because he crossed the line two or three lengths ahead of Miles. Ken was quite upset about it.”

Ford, however, was relaxed. Said Bruce: “They were pleased the way it had come out, partly because I had been in the project from the start and partly because we didn’t race the hell out of the car at any stage.” Even without McLaren’s final spurt they would have been the winners, because they had started farther back along the pits. They covered 3,009 miles at a winning average of 125.4 mph, some 4 mph faster than the previous record.

McLaren was bemused over what he had been able to achieve. “I didn’t think 10 minutes of politics could win a 24-hour race,” he wrote home to his father. “But there you are — nice guys don’t win ball games, they say.” He and Amon were the Le Mans winners but only, as he said later, “because we didn’t accept the wool being pulled over our eyes. It’s the biggest race I’ve ever won,” Bruce added, “and the same goes for Chris — but the whole thing seemed to be so simple.”

Simple it surely was — after a crude test version of the GT40 had been transformed into a bulletproof racing car to bring Ford victory in the world’s greatest long-distance race.

The post 10 Minutes of Politics appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Carroll Shelby asked, “’Is it going to work?’ and I said I think so.” Then Peter Brock shared the sketches with his coworkers. “It was so ugly, they thought, that they didn’t want to have any part of it.” Can you imagine an icon like the Shelby Cobra Daytona being shunned by Shelby’s staff? For being ugly?! It’s what happened.

Fortunately, racer Ken Miles, who was part of Shelby’s outfit, believed in the design, spoke out and helped convince Shelby to try it out. Initially, only a three-man team composed of Brock, Miles and recent arrival John Olson was assigned. But as other guys in the shop saw the Daytona developing, they began helping out too. But before we dive too deep, let’s take a step back and examine how the Shelby developed. The story actually begins in an Italian boardroom.

While Enzo Ferrari was famous for many things — wanton disregard for driver safety among them — in the United States his infamy was won due to business tactics. Racers like Shelby refused to race for his Scuderia because the wages offered were so meager, barely enough to survive on and certainly not enough to support a family. Ferrari wouldn’t be swayed. Driving one of his cars was an honor, and racers were commodities.

His feud with Henry Ford II worsened his reputation in corporate United States (as if il Commendatore cared!). After acquisition talks with Ford unraveled, people wondered whether Ferrari had offered his company simply to draw Fiat’s attention. Ford was left looking and feeling ridiculous, having wasted an enormous amount of time in wooing Ferrari. More importantly, he now lacked the European brand he sought for prestige.

Strangely enough, therein lies the Shelby Cobra Daytona’s roots. For while Ford’s internal slogan had been “beat Chevy,” Henry Ford II now realigned his focus on one of Europe’s most celebrated series (sports car racing) and its greatest race (the 24 Hours of Le Mans). He would show Ferrari who the better man really was: Ford’s new unofficial mantra became “beat Ferrari.”

Ford put Lee Iacocca, then Ford VP and General Manager, and Shelby in charge of a racing development program to assure victory on Europe’s grandest stages. Shelby began with the Cobra, which was wildly successful in the U.S., but had a marked aerodynamic disadvantage on European circuits with higher sustained speeds. Its drag was so great that its maximum speed on the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans was about 30 mph less than Ferrari’s GTO. It was so great a disadvantage, in fact, that it couldn’t be overcome by handling, braking or acceleration improvements.

Which is how Brock became involved.

By this time, Brock had been to Detroit and Italy, and was ready to put his growing design knowledge to the test. As Brock told Hagerty in an interview, Shelby plainly asked, “I want to go to Europe and race, and the car [the Cobra roadster] just isn’t fast enough. You got any ideas how to do it?” Brock certainly had ideas, as he’d been studying German aerodynamicists’ pre-war work, which was ahead of its time.

Brock’s only concern was that the modified Cobra wasn’t going to look like a Cobra when he finished designing it. He brought up the subject with Shelby but “all he wanted to know is… ‘Is it going to be faster?’” Relieved that Shelby didn’t care about the aesthetics, Brock was unsure if he could make it faster, but he put his faith in the scientists’ research and started sketching. Once he was confident in his results he showed the design to Shelby, who remained unconcerned with the appearance. Now, as we know, the rest of the staff didn’t believe in the car.

But that didn’t matter due to Mile’s sway in the shop. The car was completed in 90 days, and after its first test the results were clear: If it was reliable, it was going to beat Ferrari.

It did, many times over. In 1964, the Cobra Daytona won the GT class at the 12 Hours of Sebring, then repeated the feat that June at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car conquered other famed venues too, such as Daytona and the Nürburgring. The Cobra Daytona also set 25 land speed records at Bonneville. Clearly, it was a winner. But were Brock’s coworkers right: Is the Cobra Daytona ugly?

Pardon the cliché, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. From a purist’s perspective the car is beautiful, because it is functional, the body shaped for speed and efficiency. The proportion is pure GT car with a long hood, short deck and the doors just fore of the rear wheels. Fortunately, the Cobra Daytona was blessed with wonderful genes, and although some of the AC Ace’s specs were modified for the Daytona, the original essence was left very much intact.

If any flaw can be found in the Daytona, it exists within its surfacing. While its surfaces are taut, and the abbreviated Kamm tail is all business, the Cobra Daytona is a bit traditional when considering the styling of its contemporaries: It was sketched and built when the second-generation Corvette was already in production. Given Brock’s time in Italy, it’s easy to see traces of the Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta (a car that was already 10 years old at this point). Bizzarrini’s radical Ferrari “Breadvan” may also have been influential, particularly on the Daytona’s concave hindquarters.

However, nobody designs in a vacuum, and Brock didn’t start with a clean sheet. He started with the Cobra née Ace, a design already over a decade old at that time. So, no, the Daytona isn’t futuristic, but futurism doesn’t equal beauty.

And its stance gives the car an aggressive look even though the bodywork covers the wheels more than might otherwise be normal on a regular car (suitable, considering aerodynamics) due to the suspension setup. As proper on a race car and in stark contrast with virtually every production car, its details are sparse and purely functional, refreshing for a car designed during chrome’s heyday. Air extractors decorate the hood and provide downforce, foglights are functional for round-the-clock endurance racing and the large spoiler (which Brock wanted to make active!) keeps the rear end glued to the track.

Whether or not you or Shelby’s employees like the Cobra Daytona’s shape misses the point. It was a traditionally styled car, even then. But Shelby gave designer Peter Brock one goal: Design a car to whoop Ferrari’s prancing horse. By that measure, the Cobra Daytona and its design are complete successes.

For more, check out our video interview with Mr. Brock, here.

The post Design Driven: Is the Shelby Cobra Daytona ugly? appeared first on Hagerty Media.

According to “Le Mans” assistant director Les Sheldon, “You got [sic] motor racing and you got [sic] Steve McQueen — what have you got? You’ve got everything.” Unfortunately, they didn’t have a working script. “Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans” makes a point of stating that this isn’t necessarily an impediment in Hollywood, with scripts sometimes being developed as filming continues. But we’ll return to this in a bit.

Most are unaware that “Le Mans” was Steve McQueen’s second racing film. It’s probably because it was the first one that actually got made. And depending on whom you ask, that fate and Hollywood’s fickle appetite intervened was either a jackpot or misery for motor sports fans. “The Day of the Champion” was slated for production in mid-1966, but was canceled by Jack Warner (as in Warner Bros.) because he didn’t want his studio making the second film about racing — “Grand Prix” was nearly finished when time came to begin filming “The Day of the Champion.”

Thus, McQueen ended up waiting a few years longer (until 1970) to make his homage to auto racing with many of the guys who were ready to begin work on “The Day of the Champion.” “Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans” is the documentary about that process and McQueen’s loss of innocence. Sadly, “Le Mans” cost him his faith in so many around him and the movie business in general.

McQueen flirted with auto and motorcycle racing from the very beginning. And he was naturally gifted, too — finishing on the podium in at least one major event, the Sebring 12-Hours in 1970. But it wasn’t success or vanity that motivated “Le Mans,” it was McQueen’s passion for all things vehicular. According to “Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans,” his love of racing and the complete focus required to win are what motivated the film. “Le Mans” was McQueen’s ode to racing. At least it began that way.

Fascinated by the level of performance needed to win a 24-hour race, McQueen had a target. He’d use Le Mans’s famed race to show the world why he loved the sport so much. “We attempted to show in the film, rather than explain it, just to show why a man races.” McQueen meant this literally; he sought a purely sensory approach to filmmaking and was interested in “breaking the film barrier.” But unlike prior films, he wasn’t just an actor. He was also a producer and acted as the de facto director, which eventually strained relations with director John Sturges and producer Bob Relyea.

Additionally, the documentary mentions other stressors acting on McQueen, namely paranoia exacerbated by his friendship with two people murdered by the Charles Manson Gang (and his apparent mention on Manson’s list), as well as his womanizing and the retributory infidelity of his first wife, Neile Adams. But anyone who has watched “Le Mans” knows that the movie is simultaneously beautiful and miserable — as a visual and aural feast it’s spectacular, but as a narrative, well, there simply isn’t one. And this should be the pure thesis of “Steve McQueen: The Man and Le Mans,” rather than chasing peripheral problems.

And failing to recognize that holistically (rather than just pay lip service to it) is the documentary’s fundamental problem. “Le Mans” was finished, but would it have been otherwise had there been a script? I’d argue not. And citing external factors does nothing but confuse and belabor the issue. Certainly they had an impact, but the fundamental problem was that “Le Mans” was unfit for production. “Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans” does itself a disservice by not underlining this issue and cutting straight to it.

Ultimately, the studio stripped McQueen of his responsibilities, save the starring role. They replaced the director, too, and many of the writers were fired or quit. It was released to mediocre reviews and flopped in the box office. It took months longer than planned and was about 30 percent over budget when finished. For McQueen, it meant the end of friendships, his first marriage and, perhaps most importantly, the project he most cared for.

One word repeats throughout “Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans”: ego. And you have to wonder if “Le Mans” was made four years earlier whether ego would have been such an issue. Perhaps the principals wouldn’t have been so arrogant. Properly, “Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans” doesn’t speculate, as it wouldn’t matter.

Also to the documentary’s credit, racer David Piper’s horrific wreck is examined. Furthermore, it makes a concrete connection between the necessity for multiple takes covering any potential ending (because a firm script didn’t exist) and Piper’s accident. But the film makes an overemphasized point of providing evidence of McQueen’s magnanimity (he wrote letters asking the studio to donate the premier’s proceeds to Piper).

The examination of one stressor that is completely absent however, is substance abuse. It seems odd to mention Charles Manson and not McQueen’s allegedly serious drug and alcohol problem, which if true must have impacted production. But true or false, it should have been explored and proven, either way. Such is reality when a documentary is so close to its subject matter (son Chad McQueen is an executive producer).

Still, there is much to like in “Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans” for the McQueen, “Le Mans” and 24 Hours of Le Mans fan, including many first-person accounts from all perspectives. It’s a peek into a passionate, careening production and includes trivia that this fan was previously unaware of. Overall, “Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans” underscores what a simultaneous triumph and failure McQueen’s opus was.

The post ‘Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans’ Wanders the Same Road as the Film that Inspired It appeared first on Hagerty Media.