My 1:43 Le Mans Collection

As a collector of 1:43 Le Mans models, I also like to research the history of the models I acquire and write small background articles for a 1:43 forum. I thought the members of TNF might also find these of interest and if so, I'll post regular updates on the cars I acquire. While I acquire models right up to the current race, I'l limit the models I post here to the end of the Group C era in 1993.

 

To kick of my thread in style, what could be better than this TSM 1938 Afa Romeo 8C 2900 Superleggera with its deep glossy paint, phote-etched trim and details like the trademark 1930's Alfa red driving lights.

By 1938 the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 had already achieved legendary status on the racetracks of Europe, winning both the 1936 and 1937 Mille Miglia under the management of Scuderia Ferrari. Designed around the chassis of the 8C 35 Grand Prix car and fitted with an inline 8-cylinder 2.9-litre engine with twin Roots superchargers, it was no match for the competition of the day.

Most of the 8C 2900's were open cockpit spyders, but for the 1938 24 Hours of Le Mans, Alfa Romeo wanted something more streamlined. They turned to specialist coachbuilders Carrozzeria Touring, who used their Superleggera (superlight) tube frame technology to fabricate an aerodynamic bodywork. However, rather than entering the car under Scuderia Ferrari, it's entry was entrusted to factory driver Raymond Sommer.

Just as it had done in the Mile Miglia, the Alfa Romeo 8C dominated Le Mans. By the 19th hour, Raymond Sommer and co-driver Clemente Biondetti had built up a lead of 11 laps, or almost 100 miles. The Alfa was lapping at an average speed of 96.1 mph, so its lead equated to a gap of over an hour to the next car.



Unfortunately in the 19th hour, a blown tire ripped away part of the Alfa’s bodywork, necessitating lengthy repair. This was followed by a succession of related mechanical problems, until the Alfa retired after 20 hours and 219 laps due to a failed valve gear that may have been caused by over-revving. Even though the car retired from the race with 4 hours left to run, such was its lead that it still covered more distance than all but the the top three finishers.

It's unknown why Alfa Romeo didn't return to Le Mans in 1939 with the 8C 2900B, but by that stage the relationship with Enzo Ferrari had deteriorated to the point where he was dismissed by Alfa Romeo sometime that year. This may have affected plans for Le Mans which was a missed opportunity as the Alfa's average speed in 1938 was faster than that achieved by the winning Bugatti in 1939.



Car : 1938 #19 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 Superleggera
Team : Raymond Sommer
Drivers : Raymond Sommer (F)/ Clemente Biondetti (I)
Qualifying : 19th
Result : 16th (DNF - Engine)
Model : TSM (164301)

 

References :

 

http://www.lemans-hi...19&equipa_seq=0

 

http://www.carstylin..._mans_speciale/

Edited by Jager, 11 July 2018 - 15:12.

Thanks for those who liked the above post.

 

Next is a new 1970 Le Mans Porsche 907 from Spark. Even though it was a DNF, I was attracted to this car with its simple, clean livery and unusual squared off wheel arches.

Andre Wicky was a former racing driver from Lausanne, Switzerland who was active from the late 1950s through until the late 1970s. He was mainly involved in sports car racing, both as a driver and as a team owner.

Wicky first took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1960 with an AC Ace, winning the 2.0 GT class. He returned again several times during the 1960's, but it wasn't until 1969 that he established his own team, the Wicky Racing Team to campaigned a Porsche 911 T.

Wicky returned to Le Mans in 1970 entering this unusual 2.2 litre Porsche 907. This particular car had started life as a Porsche work car that debuted at the 1968 Nurburgring 1000kms where it finished 4th. After only the one race for Porsche, the car was sold to Alex Soler-Roig’s Escuderia Nacional for the 1969 season, where its best result was 4th at the Sebring 12 Hours. However Soler-Roig secured a drive in the 1970 Formula One Championship and sold the Porsche 907 on to Andre Wicky.

Wicky made a number of aerodynamic modifications to the Porsche in early 1970, squaring off the front wheel arches and adding a lip spoiler to the rear engine cover. The modifications helped secured a number of good results in early 1970, with Wicky winning the 2.0 litre prototype class at both the Monza 1000 kms and Nurburgring 1000kms after substituting the original 2.2 litre engine with a smaller 2.0 litre unit.

At the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans, rule changes saw the traditional Le Mans start abandoned in favour of a typical grid based start. The Wicky Porsche 907, now fitted with the original 2.2 litre engine, qualified mid-field in 29th position. This was a good result considering 21 cars ahead were the Porsche 917, Ferrari 512 and Lola T70 5.0 litre prototypes.

The early stages of the race went well for the Wicky Porsche and by the end of the 4th hour when it was raining heavily it had improved 12 places to 17th position. Problems then saw it tumble down the field to 36th position, but the Wicky team did not give up. With the pouring rain causing a high level of retirements, the Wicky Porsche 907 was back up to 20th position by the halfway mark of the race. Unfortunately 4 hours later it had to retire with 'throttle failure'.

Andre Wicky kept the Porsche 907 for the 1971 season. After the lessons of 1970, he installed the smaller 2.0 litre engine for Le Mans, taking a surprising 7th overall and winning the 2.0 litre Prototype class. That one will get added to my collection when Spark produce it.

 

Car : 1970 #61 Porsche 907 (Short Tail)
Team : Wicky Racing Team
Drivers : André Wicky (CH)/ Jean-Pierre Hanrioud (F)
Qualifying : 29th
Result : 22th (DNF – Engine)
Model : Spark (S4745)

 

References :

 

http://www.racingspo...ve/907-031.html

 

http://www.lemans-hi...61&equipa_seq=0

Edited by Jager, 11 July 2018 - 15:08.

Funny that though Jean Pierre Hanrioud was indeed Wicky's co-driver, it is De Cabral (Mário de Araújo Cabral) that is written on the car. Spark got it right as contemporary photos can attest. Probably no time for changes as Cabral had been the co-driver in the previous races at Monza and Nurburgring.

Well spotted Nexfast. Racingsportscar.com reports Mario Cabral drove in the preliminary session prior to qualifying, so perhaps is pace was not up to speed and he was replaced for qualifying ?

Sticking with the 1970’s Porsche theme, this next addition is a replacement for an earlier Minichamps model of the same car. While the Minichamps version is pretty good, the Spark is just that little bit nicer to my eye and as a top 10 finisher I thought it was worth an upgrade.

At the start of the 1973 season, the Kremer Brothers took delivery of two brand-new RSRs, part of a run of only forty-nine factory production, light-weight RSRs built by Porsche.

While chassis #911 360 0885 was run by Kremer primarily for Clemens Schickentanz, this car, chassis #911 360 0610, was mostly used by John Fitzpatrick during the 1973 season. While there were some teething problems in the early races, Fitzpatrick and Paul Keller did finish 10th at the 1973 Dijon 1000kms and 12th at the 1973 Monza 1000kms. Schickentanz then took over the car for the Nurburgring 1000kms where he and Keller finished 11th.

Schickentanz and Keller then used the car for the 1973 24 Hours of Le Mans where they were joined by Erwin Kremer. Although they could only qualify in 38th position, they gained 9 places in the first hour, and a further 6 places in the second hour.

 

 

By the midpoint of the race, the #45 Kremer Porsche was running in an impressive 7th place overall. It held that position for 3 hours, before problems saw it lose 7 places. Nevertheless, it regained six of those places before the end of the race to finish in 8th place overall and in doing so won the GTS +3000cc class and took the prize for the Thermal Efficiency Index.

Both 911 RSRs were sold on by Kremer at the end of the 1973 season.

 

 

Car : 1973 #45 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR
Team : Porsche Kremer Racing Team
Drivers : Erwin Kremer (D)/ Clemens Schickentanz (D)/ Paul Keller (CH)
Qualifying : 38th
Result : 8th
Model : Spark (S4688)

 

References :

http://www.racingspo...1 360 0610.html

http://www.lemans-hi...45&equipa_seq=0

Edited by Jager, 11 July 2018 - 15:05.

Well spotted Nexfast. Racingsportscar.com reports Mario Cabral drove in the preliminary session prior to qualifying, so perhaps is pace was not up to speed and he was replaced for qualifying ?

 

Yes, you are right about that site whose information I guess comes from Wimpffen's in "A Time and Two seats" which gives Cabral as a non-starter and Rouveyran as driving in practice. Curiously enough in the book about him - and written with him by Adelino Diniz - there is no mention whatsoever of any participation in that Mans race. I very much doubt he was slower than his co-drivers. In the Nurburgring 1000 Km that same year he was almost 1 minute faster than Wicky in qualifying and in 1972 in Le Mans he was the fastest qualifier in the Lolas of Team Bonnier. One of those small mysteries you will probably never know for sure.

Next is a pair of great Lancia Aurelia B20 coupes from Spark that replace a couple of 25 year od Brumm models.

The Lancia Aurelia designed by Vittorio Jano was first offered in 1950 as the B10 Berlina sedan, before being joined by the Ghia designed B20 GT two door coupe in 1951. With its all alloy 1.8 litre V6 engine, independent suspension and radial-ply tyres, the Aurelia combined high levels of performance and luxury into one attractive and compact package.

The sporting potential of the Aurelia was immediately apparent and 14 were entered in the 1951 Mile Miglia. The works Scuderia Lancia team surprised many of their more powerful competitors by taking 2nd, 5th and 7th position. Scuderia Lancia skipped Le Mans, but a privately entered Aurelia B20 from Scuderia Ambrosiana finished 12th overall and won the 2000cc Class.

Perhaps encouraged by Scuderia Ambrosiana’s result, Scuderia Lancia entered two updated Aurelia B20 coupes at Le Mans in 1952 which are the cars shown here. With the cars starting in order of engine capacity, the two 2.0 litre V6 Lancia’s lined up in 24th and 26th position.

From the start, #40 Lancia driven by Felice Bonetto and Enrico Anselmi lead the #39 Lancia of Luigi Valenzano & Umberto Castiglioni. The two cars ran like clockwork and led the 2 litre class throughout the evening and into the night. By the midpoint of the race in the early hours of the morning, the two Lancia’s were running 12th and 13th overall, with a comfortable class lead over the Frazer-Nash’s. By the 13th hour, the #40 had broken into the Top 10, and it was joined by the #39 Lancia in the 15th hour.

 

 

Around lunchtime, the leading #40 Lancia was delayed at a pitstop, handing the lead to the #39 sister car. The #40 Lancia was unable to retake the lead and the two Lancia’s maintained this order to the end, with the #39 car finishing 6th overall one lap ahead of the #40 car which finished 8th overall. This gave Lancia 1st and 2nd in the 2.0 litre class, a comfortable 20 laps ahead of the surviving Frazer-Nash.

 

 

Car : 1952 #39 Lancia Aurelia B20 GT
Team : Scuderia Lancia
Drivers : Luigi Valenzano (I)/ “Ippocampo” (Umberto Castiglioni) (I)
Qualifying : 26th
Result : 6th (1st in 2.0 litre Class)
Model : Spark (S4391)

 

 

 

Car : 1952 #40 Lancia Aurelia B20 GT
Team : Scuderia Lancia
Drivers : Felice Bonetto (I)/ Enrico Anselmi (I)
Qualifying : 24th
Result : 8th (2nd in 2.0 litre Class)
Model : Spark (S4392)

 

References :

 

http://www.racingspo...e/B20-1510.html

 

http://www.lemans-hi...39&equipa_seq=0

 

http://www.lemans-hi...40&equipa_seq=0

 

https://www.motorspo...e-mans-24-hours

 

Sticking with the Lancia theme, this striking Spark model is an upgrade for a pretty fair model from Best that was produced 10 - 15 years ago.

After Lancia's highly successful rally campaign in the 1970’s with the Stratos, they changed tack in 1979 to focus on international sports car racing. To do so they used a highly modified version of the Beta Montecarlo coupe to enter the Group 5 class. Lancia entrusted Pininfarina to develop the chassis and Dallara to construct the car. As Group 5 was simplistically a silhouette formula a generous amount of bodywork modifications were permitted. Pininfarina extended the dimensions of the car with front and rear spaceframes and widened the track with wheel arch extensions. Only the car’s centre section retained any resemblance to the production-based road car. For the engine, Lancia Corse sporting director Cesare Fiorio decided that turbo-charging Lancia’s 1.4 litre engine would make the Lancia competitive in the 2.0 litre class. The development and turbocharging of the engine was entrusted to Abarth.

The prototype made its debut in 1979, with five new cars being built for the 1980 season. Three cars were entered for the 1980 24 Hours of Le Mans, with two works Lancia Corse entries being supported by this entry from the Italian Jolly Club Team. In qualifying, the Jolly Club Lancia split the two works entry, starting from 28th position.

In the race, Lancia’s campaign got of to a poor start when the #51 works car was forced to retire after only one hour due to oil pump failure which resulted in seized bearings. The second works car, the #52 entry, fared only a little better and retired in the 4th hour due to overheating.



However, the private #53 Jolly Cub entry salvaged some pride for Lancia. It too had problems, and after climbing to 10th position in the first hour, it tumbled down the order over the next 8 hours with gearbox trouble to eventually be running as low as 39th position. Fortunately, there was a high attrition rate and the #53 entry was able to run to the end of the race to finish 19th and 1st in the under 2000cc Group 5 class.

Even though Lancia fared poorly at Le Mans, class victories at Brands Hatch and Mugello brought the Lancia overall victory in the 1980 World Championship of Makes. First and second places the Giro d’ Italia wrapped up a highly successful season for Lancia.



Car : 1980 #53 Lancia Montecarlo
Team : Jolly Club - Lancia Corse
Drivers : Carlo Facetti (I)/ Martino Finotto (I)
Qualifying : 28th
Result : 19th (1st in 2000cc Group 5 class)
Model : Spark (S1381)

References :

http://www.racingspo...is ... lo].html

http://www.lemans-hi...53&equipa_seq=0

https://www.ultimate...arlo-Turbo.html

Next is a car that I just scraps in the the end of the Group C era. 1992 was one of the low points in Le Mans history with just 28 cars starting the race after FIA introduced the new '3.5 litre' engine rules in 1991. As a result, 1992 is also one of the least represented years in my Le Mans collection, which is dominated by the Peugeots and Toyotas. I therefore couldn’t pass up the opportunity to add this unusual Lola T92/10 to add some variety to the 1992 period of my collection.

Following years of success in the 1980’s building prototypes for Chevrolet in the IMSA GTP series and Nissan in the World Sportscar Championship, Lola ended the 1991 season without a major client. They were therefore left to develop a customer car for independent teams to buy for the 1992 World Sportscar Championship season, the result being the Lola T92/10.

For an engine, Lola approached Judd to supply their Formula One V10 engine to meet the new 3.5 litre requirements for Group C. This was mated to a Lola designed and built gearbox. This compact package allowed for much tighter bodywork on the Lola T92 than their previous designs and was powerful enough for the Lola to compete with the major factory manufacturers in the World Sportscar Championship.

Only three T92/10s were built, as the decline of sportscar racing at the time stifled the development. Charles Zwolsman of the Netherlands became the primary customer of the T92/10, his Euro Racing squad purchasing the first two chassis. Facing the factory Peugeot, Toyota, and Mazda teams, Euro Racing was one of the few privateer teams in the championship. However, the 1992 season was difficult for Euro Racing and at the opening round at Monza, both Lola’s suffered gearbox failures. The following round at Silverstone would see another gearbox failure for one of the cars, while the second managed to finish.

At Le Mans, Euro Racing arrived with their two Lola’s. The #3 car qualified in 9th position, while this car started from 12th position.
Unfortunately, the #3 Lola ran into gearbox problem in the first hour of the race. It tumbled down the order to 24th position (remembering there were only 28 starters), and after 6 hours running towards the back of the field it retired.

 

 

Meanwhile, the #4 Lola struggled on. It reached as high as 9th position in the 4th hour, fell back to 17th in the 5th hour, but the gearbox held together long enough for it to recover to finish in 13th position, albeit a distant 80 laps behind the winner.

Euro Racing abandoned the Lola T92 at the end of 1992. That may have had something to do with Zwolsman's arrest on multiple occasions for drug smuggling and money laundering.

 

 

Car : 1992 #4 Lola T92/10
Team : Euro Racing
Drivers : Heinz-Harald Frentzen (D)/ Syunji Kasuya (J)/ Charles Zwolsman (NL)
Qualifying : 12th
Result : 13th
Model : Spark (S4725)

References :

 

http://www.racingspo...T9210-HU02.html

 

http://www.lemans-hi... 4&equipa_seq=0

 

In the winter of 1952 - 1953, Aston Martin made the decision to develop a replacement for the relatively heavy and underpowered DB3. The 'Willie Watson’ designed DB3S brought better performance due to the combination of increased power from a 2.9 litre straight six engine and a 75kg weight reduction.

Despite the upgrades, the DB3S had little success initially at Le Mans. In 1953, the team’s three cars all failed to finish due to a combination of accidents and mechanical problems.

For 1954 Aston Martin brought five cars for the Le Mans 24 Hours, a Lagonda prototype and four DB3S's; two new coupes and two spyders, one of which was this entry for Carroll Shelby & Paul Frere painted in the traditional North American racing colours of white with dark blue stripes similar to the Cunninghams that had appeared at Le Mans before it.

The #22 Aston Martin started from 15th position but fell back to 29th at the end of the 1st hour after Shelby misjudged his braking and ended up in a sandbank.

 

 

Once the #22 Aston Martin was extracted, Shelby and Frere set about making up for the lost time and over the next six hours were able to climb back up to 8th position.

Unfortunately, during the early hours of Sunday morning, the #22 Aston Martin came into the pits where a broken stub axle was identified. It had lasted 10 hours and 74 laps, but became the 3rd of the five Astons to retire.

 

 

Car :1954 #22 Aston Martin DB3S
Team : David Brown
Drivers : Carroll Shelby (USA)/ Paul Frère (B)
Qualifying : 20th
Result : 41th (DNF - Broken Axle)
Model : Spark (S2437)

References :

 

http://www.racingspo...ve/DB3S__3.html

 

http://www.lemans-hi...22&equipa_seq=0

I dunno.  This particular car may not have been that successful, but the model didn't do too badly: 2nd at Le Mans in 1955, 1956 and 1958, 1st and 2nd in the 1953 TT and 1st and 2nd in the 1953 Goodwood 9hrs aren't to be sniffed at.

I agree D-Type, the DB3 seems to have been under appreciated for its achievements, being overshadowed by the Jaguar at the time.

My collection of cars from the 1954 Le Mans has jumped significantly this year with the addition of the Aston Martin DB3S above and this pair of Osca MT-4s from Spark. While my original intention was to adjust one, I decide to grab both when I saw how nice they were and noticed they were slightly different; one having a full with windscreen and the other having only a half screen for the driver. Since their races were intertwined, I thought it made sense to present both of them together.

In 1937, Ernesto, Ettore and Bindo Maserati had sold their shares in Maserati's family business to Adolfo Orsi. They continued working for Maserati for 10 years under the terms of the sales agreement, but left in 1947 to establish their own company, "Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili" (loosely translating to "Automotive Construction Specialized Workshops"), or OSCA.

OSCA’s initial focus was developing racing cars for the 1100cc class which was very popular at the time in Europe. Their first car, the MT-4 (an abreviation for Maserati Type 4 cylinder) appeared in 1948 with a 1092cc Fiat based engine in a 2 seat spyder body. The MT-4 won its first raced in the 1948 Grand Prix of Naples.

Like many others, the Maserati brothers believed that racing success at major events like Le Mans would lead to increased sales. They therefore entered an MT-4 with a 1300cc engine at Le Mans in 1952, where it failed to finish due to a clutch problem. Undeterred, they returned again in 1953, this time with a two car team. Unfortunately, only one of the team’s entries was accepted, but it went on to finish 18th and win the class.

By 1954, OSCA had developed a larger 1500cc version of the MT-4. At Le Mans, OSCA had both its 1500cc entries accepted, along with a privately entered MT-4 in the 1100cc class. Unusually for an Italian team, only one driver was from Italy. Francesco Giardini was paired with Jacques Péron in the #42 car, while Lance Macklin and Pierre Leygonie were paired in the #43 car. The two cars started from 20th and 19th respectively.



The race started well for the two OSCAs and they circulated in formation for the first four hours, rising to 14th and 16th positions respective. While car #42 fell back to 22nd position in the 6th hour, car #43 pushed on to rise to 13th position. During the night, car #43 rose as high as 7th position while car #42 fought back to reach 11th position.

With less than 3 hours to run, the leading #43 OSCA was involved in a minor crash, losing 3 places. This allowed the #42 OSCA to jump ahead, albeit only briefly as it too crashed not long afterwards and retired. While the #43 OSCA continued on and took back one place, it was disqualified for outside assistance, robbing the team of a significant result.

OSCA continued to race at Le Mans every year until the company was sold to MV Agusta in 1962, but never came close to the success they tasted in 1954.



Car : 1954 #42 OSCA MT-4
Team : Automobili OSCA
Drivers : Jacques Péron (F)/ Francesco Giardini (I)
Qualifying : 36th
Result : 21st (DNF - Accident)
Model : Spark (S4736)

References :

http://www.racingspo...143 [Osca].html

http://www.lemans-hi...42&equipa_seq=0




Car : 1954 #43 OSCA MT-4
Team : Automobili OSCA
Drivers : Lance Macklin (GB)/ Pierre Leygonie (F)
Qualifying : 37th
Result : 20th (DQ - Outside Assistance)
Model : Spark (S4737)

References :

http://www.racingspo...147 [Osca].html

http://www.lemans-hi...43&equipa_seq=0

Edited by Jager, 10 August 2018 - 07:37.

I’m enjoying these potted histories, Jager. Thank you.

I’m enjoying these potted histories, Jager. Thank you.

Thanks Tim, it's nice to know there a small audience who appreciate these posts.

Regarding OSCA - don't forget that Stirling Moss and Bill Lloyd won the 1954 Sebring 12 hours in an OSCA  1.5 litre entered by Briggs Cunningham, beating works teams from Lancia, Ferrari and Aston Martin.  By a couple of cc this is  is the smallest engined car ever to win a World Sports Car Championship race narrowly beating the Porsche that won the 1959 Targa Florio .
Have Spark also made a 1/43 model of that one?

Spark have done a whole series of 1:43 Sebring winners, including the 1954 OSCA. Note that the Sebring car differed from the Le Mans cars as it had the cut-away front wheel arch behind the front wheels like the Aston Martin DB3 :

 

https://spr-models.c...moss-bill-lloyd

 

Other winners modeled by Spark, Looksmart and TSM include 1955, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1968, 1971, 1976,1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1990, 1993 (and maybe others). You could make a rather interesting collection with a handful of these cars.

My collection is mainly World Champions but I have an eclectic selection of sports-racers ranging in size from a  Le Mans Bentley to a Mille Miglia Isetta

Great stuff, Jager.

My 1966 Le Mans entry is now short of only one car - the Serenissima.

Hen's teeth, I'm afraid.

Barry, 

I've seen a picture of one on the 'net but it may be a scratch buit one.  Have you considered scratch building it?

I hadn't but I suppose it's a possibility. In 43rd scale it would be a bit small. However, I will seriously think about it but I'd need some dimensions etc which may be hard to come by.

Great stuff, Jager.

My 1966 Le Mans entry is now short of only one car - the Serenissima.

Hen's teeth, I'm afraid.

Glad you like it Barry.

 

Aside from the Serenissima, I recall you were looking  for an ASA to complete your collection. I assume you managed to find one ?

 

Spark are almost certain to do the Serenissima, but its just a question of when. Tenariv also did a kit of the LM Serenissima :

 

https://www.scalemat...nissima-spider#

I found two ASAs Ian. There were two in the race. One red and one white.

They have been reproduced by a French company, as resin kits. The kits were simple but the windows are terrible. Still, they are there now.

The Serenissima has been produced by two kit manufacturers, I believe, but there are none around nowadays, sadly.

Yes, I have hopes for Spark but I'm not getting any younger. lol

Edited by Barry Boor, 14 August 2018 - 09:54.

Don't give up hope Barry, they do come up from time to time. Via google, I can see there was one listed on eBay Italy in November that sold for Euro 41.

Next up is Spark’s Lola Mk6 GT, the forerunner to the Ford GT40. This car was released this year in the week before Le Mans, but for reasons which have never been explained, Spark was unable meet all the pre-orders from its dealers and many collectors missed out, including some who had pre-ordered the model months in advance. In just two months, prices have jumped to £150 / €170 / US$ 195 level on eBay, though I was fortunate enough to get this at the RRP as I pre-ordered it over two years ago.

 

Three Lola Mk6 GT’s were built between 1962 and 1963 by Lola to compete in the FIA’s new International Championship for GT Manufacturers introduced in 1962. An exemption for experimental cars allowed small manufacturers like Lola the ability to enter cars with no minimum production requirement provided they were road legal.

 

With its 289 cubic inch Ford V8 engine, the Mk6 GT was the first mid-mounted, high displacement V8 powered GT car. The main limitation to this configuration up to this time was the lack of a suitable gearbox, but that changed when Colotti designed their Tipo 37 gearbox for the Lotus 29 that was built for the 1963 Indianapolis 500. Eric Broadley from Lola was the first to see the potential to use this gearbox in a GT car.

 

The Lola Mk6 GT also featured some of the best technology of the time, the most significant of which was an aluminium monocoque. The coachwork, designed by John Frayling had its own unique features like reduced overhangs, a Kamm-tail, roof-integrated engine air intake and special doors that extended into the roof to give the drivers greater access to the cockpit.

 

Although Broadley drove the new car from the factory to Le Mans himself, the Lola was too late for the official scrutineering. Nevertheless, the ACO scrutineers agreed to take a look at the car anyway, and rejected the car because they felt the central air-intake blocked rearward vision. Refusing to give up the team created new intakes on either side of the car and removed the original intake, and the scrutineers accepted the car.

All the scrutineering problems gave Lola no time for real testing, which was most obvious on the long straights. The wrong gearing was chosen, which limited the car to 30 mph under the car's potential top speed. As a result, it qualified only 22^nd for the race, 23 seconds slower than the Ferrari 330 TRI/LM that took pole.

 

 

Despite the gearing problems the Lola clocked more competitive lap times in the race. After three hours it was already up to 14^th and during the 9^th and 10^th hours of the race was running in a steady 8^th position. Unfortunately, thereafter the Colotti gearbox started to suffer from a selection problem.  This saw the Lola tumble back down the order and in the 15th hour of the race Hobbs crashed as a result of the gearbox problem.

 

 

The 1963 Le Mans race was dominated by Ferrari who filled the first six places. This news was not very well received at Ford in Detroit, following soon after their failed bid to buy Ferrari. While Ford had already started to design a Le Mans car of their own to challenge Ferrari, when they saw the potential of the Lola Mk6 at Le Mans they negotiated the purchase of the car and commissioned Broadley to refine the design. Broadley however didn’t stay with the project for long. Ford decided produce the chassis in steel rather than aluminium to make it suitable for road use as well, so Broadley left believing that this would hamper the race car from ever becoming a winner. History obviously proved Ford’s management right with the GT40 going on to take four Le Mans wins.

 

Car : 1963 #6 Lola Mk 6 GT

Team :  Lola Cars Ltd.                                    

Drivers : Richard Attwood (GB)/ David Hobbs (GB)                                                                            

Qualifying : 22nd                                                             

Result : 21^st (DNF – Accident)

Model : Spark (S4948)                    

 

References :

 

http://www.racingspo...hive/LGT-1.html

 

http://www.lemans-hi... 6&equipa_seq=0

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lola_Mk6

 

Following on from the Lola GT, I thought it would be interesting to compare it to the most extreme version of the GT40 that appeared just two years later. This Bizarre model has been out of production for close to 10 years, but was found locally on eBay around the same time I acquired the Lola.

During the early days of the ‘small block’ Mk I GT40 program, Ford decided to build two experimental cars which used the 7.0-liter 427 engine from the Ford Galaxie which was used in NASCAR at the time. The new cars were designated as a Mk II’s and the objective was to run these cars at Le Mans in 1965 alongside the regular Mk1’s.

Ford Advanced Vehicles in the UK delivered chassis 106 (car #1) and 107 (car #2) to Kar Kraft in Dearborn in May 1964. These chassis were built out of thinner sheet metal (22 gauges instead of 24 gauge) in an attempt to reduce weight. While the cars chassis were more or less the same as the British-built Mk.I chassis, it and other parts of the car had to be redesigned to accommodate the larger and heavier 427 engine. The main change however was a new four-speed gearbox to replace the ZF five-speed used in the Mk.I in order to handle the increased power from the bigger engine.

The new cars were not competed until May of 1965, just weeks before Le Mans. During testing at Fords Michigan proving ground, Ken Miles achieved 210mph which lead him to declare this was the car he wanted to drive at Le Mans. However, the aerodynamics proved inadequate for the speed, requiring a rushed program to reshape the cars. This resulted in the cars gaining an elongated nose and rear fins to improve its stability at high speed.

Once the car reached Le Mans, further modifications were made. Aided by a chin spoiler and small winglets fixed to the front fenders, Phil Hill in the #2 MK II claimed the pole with a record lap averaging 141.37 mph. Bruce McLaren in the #1 entry was 5.9 seconds slower which put him back in 4th position.

 

 

From the start at Le Mans in 1965, the big-block Fords ran away from the field. Bruce McLaren said afterwards, “During the first two hours, Chris Amon and I enjoyed some real motor racing in the 7-litre Fords. We both had to resist the temptation to make those electrifying opening laps a real carve-it-up sprint.”

At Le Mans, the #1 car ran solidly for 3 hours, before retiring after 45 laps with gear box problems. The #2 car lasted slightly longer, but it too retired with gearbox problems after 89 laps. This would be their only race, and afterwards they continued to be used as test and development vehicles for the GT40 programme. The experience gained in 1965 allowed the 7-litre Mk II's to dominate the following year.

 

 

Car : 1965 #1 Ford GT40 Mk. II
Team : Shelby-American Inc.
Drivers : Bruce McLaren (NZ)/ Ken Miles (GB)
Qualifying : 4th
Result : 39th (DNF – Gearbox)
Model : Bizarre (BZ275)

References :

 

http://www.racingspo...ve/GT__106.html

 

http://www.lemans-hi... 1&equipa_seq=0

 

https://www.quartokn...pes-for-le-mans

Edited by Jager, 17 August 2018 - 07:08.

It’s been a while since Spark released a new Porsche 956 / 962, but they’ve rectified that with this 1990 Brun entry.

 

In 1988, Brun Motorsport commissioned a special Porsche 962 chassis from Thompson, resulting in a unique bespoke chassis produced from carbonfibre and aluminium. The car was given the chassis number 962-003BM from Porsche and carried unique bodywork, being the only 962 to feature the additional air intakes at the bottom of the side valances.

 

The car was used sparingly in the early part of the 1989 season until it appeared at Le Mans as the #5 “From-A’ entry. The car started off strongly, but gearbox problems delayed its progress and it  retired in the 7^th hour while running in 34th position.

 

The car returned to Le Mans in 1990 as shown here. Having qualified in a lowly 33rd position, the #15 Porsche 962 settled down to a steady pace, the Brun team opting for a patient 'long-game' to reach the finish rather than an aggressive all out attack.

 

[img]https://i.imgur.com/5jWun6C.png?1[/img]

 

At a quarter race distance, the Porsche was running in 24^th position, and by half race distance it was up to 17^th.  On both its own merit and the unreliability of others, the Hydro Aluminium Porsche continued to make up places and was up to 12^th position by the 18^th hour.

 

In the end the Porsche took the chequered flag in 10th place overall, making up a significant 23 positions in the process.   It was one of 5 Porsche 962's that filled the first 10 places that year.

 

 

Car : 1990 #15 Porsche 962

Team : Brun Motorsport                                                              

Drivers : Harald Huysman (B)/ Massimo Sigala (I)/ Bernard Santal (CH)

Qualifying : 33rd

Result : 10th

Model : Spark (S5508)

 

[img]References :[/b]

 

http://www.racingspo.../962-003BM.html

 

http://www.lemans-hi...15&equipa_seq=0

 

http://www.historicp...sche-962-003-bm

In January this year Dan Gurney passed away at the age of 86. Gurney was a veteran of ten Le Mans and I have a number of his cars, but thought I’d mark his passing with this great Spark model of the 1966 Ford GT40 in which Gurney took pole position.

For the 1966 season, Dan Gurney was paired with Jerry Grant by Shelby America. The 1966 season started well for Gurney and Grant when they finished 2nd in the Daytona 24 Hours in a Ford GT Mk II (chassis #1012). Six weeks later, they were leading the Sebring 12 Hour in another GT40 (chassis #1031) when the engine blew on the final lap. Gurney pushed the car over the finish-line to claim second place, but was disqualified for his trouble.

A few months later, Gurney and Grant were reunited at Le Mans in this red, GT40 MkII (chassis 1047) that had been specially prepared by Shelby for Le Mans. To accommodate Gurney’s 6ft 4in frame, the roof of the driver’s door was modified to incorporate the ‘Gurney bubble’, something which other tall drivers of the GT40 were quick to copy.

Gurney set the fastest time in qualifying at 3:30.6 which equated to an average speed of 142.98mph around Le Sarthe.To put that in perspective, they were a full 2 seconds quicker than the eventual race winner, the #2 GT40 of Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon.

 

 

Even though he started from pole, Gurney dropped two places at the start. Nevertheless, on the third lap he retook the lead and held it for the first two hours of the race. Over the following six hours, the #3 Ford continually swapped the lead with the #1 Ford GT40 and the #20 and #27 Ferrari P3’s.

Unfortunately, not all was well with the #3 Ford. A stone had pierced the radiator of the #3 Ford, causing it to overheat and requiring frequent stops for more water. Eventually it retired in the 17th hour. Ford however went on to an historic 1-2-3 finish.

Gurney and Grant came so close to winning the "Triple Crown"of endurance racing (the 24Hours of Daytona,12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans), but came away from the 1966 season with nothing other than there 2nd place at Daytona.

 

 

Car : 1966 #3 Ford GT40 Mk. II
Team : Shelby-American Inc.
Drivers : Dan Gurney (USA)/ Jerry Grant (USA)
Qualifying : 1st
Result : 17th (DNF – Radiator)
Model : Spark (S5180)

References :

 

http://www.racingspo...40 P__1047.html

 

http://www.lemans-hi... 3&equipa_seq=0

 

The Howmet project was conceived early in 1967 by Ray Heppenstall, a sports car racer from Philadelphia. Heppenstall believed that a suitable lightweight turbine mounted in a conventional sportscar chassis could be competitive. Heppenstall’s enthusiasm convinced Tom Fleming, who was the sales vice-president at Howmet, to join the project. Howmet was a leading supplier of aluminium and titanium precision castings to the aircraft industry and were convinced running a race-car program would be an ideal promotional tool.

Heppenstall found a suitable turbine engine at Continental Aviation & Engineering, who had recently lost a bid for a US government contract for a helicopter engine and had ten TS325-1 turboshaft engines left from development work. Applying the FIA's engine equivalency, the Continental turbine engine was rated at 2960 cc, slotting it neatly into the Group 6 sports-prototype three litre class. Heppenstall then contacted racing car manufacturer Bob McKee for a chassis to house the modified Continental turbine engine. One of McKee's customers had just traded in a Can-Am car and this was considered a suitable basis for the Howmet TX prototype. McKee also had a spare Porsche 906 windshield, around which the body was formed.

Despite the unique nature of the project, Heppenstall managed to have the first Howmet completed within five months. Work then started on a second car that featured a purpose-built spaceframe chassis that was 2 inches longer. By February of 1968, a single Howmet TX's made its debut at the Daytona 24 Hours. The single entry qualified seventh and during the race the Howmet gradually moved up the field to third. Unfortunately, on the 34th lap one of the waste-gates stuck, which made it impossible to slow the car and it crashed out of the race.

Next was the Sebring 12 Hours where the second chassis was used. It started the race in third, but after seven hours the engine mountings failed and the Howmet retired once more. One of the cars was then flown to Europe for the BOAC 1000 km at Brands Hatch, where the Howmet was quick but unreliable.

For the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans, Howmet entered both cars.

 

 

However, the race turned out to be something of a disaster for Howmet. The #23 car shown here started from 24th position, but a broken rear wheel bearing sent it tumbling down the field to 50th position by the end of the first hour. Although the broken bearing was repaired in a lengthy 3 hour rebuild, the #23 Howmet was finally disqualified in the seventh hour having covered an insufficient distance of only 60 laps.

Meanwhile, a fuel system problem with the #22 Howmet limited the engine to 70% power and strangled the speed on the straight. They kept going however, and had worked up to 29th place when, at 9.45pm, Thompson crashed at Indianapolis corner and rolled, severely damaging the car although being unhurt himself.

Le Mans marked the final race appearance of the unique Howmet TX's, Howmet choosing not continue with a race program in 1969.

 

 

Car : 1968 #23 Howmet TX
Team : Howmet Corporation
Drivers : Hugh Dibley (GB)/ Bob Tullius (USA)
Qualifying : 24th
Result : 53th (Disqualified – Insufficient Distance)
Model : Bizarre (BZ048)

References :

 

http://www.racingspo...ive/Mk6__3.html

 

http://www.lemans-hi...23&equipa_seq=0

 

 

French art auctioneer and racing driver Hervé Poulain competed at Le Mans seven times between 1975 and 1982. However, he is best known as the originator of the Le Mans ‘Art Car’ movement that started when he had Andy Warhol decorate a BMW M1 for the 1979 race.

One year earlier, Hervé Poulain entered this Porsche 934 at the 1978 Le Mans 24 Hours for himself, Edgar Dören, Gerhard Holup & Roman Feitler. The car belonged to the Max Moritz Racing Team from Germany, who had owned it from new since April 1976. The car appeared across a wide range of events in 1976 wearing orange Jagermeister colours, the highlight being 3rd overall and a class winner at the 1976 Nurburgring 1000kms.

 

In 1977 it was upgraded to 934/5 specifications with the highrear wing and was more frequently seen wearing a white livery with Romulus / Valvoline sponsorship in the German DRM series. For the first two races of 1978, it was returned to 934 specifications and carried sponsorship by Weralit, before returning to its Jagermeister colours for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The #68 Porsche 934 was one of 7 cars entered in the Group 4 class. It qualified 32nd, making easily the fastest car in the class, where 4 of the other cars qualified 51st to 55th position.

 

 

Unfortunately, the race didn’t start as positively for the #68 Porsche. In the first hour it lost 10 places, but managed to regain them in the 2nd hour. It continued to gain places and by the end of the 7th hour was up to 19th position. Problems then saw it tumble down the order another 10 places, before another fightback saw it improve to 21st position by the end of the 14th hour.

Eventually gearbox problems proved terminal with the car retiring in the 17th hour after completing 167 laps.

Max Moritz kept the car until the end of the 1979 season, before selling it to the US. Today it is owned by an Italian collector who has had the car restored to its original 1976 Jagermeister configuration.

 

 

Car : 1978 #68 Porsche 934
Team : Hervé Poulain
Drivers : Hervé Poulain (F)/ Edgar Dören (D)/ Gerhard Holup (D)/ Romain Feitler (L)
Qualifying : 32nd
Result : 35th (DNF – Gearbox)
Model : Spark (S4424)

References :

 

http://www.racingspo...0 670 0168.html

 

http://www.lemans-hi...68&equipa_seq=0

 

Not my field of expertise, but there's something wrong, here: Jägermeister was the usual sponsor of the Max Moritz team, that's right, but it clearly says Porsche Kremer on the windshield. Moritz was from Reutlingen in southern Germany, while Kremer was from Cologne in the West, literally worlds apart, and very fierce rivals!!

Interesting observation Michael. I don't have an answer, other than the photo evidence is indisputable. Remember though that neither Max Moritz or Kremer were the official entrant of the car....that was Hervé Poulain. Perhaps Poulain secured his entry for Le Mans through Kremer ? However, as they already had three other cars accepted for the race, they didn't have a spare car for Poulain, resulting in him approaching Max Moritz (remembering that Moritz had not entered a car at Le Man since 1973) ?

 

 

Sticking with the Porsche theme, this Spark 1968 Porsche 908 Longtail was originally purchased as a box filler at a discounted price from a recent Replicarz sale. However I was pleased to learn that it was also a historically significant car that gave Porsche its first ever outright pole position at Le Mans.

The Porsche 908 was a racing car from Porsche, introduced in 1968 to continue the Porsche 904/ Porsche 906/ Porsche 907 series of models designed under Ferdinand Piech. The 908 Long Tails were specifically designed as a closed coupe to provide low drag at fast tracks like Le Mans.

The first Porsche 908 appeared at the 1968 Le Mans test day. Until this point, Porsche had only challenged for class wins, but with new rules limiting the Group 6 prototypes to a maximum of 3.0 litres, the new Porsche 908 fitted with a 3.0 litre Flat-8 finally gave them a chance for outright victory.

The 1968 Le Mans 24 hours was planned for June 15-16th, but had to be postponed due to widespread strikes across France. Hence the race date was pushed back to September 28-29th. Prior to that, the Porsche team had struggled with reliability, though the 908 came good at the Nürburgring race.

In qualification, Jo Siffert and Hans Herrmann put this #31 Porsche 908 on pole position with a lap time of 3:35.4, an average of 225 kmh/139 mph. This gave Porsche its first ever pole position at Le Mans. The two other factory Porsche 908’s also took 2nd and 3rd on the grid.

On race day the weather was wet and a heavy shower hit the track just ten minutes before the start. Most of the cars started on wet weather tyres, but Siffert was one of the few who chose to start on slicks. Siffert was slower to get away than the other leaders, but took the lead on the fourth lap by which time he had already caught the tailenders. By the end of two hours, Siffert had lapped the entire field.

 

 

After leading for almost 4 hours, Siffert and Herrmann must have thought they were on track for a good result. However, those thoughts evaporated when the leading car’s clutch broke just before 7pm, stranding Siffert out on the track unable to get back to the pits for repairs and ending their race. Troubles with the alternator caused delays for the #34 Porsche and even disqualification for the #32 Porsche as the Porsche team misinterpreted the repair rules, but the #33 Porsche salvaged some pride for the team by finishing 2nd.

 

 

Car : 1968 #31 Porsche 908 (Long Tail)
Team : Porsche System Engineering
Drivers : Jo Siffert (CH)/ Hans Herrmann (D)
Qualifying : 1st
Result : 38th (DNF - Clutch)
Model : Spark (S3481)

References :

 

http://www.racingspo...ve/908-015.html

 

http://www.lemans-hi...31&equipa_seq=0

 

My next addition is a Bizarre model that helps complete my line up of WMs from 1976 to 1989.

The WM P82 appeared in 1982,designed to comply with the new Group C regulations. As with previous WM’s, it was based around the Peugeot PRV turbo V6 of 2849cc. They had good straight line speed and at Le Mans the two car entered qualified 12th and 13th, but both retired mid-race.

For 1983, the P82 was upgraded with a slightly wider rear track to become the P83. Once again two cars were entered at Le Mans, but they were no match for the Porsche 956’s and qualified 17th and 18th. Only one car finished, in 16th position.

The same two chassis were entered at Le Mans in 1984, one of which is the car shown here. Roger Dorchy was able to find some additional speed and qualified the #23 entry 6.4 seconds faster than in 1983, putting it in an unlikely 8th position on the grid. The other WM was only 1.5 seconds quicker than the previous year which put it back in 13th position.

As the race got underway, Bob Wollek in the #4 Lancia led team mate Paolo Barilla in the #5 Lancia across the start line. However, the big surprise on the first lap was Roger Dorchy in the #23 WM Peugeot who snatched the lead and led the field over the start / finish line at the end of the first lap. Wollek retook the lead on the 2nd lap, but Dorchy was back in front on the 3rd lap. For the first 12 minutes of the race the French crowd were ecstatic cheering a French driver in a French car leading Le Mans.

However, on the 4th lap Dorchy went from hero to zero. Approaching the Mulsanne Corner, Dorchy missed his braking point, locked up and slewed into the amco barriers on the left damaging the front of the WM. Dorchy was able to get the damaged car back to the pits, but the damage was severe and an hour was lost with repairs, dropping the #23 WM to 53rd position. When it did return to the track, it had a red nose section borrowed from the spares of the #24 sister car.

 

 

Thereafter, it circulated at the rear of the field, eventually rising to 34th position in the 17th hour on the back of other retirements. However, in the 18th hour it all came to an end when the gearbox failed after 122 laps. The sister car had already retired after 74 laps with a blown engine.

 

 

Car : 1984 #23 WM P83
Team : WM Secateva
Drivers : Roger Dorchy (F)/ Alain Couderc (F)/ Gérard Patté (F)
Qualifying : 8th
Result : 36th (DNF - Gearbox)
Model : Bizarre (BZ368)

References :

 

http://www.racingspo...ive/P82-02.html

 

http://www.lemans-hi...23&equipa_seq=0

 

 

 

Next is another half priced box filler that accompanied the Porsche 908 I showed a page or two back. Even though it was a DNF, this 1987 Sauber SHS C6 appealed to me as I have two versions of this same chassis from other years. It's a slightly odd looking car, and it seems Spark got the shade of yellow wrong, possibly because some historical pictures of this car were over-exposed. Nevertheless, here it is.

The Sauber SHS C6 was jointly developed by Sauber and engineering firm Seger & Hoffman for the 1982 World Endurance Championship, hence the "SHS" designation. Two cars were built, but Seger & Hoffman left the project, leaving the cars completely under Sauber's control. However, results were mixed, largely due to vibrations from the Ford Cosworth engines, and at the 1982 Le Mans both cars retired.

In 1983 Walter Brun who had driven for Sauber in 1982 took over the entire team to create “Brun Motorsport". Brun replaced the named the Sauber with Sehcar, though still kept the C6 designation. Only one car started Le Mans, but it too failed to finish and afterwards the cars were retired.

In 1985, French BMW dealer Roland Bassaler, Yvon Tapy, another BMW dealer and Alain Bellanger of Bellanger Exhausts looked to enter Le Mans after a successful partnership in the French Touring Car Championship. Roland negotiated the purchase of the 1983 Le Mans Sauber SHS C6 prototype, and being a BMW dealer had the troublesome Cosworth engine replaced with a BMW M88 3.5 litre engine.

At the team's first Le Mans attempt in 1985, the Sauber-BMW completed 268 laps and was rewarded with 22nd place in the standings. A finish at Le Mans at their first attempt was no small feat. Returning to Le Mans in 1986, the Sauber-BMW spent the race running at the back of the field after encountering problems, but the 200 laps it completed were not enough to be officially classified.

Bassaler then entered the Sauber-BMW at Le Mans in 1987 as shown here. The #108 Sauber could only qualify in 45th position but had much better race pace. In the first six hours it gained 17 places to be running in 28th position, and by the midpoint of the race it was up to 19th position.

 

 

With only two hours left to run the Sauber-BMW found itself in an unlikely 10th position. That was when clutch problems started to delay its progress, with it slipping to 12th position at the end of the 23rd hour. Unfortunately, its race was over in the final hour and while it completed 257 laps which put it 16th, it did not make the chequered flag and therefore was not classified as a finisher.

Roland Bassaler returned to Le Mans with the Sauber SHS C6 in 1988, this time with substantially revised rear bodywork. However, once again it failed to finish after the engine failed.

The car was not seen again for five years, but Roland Bassaler brought the Sauber SHS C6 chassis out of retirement for a second time in 1993. The car was still outfitted with a 3.5L BMW I6, although the bodywork had been revised further and the car looked more like a Porsche 962 CK6. This time its race was ended by an accident.

The car made its final appearance at Le Mans in 1994, 12 years after its debut. Unfortunately it enjoyed no further success, this time retiring from suspension failure.

 

 

Car : 1987 #108 Sauber SHS C6
Team : Roland Bassaler
Drivers : Jean-François Yvon (F)/ Herve Bourjade (F)/ Yves Hervalet (F)
Qualifying : 45th
Result : 16th (DNF – Clutch)
Model : Spark (S4082)

References :

 

http://www.racingspo...e/82-C6-02.html

 

http://www.lemans-hi...08&equipa_seq=0

 

Vintage Aston Martin models are usually quite popular and can quickly become scarce. While I already had the sister #8 car to this model, I took the opportunity to grab it while it was available for a low price.

In 1954 Aston Martin’s five cars all failed to finish at Le Mans due to a combination of accidents and mechanical problems. However, they tasted their first success at the tragic 1955 race when the No.23 Aston Martin DB3S of Peter Collins and Paul Frére finished in 2nd place.

By 1956 the DB3S design was starting to show its age and Aston Martin were putting their resources into the development of the new DBR1. However, they still built two new factory cars for the 1956 season that differed from the earlier cars by having a vertical rear fin that incorporated the drivers headrest like the D-Type Jaguars. In the lead up to Le Mans, this DB3S debuted at the Rouen GP where it finished 5th.

Despite the controversy surrounding the 1955 Le Mans, Aston Martin returned with a three car team for 1956. The car shown here, the #9 DBS3, was entered for Peter Walker and Roy Salvadori, while the identical car #8 was entered for Stirling Moss and Peter Collins. There was also a new DBR-1 for Tony Brooks and Reg Parnell built specifically for the 1956 race.

For the first two hours of the race, the two Aston Martin DB3S’ ran 2nd and 3rd behind the Ecurie Ecosse #4 D-Type Jaguar. By the time the rain arrived at dusk, the #8 Aston Martin was leading, while the #9 Aston Martin was running 3rd. However, by the 5th hour it had slipped to 5th position and by the 9th hour it had fallen to 6th.

During the night the #9 Aston Martin fell as low as 10th position, but in the early hours of Sunday morning it made up a couple of places and was running 8th. However a sudden downpour after 7am caused Peter Walker to crash heavily just under the Dunlop Bridge, resulting in the car’s immediate retirement.

 

 

Despite the significant damage, the car was rebuilt in time to debut in April 1957 at the non-championship British Empire Trophy. Peter Walker wasn’t so lucky and the injuries from his Le Mans crash brought his racing career to an end.

 

 

Car : 1956 #9 Aston Martin DB3S
Team : Aston Martin Ltd.
Drivers : Peter Walker (GB)/ Roy Salvadori (GB)
Qualifying : 9th
Result : 18th (DNF)
Model : Spark (S2410)

References :

 

http://www.racingspo...e/DB3S__10.html

 

http://www.lemans-hi... 9&equipa_seq=0

 

https://www.motorspo...e-mans-24-hours

 

Super stuff, Ian.

Over the last year or two I’ve slowly been replacing my IXO GT40’s with the Spark versions. This is another of those replacements, which I originally added to complement the Exoto ‘Alan Mann Racing’ Bartoletti Transporter. However, the car has an interesting history in its own right, with the added benefit of an Australian connection through one of the drivers.

Chassis XGT-2 was originally delivered as a bare chassis to Alan Mann Racing. However Ford had other plans and instructed Mann to ship the chassis to Shelby in the USA to be finished as a Mk II. Allan Mann Racing (AMR) then sent its mechanics to complete the car at Shelby's shop near L.A. airport.

XGT-2 differed from the other Shelby built GT40’s in that it was constructed as an experimental lightweight car. The most notable feature was its lightweight aluminium roof, and a different suspension system to the Shelby GT40’s. At Le Mans, XGT-2 was entered for Graham Hill and Dick Thompson. Hill also requested some changes to the car, specifically a switch from the standard “grometted” GT40 seat for a “proper” racing bucket.

During practice, Dick Thompson in XGT-2 collided with the #63 Ford GT40 driven by Richard Holquist. The #63 Ford was destroyed, but Thompson was able to get back to the pits. Officials then told the team that they were disqualified because Thompson had left the scene of a major accident. Ford’s director of racing Leo Beebe threatened to withdraw all Fords if the #7 was disqualified and a compromise was reached where the car was reinstated, but Thompson was banned. This still posed a problem for Ford as they were lacking spare drivers, and in the end Australian Brian Muir, who was in England was flown over to France to join the team.

During the crash, the nose of XGT-2 was damaging the nose. This resulted in the original nose which was silver with twin black stripes being replaced with a new nose with a matte-black finish for the race. You will therefore find period pictures of this car in two different configurations.

The #7 GT40 qualified in 6th position behind four other GT40’s and the #27 Ferrari P3. From the start, Hill in the #7 GT40 had a lightening quick getaway from the traditional Le Mans start and led the opening lap.

 

 

Although Gurney in the #3 Ford GT40 was able to pass the #7 car after three laps, it held 2nd position for the remainder of the first hour.
Several unscheduled pit stops then dropped the #7 GT40 down the order before a collapsed suspension at around midnight brought an early end to the race.

Strangely, the car never raced again.

 

 

 

Car : 1966 #7 Ford GT40 Mk. II
Team : Alan Mann Racing Ltd.
Drivers : Graham Hill (GB)/ Brian Muir (AUS)
Qualifying : 6th
Result : 35th (DNF - Suspension)
Model : Spark (S5183)

References :

 

http://www.racingspo...hive/XGT-2.html

 

http://www.lemans-hi... 7&equipa_seq=0

 

https://www.ultimate...k-II-XGT-2.html

 

A few models back I featured the 1969 Porsche 908 in its longtail form. However I've always liked the 908 spyders even more and I had the Best version of this one in my collection for many years. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to upgrade to the recently released Spark version.

While the 908 was originally designed a closed coupe, for the 1969 season the Group 6 prototype rules were changed. Porsche reacted to the new rules by redesigned the 908, removing the roof and the long tail which lowered the weight by 100 kg. This particular car however was never a coupe and was one of 24 cars built as a spyder from new in 1969. It made its debut at the 1969 Nürburgring 1000 Kilometres as a factory entry, finishing 2nd. However, in 1970 the Porsche was sold off to privateer Helmut Leuze as the factory concentrated its efforts on the Porsche 917. Leuze took the car to Le Mans in 1971, but it failed to finish.

Christian Poirot had made his Le Mans debut in 1965 in a Porsche 904. He progressed to a Porsche 906 in 1967 and then to a Porsche 910 in 1969. Poirot acquired the Porsche 908 from Leuze in time for the 1972 Le Mans 24 Hours, repainting the car in his usual colours of white with aqua blue trim as the car shown here.

The car qualified in 18th position, but problems in the first four hours saw the car tumble down the order to 45th position. The car lost so much time it ran at the back of the field, the last of those entries still running.

 

 

Nevertheless, as other cars above it retired, it improved its position from 35th at the mid-point of the race, to 19th by the time the chequered flag fell. Unfortunately, it did not complete enough laps to be officially qualified.

Poirot returned to Le Mans with the 908/02 in 1973 but it failed to qualify. He entered it again in 1974, this time finishing 19th, but a final appearance in 1975 was a DNF. In all, it appeared at Le Mans on four occasions.

 

 

 

Car : 1972 #67 Porsche 908/02
Team : Christian Poirot
Drivers : Christian Poirot (F)/ Philippe Farjon (F)
Qualifying : 18th
Result : 19th
Model : Spark (S1982)

References :

 

http://www.racingspo...08__02-016.html

 

http://www.lemans-hi...67&equipa_seq=0

 

 

I’ve always liked the look of the mid 70’s Lolas, and this is one I’ve been after for a while even if it was not a significant entry in the 1975 race.

At the start of the 1972 season, Lola introduced two closely related sports; the 3 litre T280 and the 2 litre T290. The T290 in particular proved very popular with over 30 examples built and sold. However, on the track the T290 was not as successful as expected, so the car was further developed ahead of the 1973 season. The update was designated the Lola T292, with much of the work focused on the bodywork and aerodynamics. A longer, sharper nose was created and more importantly a raised, full-width rear wing was added to replace the modest wing of the original version. Mechanically, the only noticeable difference was the relocation of the rear disc brakes from the inside the wheels to either side of the gearbox to reduce the unsprung weight and improve the car's handling.

This car’s original owner was South African John Abrahams, who purchased T292 chassis #HU65 from Lola in February 1973 and fitted a 2 litre Cosworth engine. However, Abrahams didn’t debut the car until Kyalami 6 Hours at the end of the 1973 season.

In 1974, Geoff Richardson of Geoff Richardson Engines in the UK purchased the car. Over the winter, he upgraded the T292 to T294 specification and in the hands of Nigel Clarkson and Derek Worthington the car finished 14th at the Brands Hatch 1000kms.

In 1975, Richardson continued to enter the #HU65 Lola in long distance events. In the lead up to Le Mans, Nigel Clarkson and Richard Scott took the car to a 4th placed finish in the S2000 class and 15th overall. Two months later at Le Mans, Clarkson and Worthington qualified the Lola with a time of 4:18.200 which was good enough for 5th in the S2000 class and 17th overall.

Unfortunately, like many Le Man entries both before and after them, their race got off to a bad start and by the end of the first hour the #38 Lola was down in 50th position. Any sort of result from that point was unlikely, but nevertheless the crew of the Lola didn’t give up and by the 5th hour they had the car back up to 28th position. Another setback sent the Lola back down to 36th position the following hour, from where it fought back a second time to be in 24th position in the early hours of Sunday morning.

 

 

Sadly their problems were not over and another issue saw the car lose 10 place and after 16 hours it was back down in 34th position. From there it struggled on at the back of the field to eventually finish in 29th position. Unfortunately, a lack of distance was not enough for the #38 Lola T294 to be officially classified.

In 1976 American Dean Dietrich was in Geoff Richardson’s workshop when he saw HU65 and negotiated to buy it. He planned to race it at Le Mans in 1976 and had Richardson prep it for the race. However Dietrich couldn’t put together the necessary financing and had to cancelled the Le Mans plans, though he did eventually purchase the car which was entered in selected Can Am events in 1977.

 

 

Car : 1975 #38 Lola T294
Team : Rays Racing
Drivers : Nigel Clarkson (GB)/ Derek Worthington (GB)
Qualifying : 19th
Result : 29th (N/C - Insufficient Distance)
Model : Bizarre (BZ152)

References :

 

http://www.racingspo.../T292-HU65.html

 

http://www.lemans-hi...38&equipa_seq=0

 

http://grichardsonengines.co.uk/

 

 

The Porsche Abarth GS695’s had been conceived in 1960 when Porsche commissioned Franco Scaglione to design a lightweight racing body for the Porsche 356. Scaglione had spent much of the 1950's working for Bertone where he designed the Alfa Romeo B.A.T.s, the Giulietta Sprint and Sprint Speciale. However, in 1959 he had broken off the exclusive relationship with Bertone and his first independent collaboration was with Carlo Abarth and Porsche to design a lightweight version of the the Porsche 356 B.

The first prototype was delivered in February of 1960 and after testing Porsche committed to 20 orders. Porsche had expected that Abarth would have the bodies built by Zagato, but instead Abarth subcontracted them to the less known bodybuilders Viarengo & Pilipponi. Porsche was very dissatisfied with the building quality and all the cars underwent further finishing at Porsche to meet their requirements. As a result, an option for a further 20 cars was not exercised by Porsche.

They soon found their way to racetracks, and in 1961, two of the Abarth GS695’s were entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, this one by the Porsche factory and another that was privately entered by Auguste Veuillet. These joined three new Porsche RS61’s in the sports prototype class.

 

 

The factory drivers Herbert Linge and Ben Pon started in the #36 Porsche Abarth from 34th position, but made up 10 places in the first hour. They drove a steady race, and by the halfway mark the #36 Porsche was up to 16th position. Gains were harder to come by in the second half of the race, but they picked up 3 places in the 23rd hour and another place in the last hour to finish 10th overall and easily win the 1600cc GT class.

This chassis returned to Le Mans in 1962 as a private entry from Auguste Veuillet. His drivers Robert Buchet and Heinz Schiller brought the Porsche Abarth home in 12th position outright and 2nd in the 1600cc GT Class to further demonstrate the strength of this car.

 

 

Car : 1961 #36 Porsche Abarth GS695
Team : Porsche System Engineering
Drivers : Herbert Linge (D)/ Ben Pon (NL)
Qualifying : 34th
Result : 10th (Winner of 1600cc GT class)
Model : Spark (S1361)

References :

 

http://www.racingspo...013 [356B].html

 

http://www.lemans-hi...36&equipa_seq=0

 

If I remember correctly, the "Abarth" Porsches were aluminium bodied.  Porsche went on to have a batch of similar styled cars built by Reutter with steel bodies, which proved to be lighter than the aluminium bodied cars.  But it is many years since I read the article.

Thanks D-Type. From what I've read online, the Reutter cars came before the Abarths :

 

 

"The early 356 automobile bodies produced at Gmünd were handcrafted in aluminum, but when production moved to Zuffenhausen, Germany in 1950, models produced there were steel-bodied. The aluminium bodied cars from that very small company are what are now referred to as "prototypes". Porsche contracted Reutter to build the steel bodies and eventually bought the Reutter company in 1963."

 

I like that these stories are the non-obvious ones.  Christian Poirot for instance whose name totally passed me by.

Thanks Ensign.I picked up all the Le Mans winners and more famous cars years ago, so now I'm filling in gaps in the collection. Hopefully there will be more unusual and less well known cars to come.

Next up is another historic 1958 OSCA car produced by Pinko obtained from a local Australian seller. In the early pages of this thread I showed a couple of Spark 1954 OSCA’s, so with the addition of this one my OSCA collection has trebled this year. It’s the unusual cars like this that really add to my enjoyment of Le Mans collecting.

In 1937, Ernesto, Ettore and Bindo Maserati had sold their shares in Maserati's family business to Adolfo Orsi. By 1947 they were free to leave Maserati and establish their own company, "Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili" (loosely translating to "Automotive Construction Specialized Workshops"), or OSCA.

OSCA made their Le Mans debut in 1952 with the 1300cc MT-4, and the following year took a class win, followed by second in class in 1955. In 1956, OSCA decided to switch their attention to the small 750cc class and introduced their ‘Sport 750’ model with a smaller 700cc engine. While it failed to finish at Le Mans that year, they finished 4th in class the following year.

For the 1958 race, there were 16 cars entered in the 750cc class, with four DB-Panhards, four factory Panhards and two Renault VP's. Challenging the French cars were three Stanguellinis, two Lotuses and two OSCA Sport 750's. One of these was the #42 factory entry of De Tomaso and Davis, while the other entry was this French­ owned #41 car with a special streamlined aerodynamic body to be driven by Jean Laroche and Rémy Radix.

 

 

In pre-race practice, De Tomaso's Osca was the best in the 750 class with a lap time of 5 min 19 seconds. This was 6 seconds quicker than the best of the French entries. The Lotus had a disappointing practice and accordingly the OSCA’s were the pre-race favorites for their class.

The OSCA’s started towards the front of the class from 32nd and 35th positions, the standard bodied #42 car leading the special bodied #41 entry. Both had trouble free runs, rising through the field to gain places on a regular basis. At the end of six hours they had improved to 17th and 24th places respectively, and at the midpoint of the race they were running 14th and 17th. Their rate of progress slowed in the 2nd half of the race, but the little OSCA’s went on to finish 11th and 14th overall, the #42 car winning the class and the #41 car just missing out on a place on the podium by a margin of one lap.

 

 

 

Car : 1958 #41 OSCA Sport 750
Team : Automobili OSCA
Drivers : Jean Laroche (F)/ Rémy Radix (F)
Qualifying : 40th
Result : 14th
Model : Pinko (PI259)

References :

 

http://www.racingspo...761 [Osca].html

 

http://www.lemans-hi...41&equipa_seq=0

 

https://www.motorspo...-heures-du-mans

 

http://www.sportscar...lemans58-1.html

 

Love this little car, Ian.

I get so much more pleasure from this type of model - as you probably know!

Thanks Barry. Its a lovely piece that looks like nothing else.....I'm wondering how many other Le Mans cars in the 50's had spats on the front as well as the back. I can't think of any.

The gorgeous, but hopeless, Nardi in 1955.

Thanks Barry. Its a lovely piece that looks like nothing else.....I'm wondering how many other Le Mans cars in the 50's had spats on the front as well as the back. I can't think of any.

From photos: the Cunningham Cadillac "Le Monstre" of 1950 had the front wheels enclosed by the body but possibly not spats as such.  The Porsches in 1951 certainly did have spats..