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24H Backstage | 24h-lemans.com

From 2-5 July, the Le Mans Classic Legend is offering spectators a journey through the history of endurance racing.  Among the iconic cars set to participate in this event is the Panoz LMP-1 Roadster S. With its massive bonnet, thunderous naturally aspirated V8 and unconventional design, the American racing star flawlessly represents the intrepidity forever fuelling the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Any time&nbsp;the Panoz LMP-1 Roadster S barrels down&nbsp;the pit straight or emerges at the end of&nbsp;Mulsanne, its presence on the scene is undeniable. More than 25&nbsp;years after taking the start in the 1999 24 Hours, this&nbsp;car still causes a sensation, and to see it on the track at the Le Mans Classic reminds us of&nbsp;an era when engineers still dared to do things strictly their way.

<h2>a&nbsp;silhouette that defies&nbsp;convention</h2>

In the late 1990s, most prototypes entered in the 24 Hours adopted a mid-rear engine architecture, but&nbsp;Panoz choice otherwise.

The&nbsp;car&#39;s carbon-fibre&nbsp;bodywork houses&nbsp;a carbon-fibre&nbsp;single shell&nbsp;chassis. But its&nbsp;truly distinctive feature is found at the&nbsp;front, namely&nbsp;a massive, naturally aspirated 6-litre&nbsp;Ford V8 prepared&nbsp;by Robert Yates, a renowned&nbsp;figure in American motorsport and NASCAR. Producing around 600 hp, this engine gives the Panoz a one-of-a-kind&nbsp;mechanical signature.

With its extended bonnet&nbsp;and pushed back cockpit, the LMP-1 Roadster S looks&nbsp;more like the&nbsp;Batmobile zipping around the circuit&nbsp;than it does a traditional prototype. It is no surprise the car&#39;s&nbsp;striking silhouette&nbsp;quickly made it a crowd favourite!

<h2>1999 24 hours of Le Mans: all eyes on&nbsp;the underdog</h2>

Unveiled mere&nbsp;weeks ahead of&nbsp;the pre-qualifying sessions in&nbsp;1999, the Panoz immediately dazzled the crowd thanks to its show-stopping&nbsp;appearance and the inimitable roar of its V8 engine.

The American team fielded two cars in the race&nbsp;manned&nbsp;by an impressive&nbsp;list&nbsp;of celebrated&nbsp;drivers&nbsp;including&nbsp;David Brabham, &Eacute;ric Bernard, Jan Magnussen, Johnny O&rsquo;Connell, Butch Leitzinger&nbsp;and Max Angelelli.

If any uncertainty existed relative to the Panoz&#39;s true potential, it&nbsp;centered more on reliability than performance. A few weeks before the race, an endurance test was conducted at the Paul Ricard circuit, cut short after 20 hours due to a head gasket failure. The team&nbsp;focused its&nbsp;final efforts on cooling and aerodynamics.

During the 1999 24 Hours, the&nbsp;#12 shared by&nbsp;Brabham, Bernard and&nbsp;Leitzinger managed to overcome&nbsp;a gearbox change and the replacement of an oil cooler to finish in seventh place overall. The impressive result solidified&nbsp;the project&#39;s credibility up&nbsp;against&nbsp;the giants of that era.

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<h2>experience it in person</h2>

Seeing a photo of a Panoz is one thing, but seeing it in action is something else entirely.

The Le Mans Classic Legend is making this&nbsp;rare opportunity a reality. Don&#39;t miss the chance to watch&nbsp;up close a car designed in an era when regulations still left plenty to the&nbsp;imagination, and to&nbsp;hear the distinctive thunder&nbsp;of its V8 echoing&nbsp;again around the 24 Hours circuit!

Along with the Panoz LMP-1 Roadster S, Grid 8 will re-shine a well-deserved spotlight&nbsp;on&nbsp;some of the most legendary&nbsp;cars of the second half of the 1990s.

<h2>living history</h2>

The Le Mans Classic Legend is not an open-air museum. It is a living celebration of the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans!&nbsp;Every car that hits the track tells a chapter of this century-long adventure. The Panoz LMP-1 Roadster S is all about&nbsp;boldness, the story of an American manufacturer who&nbsp;chose to follow its own path.&nbsp;

The Le Mans Classic Legend will be held from&nbsp;2-5 July.&nbsp;Purchase your&nbsp;tickets now on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lemansclassic.com/en/ticketing/" target="_blank">official ticketing website</a>.

Le Mans Classic Legend: the Panoz LMP-1 Roadster S from the 1999 24 Hours is back!

In 2027, the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be welcoming McLaren Racing to the Hypercar class. In addition, McLaren Trophy Europe will one of the curtain raisers, making Le Mans race week a celebration of the British marque.

A spectacular field of McLaren racing cars is set to gather next year at the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans, with rounds three and four of McLaren Trophy Europe on the billing as support races for the 95th running of France&rsquo;s endurance classic. These fixtures are scheduled before the main event, which sees two <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/in-2027-mclaren-return-to-le-mans-to-pick-up-where-they-left-off-60760">McLaren MCL-HY Hypercars</a> compete in the top class, in addition to the McLaren GT3 EVOs fielded in LMGT3.

<h2>Le Mans, the ultimate playground for a McLaren get-together</h2>

McLaren Trophy Europe at Le Mans weaves a thread, making the special occasion a celebration of history and future. The 2027 support races will allow drivers from McLaren Trophy America to compete as guest entries, alongside teams running current McLaren GT3 EVO and GT4-spec customer racing cars. The multi-class format will make the event the largest gathering of McLaren GT racing cars ever assembled in competition.

Nick Collins, CEO, McLaren Automotive: &ldquo;To have McLaren Trophy Europe racing at Le Mans in 2027, the year we make <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/mclaren-mcl-hy-a-name-with-a-hint-of-promise-for-the-24-hours-of-le-mans-60533">our debut in the Hypercar class</a>, will make the event incredibly special. The fact that it will also be an invitational race for our GT3 and GT4 clients, as well as open to our McLaren Trophy America competitors, will mark this out as a true celebration of McLaren. What better place than Le Mans &ndash; part of our Triple Crown legacy &ndash; to recognise this.&rdquo;

Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l&rsquo;Ouest: &ldquo;Welcoming McLaren Trophy Europe to Le Mans in 2027 will add another strong dimension to what is already shaping up to be a very special edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. McLaren is part of the history of our race, and its return to the top class with the MCL-HY is a powerful symbol of the momentum currently driving endurance racing. Bringing together Hypercar, GT3, GT4 and McLaren Trophy competitors during the same week will create a unique celebration for the brand, its customers and the fans. Le Mans has always been a place where heritage and the future meet, and this announcement perfectly reflects that spirit.&rdquo;

The 95th 24 Hours Of Le Mans will be more than a race. It is already set to be a culmination of racing joy, with McLaren treating its fans to its full spectrum of race cars, from GT to highly-developed prototype.

McLaren Trophy Europe to be a support fixture at next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans

Following the cancellation of Purple Disco Machine’s upcoming dates due to health reasons, Le Mans Classic Legend is adjusting its musical lineup for Friday, July 3.

The event is pleased to welcome Polo &amp; Pan, a leading figure in the French electronic music scene, who will perform at this year&rsquo;s event.

Polo &amp; Pan are timeless. The Parisian duo of Paul Armand-Delille (Polo) and Alexandre Grynszpan (Pan) make music that flicks like frames through Golden Era Hollywood films, delivered with a deft French touch that playfully imbues house, disco, and electro in service one of the most compelling acts in dance music right now.

While tracks like &lsquo;Canop&eacute;e&rsquo; and &lsquo;Dorothy&rsquo; are now essential playing for any rooftop or beachside party no matter your latitude, Polo &amp; Pan&rsquo;s live performances bring their music to life with a sparkling vibrancy. One look around the dancefloor&mdash;whether it&rsquo;s sold-out US tours or major festival performances&mdash;and you&rsquo;ll see smiles, pretenses dropped, and earnest joy on the faces around you. That, more than their cultured heritage, global appeal, or history of underground hits, might be the Polo &amp; Pan&rsquo;s most remarkable quality. As is the case for many iconoclasts, It may have taken some time for the world-at-large to catch Polo &amp; Pan&rsquo;s creative drift, but now we are all very much along for the voyage.

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This announcement further strengthens a lineup designed to make Le Mans Classic Legend one of the summer&rsquo;s must-attend events at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans Circuit!

Informations &amp; ticketing: <a href="https://www.lemansclassic.com/en/ticketing/" target="_blank">www.lemansclassic.com</a>

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Polo and Pan joins the Le Mans Classic Lineup

Genesis Magma Racing made its 24 Hours of Le Mans debut at the 94th edition of the world’s biggest endurance race, taking on round three of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship with two GMR-001 Hypercars.

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Getting to know TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

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Speaker 24h

Circuit run

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Le Mans Magazine

Le Mans Classic Legend: the Panoz LMP-1 Roadster S from the 1999 24 Hours is back!

McLaren Trophy Europe to be a support fixture at next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans

Polo and Pan joins the Le Mans Classic Lineup

First Le Mans, First Finish

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