FERRARI STATE-OF-THE-ART GTs IN 1966

The Ferrari-Ford duel at the race culminated that year in the American manufacturer's first win and retirements for all of the Italian marque's factory prototypes. However, Ferrari importers salvaged two spots in the top 10 overall. At the wheel of the Ecurie Francorchamps team's characteristic Belgian yellow 275 GTB (photo above), Claude Dubois/Pierre Noblet finished 10th, trailing British importer Maranello Concessionaires' 275 driven by Piers Courage/Roy Pike, eighth overall and class winner.

DUCKHAMS, A FORD-COSWORTH FIRST

In the early 1970s, the Ford-Cosworth DFV 3-litre V8 engine dominated Formula 1. In 1971, the motor debuted at the 24 Hours in a Ligier prototype. The following year, it made it into the classification for the first time in 12th place in this Duckhams LM shared by Alain de Cadenet and Chris Craft. The chassis was designed by South African engineer Gordon Murray who became one of the most imaginative brains in F1 in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1992, he created the first road McLaren, named the F1, that won Le Mans in its rookie participation three years later thanks to Yannick Dalmas, JJ Lehto and Masanori Sekiya.

WOMEN REPRESENT JEAN RONDEAU

The 1977 24 Hours saw Jean Rondeau's prototypes take their second start, under the banner of sponsor Inaltéra. That year, the car currently on display at Rétromobile finished 11th entrusted to the female duo of Belgian driver Christine Beckers and Italian driver Lella Lombardi, the only woman to infiltrate the classification in the 1975 F1 World Championship. The other two Inaltéras finished fourth and 13th.

THE FERRARI BB 512

First seen at Le Mans in 1978, the rear engine BB 512 became the Ferrari GT icon of the late 1970s and early 1980s, succeeding the front engine 365 GTB/4 "Daytona" star of the first half of the 1970s. This specific car was entered in the 1979 24 Hours by French importer Charles Pozzi and the JMS Racing team. Driven by Claude Ballot-Léna, Peter Gregg and Michel Leclère, it was forced to retire, but its livery remains special to Ferrari enthusiasts and modellers.

TOYOTA AND PANOZ, ORIGINALITY TRIUMPHS

Almost as soon as they hit the track in 1998, the Toyota GT-One and the Panoz GTR-1 LM made their mark on the late 1990s. The Toyota clinched the marque's first pole position in 1999 thanks to British driver Martin Brundle, and earned its best result with second place for Ukyo Katayama/Toshio Suzuki/Keiichi Tsuchiya. The Panoz validated the efforts of its creator, Don Panoz, a true renovator of endurance racing as we know it today. Its rookie participation ended in seventh place for David Brabham in 1998.

CORVETTE AT THE DAWN OF THE 21ST CENTURY

The year 2000 was a turning point in this American icon's history at the 24 Hours. After its 10th and 11th place finishes (third and fourth in its class), the car kicked off a string of eight class wins between 2001 and 2015, plus two victories for French team Larbre Compétition, Corvette Racing's preferred partner during the 2010s. The two Corvettes in 2000 sported this livery and were driven by Kelly Collins/Franck Fréon/Andy Pilgrim and Justin Bell/Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel.

FERRARI AND ASTON MARTIN'S GLORIOUS RETURNS

After an intial promising appearance in 2002, the Ferrari 550 Maranello won its class in 2003 thanks to Jamie Davies, Tomas Enge and Peter Kox (#88). Two years later, Aston Martin returned with the DBR9, quickly proving its competitiveness. The car currently on display at Rétromobile finished in the overall top 10 in 2006 with ninth place for David Brabham, Antonio García and Nelson Piquet (#59). The 550 Maranello and the DBR9 were also both run by British outfit Prodrive, mastermind of the return to the top of these two legends of sports road racing.

RILEY & SCOTT, ANOTHER PROTOTYPE FROM ACROSS THE ATLANTIC

Riley & Scott was another American constructor seen at Le Mans in the early 2000s. But unlike Panoz, the Riley & Scott Mk III C prototype utilised a traditional rear-engine structure with a 6-litre Ford V8 block. Shared by Belgian driver Marc Goossens, American driver Jim Matthews and French driver Christophe Tinseau, the car was forced to retire in 2003, but currently enjoys a successful second career in classic endurance races.

HENRI PESCAROLO AND YOUNG FRENCH TALENT

Four-time 24 Hours winner (1972, 1973, 1974 and 1984) Henri Pescarolo became a team owner at the beginning of the 21st century. His outfit proved to be a true breeding ground for young and talented French drivers who turned into major players during the renaissance of endurance racing, like Stéphane Sarrazin who scored three pole positions with Peugeot and six podiums with the French marque then Toyota. At the wheel of this Courage fielded in 2003 by Pescarolo Sport, he finished eighth along with Jean-Christophe Boullion and Franck Lagorce.

AUDI OPENS THE DOOR FOR DIESEL

After five wins for the indestructible R8 prototype (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005) known for outstanding reliability, the Audi R10 TDI joined a great innovative lineage at Le Mans by clinching the first victory for a diesel engine, in 2006, thanks to Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner (who repeated the feat the following year). From then on, the turbo diesel remained undefeated at the 24 Hours circuit until 2014, with eight wins for Audi, and one for Peugeot in 2009.

PHOTOS (Copyright - Louis Monnier/ACO): PARIS EXPO (FRANCE), RETROMOBILE, 1-5 FEBRUARY 2023.