The saying "go big or go home" perfectly describes the revamping of carrier trucks seen at the 24 Hours of Le Mans: these mobile headquarters began representing the image of their owners...marques, teams, sponsors and so on. Specialized manufacturers flourished across the Channel as well as in France, such as Chéreau whose Race Line products sold on a wide scale or Trouillet catering more to a niche market.

The working paddock in the back of the pits at the 24 Hours of Le Mans transformed into a vast truck show where competitors attempted to outdo one another and set themselves apart from their neighbors/rivals. A tractor-trailer can have as many as six axles (three for the truck, three for the trailer) equaling an authorized weight of 42 tons, often transporting a one-ton car, but also offering two 30 m2 surfaces for advertising.

Naturally, the Americans joined in and a Kenworth, for example, will always be iconic wherever competitors are found. If the sides of the trailer unfolded, the roof raised and the parabola that crowned the whole resembled the ears of Uncle Sam, then you had achieved your efforts of intimidation in the eyes of your colleagues-turned-enemies. To gain space, the truck could be uncoupled and parked in a dedicated lot, then covered and affixed a sign that reads "not for rent or sale."

Now the trend at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, made popular by Audi and Porsche, has returned the carrier trucks to their original role of transporting the racing cars from the workshop to the circuit, from the circuit to Scrutineering and back...then on the trip back home awash in glory or disappointment, and everything in between.

Click below for previous installments in this series:

24 Hours of Le Mans carrier trucks (1) - The vanguard

24 Hours of Le Mans carrier trucks (2) - The golden age of the 1960s

24 Hours of Le Mans carrier trucks (3) - 1975-1990, mobile team headquarters

 

Photo: The working paddock in 2014