It is thanks to the immense talent of Dante Giacosa that Italy owes the creation of the Fiat 500, priced inexpensively by the head of Fiat, co-owner Gianni Agnelli, so as to be affordable to the very workers who produced it. This topolino (baby mouse) was such a major success it was renamed the Simca 5 and exported to France by Simca. It was then that Amédée Gordini, nicknamed the "Wizard" for his technical genius with large-scale mechanical bases (Fiat then Simca), used it to develop the race version Simca 5.

The car was equipped with the smallest engine ever entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (568 cm3). With a top speed of 110 kph, it clocked an average 85 kph (compared to the average 92 kph of the winning Chenard & Walcker in 1923) and won its class three years in a row (1937, 1938 and 1939), including the win index performance in 1938.

In 1937, the car finished dead last, but only after covering a whopping 2,000 kilometers with Jean Viale and Albert Alin at the wheel. The following year, Maurice Aimé and Charles Plantivaux secured the win index performance (1,280) having covered 2,042.759 kilometers in 24 hours, just ahead of the sister car driven by Albert Leduc and Athos Querzola. In 1939, both cars made it to the checkered flag, the #48 shared by brothers Albert and Adrien Alin, and the #49 driven by Maurice Aimé and Albert Leduc, but neither managed to reach 2,000 kilometers. Ten years later, the Simca 6 would finish the post-WWII 24 Hours of Le Mans after covering 2,111.110 kilometers. That car, sporting the #48, figures in the collections of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest and was presented in person by Amédée Gordini, a friend of ACO President Jean-Marie Lelièvre who was particularly keen on French constructors at the 24 Hours of Le Mans like Charles Deutsch and René Bonnet.

Amédée Gordini, the "Wizard"

Gordini's were located on Victor Boulevard in Paris, across from the current site of the Paris Motor Show and Rétromobile, and were known to produce major gems. The 24 Hours Museum's little Simca 5 was restored a few years ago. As the car was being taken apart, it was discovered the floorboards were fashioned out of drawing boards full of Gordini's sketches. It was a small outfit and they knew how to make use of everything obviously!

Born at the very end of the 19th century in Italy, Gordini specialized in engine installation and preparation in the suburbs of Paris. He was also a competitor who won the Bol d’Or in 1935 and 1936 with Fiat before moving on to Simcas, first the Simca 5 then the Simca 8 noticed for its stunning shape at the 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans. After WWII, he also ventured into the construction of Grand Prix single-seaters for such celebrated French drivers as Jean Behra, Maurice Trintignant and Robert Manzon. To do so, he ended his collaboration with Simca and began producing his own increasingly large engines, 1,500 cm3 to 3,000 cm3 for those entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, though without great success (the best result was fifth). A lack of funds prevented Gordini from carrying out testing and the car's reliability suffered. Nevertheless, he was the only French constructor at that level of international competition and investment requests poured in. Gordini even envisioned producing sporting cars and presented a model at the 1952 Paris Motor Show, but nothing came of it.

Gordini ended his career as a constructor after the 1956 Grand Prix season despite having participated with a new car. In 1957, he joined forces with Renault and revitalized the marque's image by nixing certain sport-related features of models in its line (Dauphine, R8, R12, R17) all while developing high-performance engines for Alpine. In 1967, Renault bought the Gordini marque as a valuable contributor to French motorsport, including with the Gordini Coupe, a real assest for young and talented drivers. His dual-camshaft engines, from the 1,000 cm3, 1,300 cm3 and 1,500 cm3, earned the performance and energy indexes for Alpine prototypes at Le Mans, to the 3-liter V8 turbo Alpine that won the 1978 24 Hours. Amédée Gordini passed away in 1979 at the age of 80.

The 1937 #48 Simca 5 Gordini is on display at the 24 Hours Museum among countless other motorsport and Le Mans legends.

At the 24 Hours of Le Mans Museum, the ACO tells the epic tale of motoring in La Sarthe and the success of its legendary international race through 140 select vehicles. Bentley, Ferrari, Jaguar, Ford, Porsche, Matra, Audi, Peugeot, Toyota... iconic models illustrating the greatest names of motorsport take visitors through almost a century of history at the world’s greatest endurance race. Temporary exhibitions add a topical note to the permanent displays which can be extended with a visit of the world-famous Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans.

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