Photo : Archives ACO - D.R

Despite restrictive regulation changes, the seventies offered exciting races at Le Mans. The French car manufacturer Matra battled against Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Porsche and scored three victories in a row in 1972, 1973 and 1974 with the wonderful sound of its V12 engine, also used in Formula One.

Matra retired after its third win, and the 1975 running was one of the poorest in the history of the 24 Hours because of the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis. Porsche became the favourite for the victory, winning in 1976 and 1977 with the 936 prototype, and was challenged by Renault, the 1978 winner. Porsche won again in 1979 with the 935, the ultimate extrapolation of the 911, which first appeared at the 24 Hours in 1966. 1976 also marked Jean Rondeau’s debut with the Inaltera chassis. The colours of the countries were replaced by the sponsors.

This era also marked the appearance of the 2-litre prototypes with fabulous performances: with their light and fast cars, Lola, Chevron and March battled fiercely for the category wins. The GT battles were equally Homeric, with the Ferrari Daytonas challenging Porsche’s supremacy with de Tomasos, Corvettes, Ligiers, Camaros, and also the Ford Capris and BMW 3.0 CSLs driven by prestigious drivers.

Exotic features included the first cars from Japan, some Nascar contenders, and also Saubers, WM Peugeots, Mirages, Lancias, Aston Martins and the famous Art Cars by BMW. With their timeless lines, BMW’s M1 and Ferrari’s BB512 LM were some of the favourites of the aficionados. Technicians wondered how Porsche could have started from the 100hp four-cylinder engine to the 600hp of the 935. Local people would follow the Inalteras and Rondeaus, thirty years after the victory by the local hero, not to forget the talented French Prime Minister.