1975/6 Cheetah G601 - 2 litre sports car

Beat Eggimann racing a Cheetah G601 in the Dix Mille tours du Castellet 2017.  It came sixth.

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Cheetah Automobiles, Lausanne, Switzerland.  Chuck Graemiger, a Swiss-American racing driver, founded Cheetah, an occasional manufacturer of sports racing cars from the early seventies to the early nineties. He also designed the cars.  The G601 followed on from the G501 and was a 2 litre sports car powered by Cosworth or BMW engines.  It raced in the Le Mans 24 hours from 1976 to 1979 but was never classified as a finisher.   The colours of the car pictured correspond to the Walter Wolf Racing car that entered but did not qualify at the 1980 Le mans.  They also competed in other sports car races but without great success.  Later the same company produced Group C cars, click here for details.

1976 Inaltera-DFV LM76 001 GTP

Henri Pescarolo, Inaltera-DFV, Le Mans Classic 2016

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Rondeau, Le Mans, France.   Jean Rondeau was a racing driver and constructor who eventually won the Le Mans 24 hours in a car he constructed, the first to do this.  His first Le Mans car was this one sponsored by the French wallpaper manufacturer, Inaltera.  It was powered by the Cosworth DFV 3 litre engine that had powered the winner in the 1975 24 hour race.  Running in the GTP class and starting 12th on the grid, it finished eighth and won its class driven by Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Henri Pescarolo.  The other Inaltera was third in class and 21st overall.  The car pictured, chassis 001, also entered the Daytona 24 hours in 1977, qualified third but did not finish. The cars was a fully enclosed mid-engined sports car designed specifically for the Le Mans 24 hours and thus had aerodynamics that made it very quick on the Mulsanne straight.  In 1977 the team returned to Le Mans and again won the GTP class and finished fourth overall driven by Jean Rondeau himself and Jean Ragnotti. After 1977, Inaltera withdrew their support following changes in their management, but Rondeau continued to enter Le Mans but under his own name.  The Inaltera team was managed by famous racing driver Vic Elford.

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1976 Matra-Simca Bagheera S

Liz Owler, Matra Simca Bagheera S, Course de Cote d'Etretat-Benouville 2016.

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Matra-Simca, Romorantin, France.  The Bagheera was a seventies mid-engined rear wheel drive 3 seater sports car produced mainly from Simca components.  The body was polyester mounted on a steel chassis.  Engines were either 1.3 litre or 1.5 litre Simca 4 cylinders made in Poissy.  It had a top speed of around 116mph and took about 12 seconds for 0-60mph.  The car drove well but the steel chassis rusted badly.  

1974 Dodge Charger 7.0L Hemi V8

Christophe Schwartz, 1974 7 litre Dodge Charger Hemi V8, Lr Mans Classic 2016.

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For more photos of the seventies cars at the 2016 Le Mans Classic, click on the link above.

Chrysler, USA.  In the seventies there was a class for NASCAR cars at Le Mans in order to try and attract more cars following the fuel crisis.  In 1976 Herschel Mc Griff, a long time American stock car driver,  brought over an Olympia beer sponsored Dodge Charger in the colours pictured above to Le Mans . Unfortunately it only finished a couple of laps before retiring as the European fuel didn't suit the car because it had the wrong octane level.   The original car was lost but Christophe Schwartz has created a replica using a Petty prepared Grand National car that won the the 1977 USAC Stock Car championship winning car as a base. Top speed of the original car was 215mph along the Mulsanne straight.  The 1973 type Dodge Charge was a favourite amongst drivers of the time in NACAR and USAC racing.  In 1977 Paul Feldner drove the car above to its USAC title.  In 2016 Christophe Schwartz finished in the top half of the field in the Le Mans Classic just behind the ex-Robin Hamilton Aston Martin.

1976 Axone 1600 FL

Jacky Bonnot, Axone 1600 FL, Course de Cote du Mont Dore VHC 2016.

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Axone Compétition, Bourgogne, France.  The car is the work of Chantal and Jacques Bonnot and their friends in l'Abergement Ste Colombe .   The first Axones were produced around 1972.   I believe two Axone 1600s were built in 1975/1976.  All seem to have been used mainly for French hillclimbing as they are Formula Libre cars. They have tubular chassis with 1.6L Renault Gordini engines and a Hewland gearbox.  Top speed is 220kph.

1976 Marcadier Barquette Can Am

Tony Gomis, Marcadier Can Am, Course de Cote d'Etretat-Benouville 2015.

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Marcadier, Lyon, France.  This French kit car maker made a number of Renaut or Simca powered cars that looked like Can-Am cars in the early to mid seventies.  Most had Renault 8 Gordini engines. This one has a 1,598cc Renault R12 engine, unusually a Hewland rather than a Renault gearbox and a non-standard rear wing.  It is mainly raced by Londoner Tony Gomis in English hillclimbs and sprints and who has had the car since 2000.

Read about another beautiful Marcadier car, the Barzoi, by clicking on this link.