1976 Inaltera-DFV LM76 001 GTP

Henri Pescarolo, Inaltera-DFV, Le Mans Classic 2016

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For more photos of Plateau 6 at the 2016 Le Mans Classic, click here.

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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1968 Chevron B8-BMW

1968 Chevron-BMW B8, Le Mans Classic 2016

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For more photos of the 2016 Le Mans Classic plateau 5, follow this link.

Chevron, Bolton, England. Chevron was the name given to the cars produced by Derek Bennett, an amateur racing driver.   The B8 followed on from the B6 and was a 2 litre Group 4 sports/GT car. Although 50 examples were required to homologate it into Group 4, there were probably only 44 built between 1968 and 1970. Since 2006 more have been produced by Chevron as New Factory Continuation Cars and are eligible for historic racing.  Most B8s had a mid-mounted 4 cylinder 2 litre 195 bhp BMW engine powering the rear wheels.  Some cars were powered by Ford Cosworth engines such as the FVA. One car was delivered  with a 2.7 litre Climax engine.  Chassis was an aluminium semi-monocoque steel space frame and the body was glass fibre.  John Bridges debuted the car at Cadwell Park in March 1968 and John Lepp scored the first win at Mallory park the same month.  Other drivers to win with the car included Chris Skeaping, Barrie Smith, John Blades, John Burton, Nigel Morrison and David Purley.  Best International result was a class win and sixth overall in the 1969 Daytona 24 hours.  The B8 also finished first in class and seventh overall in the 1969 BOAC 500.  They were good looking, fast and reliable cars and it is good to see them still compete in historic racing today.

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1957 Fiat 642 RN2 Bartoletti

Superb 1957 Ferrari Transporter at the 2016 Le Mans Classic

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Fiat, Turin, Italy.  The best off-track display at the 2016 Le Mans Classic was undoubtedly that of the racing car transporters, including this beautiful Fiat truck used by Scuderia Ferrari.  This Fiat bus chassis was bought by the Scuderia Ferrari in 1957 and transformed by coachbuilder Bertoletti at Forli into their race car transporter which was used until the early sixties.   As well as transporting the cars it gave the mechanics a portable workshop and a place to sleep.  So much more inspiring than the modern versions! The Fiat had a 92hp 6 cylinder diesel engine and it could transport three GP or sports racing cars around Europe to famous tracks such as Spa, Monaco and the Nurburgring.  Must have been amazing to see one of these fully laden on the road.  Unlike the Ferraris it carried it had a very modest top speed of just 85 kph.

1937 Delage D6-70 Cabriolet Le Dandy Chapron

Beauiful Delage D6-70 Cabriolet Le Dandy Chapron in the car park at the Le Mans Classic 2016.

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For more photos of the 2016 Le Mans Classic pre-war cars, click here.

Delage, Paris, France.   The D6-70 was produced between 1937 & 38 and was a follow on from the D6-60S.  This was the era when Delages shared many parts with Delahayes but this model had a 2.7 litre 6 cylinder Delage engine.   Bodies were offered by a number of coachbuilders including the Chapron cabriolet version seen here with its torpedo wings.  Only about 3 of this particular example were made.  Henry Chapron had a coachbuilding business in Lavalois-Perret where Delage started off.  The Le Dandy name was used later on a number of Citroen DS Cabriolets produced by Chapron.