Alfa Romeo 4C Type 960

Alfa Romeo 4C at Mont Dore with Lac Chambon in the background.

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For more pictures taken at the 2016 Mont Dore Hillclimb, click on the link above.

Alfa Romeo, Modena, Italy.  This Alfa Romeo has been made at the Maserati plant since 2013.  It is a mid-engined rear wheel drive 2 seater sports car.  It has a top speed of 160 mph and a 0-60mph time of 4.5 seconds.  It has a turbocharged 4 cylinder in line engine of 1.75 litres mounted transversely.  One had been driven around the Nurburgring Nordschliefe circuit in 8 minutes 4 seconds which is the fastest for any production car with an engine of under 250bhp.  This is the first Alfa Romeo for some time to be available in the USA.

1955 Jaguar D Type 3.8L

Andy Wallace, Jaguar D Type, Le Mans Jaguar Classic Challenge 2016.

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For more photos of Jaguars at Le Mans, click on the link above.

Jaguar, Coventry, England.  The D Type is perhaps the most iconic sports racing car of all time.  It had a trio of Le Mans 24 hours victories in 1955, 1956 and 1957.  The car above is restored from part of the winning 1955 car that was driven by Mike Hawthorn and Ivor Bueb in that very tragic race that cost 84 people their lives.  The D type was the first monocoque construction Jaguar and had a very aerodynamic shape conceived by Malcolm Sayer.   The first cars raced with 3.4 litre Jaguar XK V6 engines.  At other times they raced with 2.5 litre, 3.8 litre or 3.0 litre Jaguar XK V6 engines.  The first race for the D Type was the 1954 Le Mans 24 hours where it finished a close second.  The first victory was at Rheims in the 12 hour race a month afterwards driven by Whitehead and Wharton.   These early cars were achieved in the short nose cars.  For 1955 the long nose car appeared on the factory cars with production versions retaining the short nose.  Over sixty D types were made in all.   The works cars disappeared from the racing scene after 1956 but private teams like Ecurie Ecosse continued.  The ex works Ecurie Ecosses cars won Le Mans in 1956 and 1957.

1961 Lotus Elite Type 14

Lotus Elite, Tour Auto, 2015

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Lotus, Cheshunt, England. Lotus produced the Elite from 1957 to 1963 when it was replaced by the Elan.  It was a car with a revolutionary glass fibre monocoque chassis and a 1.2 litre Coventry Climax engine. For the road car performance was very good for its class and the time with a top speed of over 110mph and a o-60mph time of under 12 seconds.  The Elite had a successful racing history with drivers such as Jim Clark, Les Leston, David Hobbs, John Whitmore, Graham Warner, Trevor Taylor and Colin Chapman himself.  The Lotus Elite won its class at the Le Mans 24 hours many times and a number of national championships.  Although a fast race car the road versions were plagued by quality issues, although those still existing tend to have most issues resolved.  Nevertheless a landmark car for Lotus Cars.