The 2023 Le Mans Classic ended some time ago, but it took us some time to process the amount of photographic materials and the sheer wow factor of this magnificent event.
Peter Auto is responsible for the best classic car series in the world, bringing rare and expensive racing legends almost within our reach. The Le Mans Classic is their flagship event, which takes place every second year (in the other years, their fleet attends the Hungaroring Classic).
We visited both Hungaroring and Spa Classics several times, and none of them were a match for this event. Though it helps that we are celebrating the 100 years history of the 24 hours of Le Mans race this year. We saw many thematic celebrations, and more are still coming. Yet nothing compares to this event in terms of celebration.
The Le Mans Classic 2023 brought new visitor records. The four-day long weekend saw 235,000 spectators witnessing the history of motorsport, with over 800 race cars from 1923 to 2010.
MAP MEDIA
This year’s Le Mans Classic was simply massive. It’s not just the magnificent race track that offers hours of casual walk and lovely spectacle from the trackside tribunes. The compound hosted a wide range of activities, and its fields and parking lots were filled with clubs and shows, offering endless hours of walks.
If you got tired, you could hitch a ride in all kinds of dream cars. Old buses, military trucks, spartan Meharis and fabulous classics, you can get first-hand experience with a wide variety of exciting vehicles (and also get a refreshing shortcut).
This help may prove well needed, as the distances can get pretty extensive at Le Mans. Programs and exhibits are scattered around the premises, and it’s also worth changing stages to enjoy the various perspectives of the track. Yet some of these locations are also very dense in experience, so expect to lose some time when dropping the anchor.
The village in the centre of the event hosted traders and exhibitors pursuing their automotive passion (or, better to say, your passion, since they charge : ) ). You will find tents selling miniatures and die-cast cars, others are offering racing wear and equipment like clothes, hats, helmets, and gloves. Some of the booths are specialised in exclusive watches, jewellery and accessories, others on car-themed books, furniture, paintings and sculptures, or ancient racing relics.
The centre also hosts a special exhibition of concept and race cars, reminding us of a classic “Hall of Fame”. We could not really point out a single guiding principle (apart from the vehicles being paired into duos from the same brand). Still, each car was unique, leaving genuinely memorable impressions.
The most important car was Ferrari’s current racing favourite, the winner of this year’s Le Mans, making it the most successful Ferrari race car this year. The Ferrari 499P is a sports prototype built by Farrari’s official factory Scuderia team to compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship in the top Le Mans Hypercar category.
This meant the return of the Scuderia after 50 years of hiatus since Ferrari’s last win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ferrari is now second in the first Hypercar WEC championship season, finishing on the podium in each race so far.
The car is paired with a Ferrari 250 LM, another iconic race car from the ’60s. It is loosely based on the Ferrari 250-series as an upgrade to the legendary 250 GTO. Although the Scuderia never entered it, the car raced between 1963 and 1968 in the hands of private teams.
There is also an exciting pair of Lancias, the red 1956 Lancia Aurelia B20S participated five times at the Le Mans Classic. Lancia Aurelia was available from 1950 to 1958 and famous for using one of the first series-production V6 engines. The B20 coupé had notable racing successes, including a class victory at the 1951 Le Mans.
The classic coupe is paired with the most recent factory concept, the 2023 Lancia Pu+Ra HPE. This car intends to showcase the styling and technology of future production models, but we seriously hope it won’t. 🙂
The name Pu+Ra refers to the brand’s new pure and radical design language (the last bit we can confirm). At the same time, the classic HPE acronym stands for High-Performance Electric this time, instead of the shooting brake of the classic Lancia Beta.
The green Alfa Romeo Giulia SWB Zagato is a one-off concept car developed by the Italian design company Zagato in 2022. The car is based on an Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm, and SWB stands for shortened wheelbase to allow a proportionate coupe lining.
Passing two gorgeous white Bentleys, the curators selected a pair of Delages in blue de France racing livery. The colour is not by chance.
The Delage D12 is a road-legal hybrid race car produced by the French manufacturer Delage. You might wonder about this car brand, known for successful coupés from the prewar era. In fact, the Delage company ceased to exist in 1953, but in 2019, French entrepreneur Laurent Tapie revived the brand to produce the D12.
The car is not yet in production but is touring several events now, and the specs are promising. Delage’s technical team is located at the Magny-Cours race track, and the team includes several world champions, including F1 and Indycar World Champion Jacques Villeneuve. The D12 is powered by a massive 7.6 L V12 Engine peaking at 1,010 HP, with the help of a 110 HP electric engine.
The other Delage is a prewar 15 S8, considered to be one of the most successful race cars in the 1927 GP season, winning French, Spanish, German and British events.
There was a duo of Porsche 911s and BMWs (obviously), including the iconic E9 “Batmobile” 3.0 CSL.
Le Mans Classic welcomed more brands than the Paris Car Show.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans always held a strong marketing potential, showcasing the mechanical prowess of the brands and the durability of their vehicles. With the rise of classic car culture, Le Mans Classic offers an excellent opportunity to celebrate the brand’s anniversary (or one of its models), unveil a new or even a new brand, or revive an old one.
Their presence is reinforced by the gathering of club members, and their cars illustrate the owners’ long-term commitment. Alpine and Porsche amassed an endless field of cars, but even a few dozen Aston Martins or a dozen Ford GTs will leave a lasting impression.
This year, the organisers highlighted the presence of Alfa Romeo, Bentley Mulliner, De Tomaso, McLaren, Porsche and BMW. Some focussed on new cars, others on classics.
Porsche – strength in numbers and in quality
Porsche placed some bets on all fields. They prepared a booth dedicated to classic car services and fielded the largest group of owner’s cars.
With over 400 cars, the organisers managed to bring together the world’s largest gathering of Porsche clubs. 911s of all ages, air-cooled and transaxle models, and even a few 914s.
Renault and Alpine were there like in for a home game.
Local Patriot Renault also did its best to entertain visitors. They also arranged several exhibitions and relied heavily on club members. Over 150 Renault and Alpine collectors were invited to exhibit their cherished Alpines and Renaults, like the old 4CVs, including some that also entered the track.
A special exhibition paid tribute to the 30th anniversary of Twingo (time flies, huh?) and some 100% retrofitted models whose electrification kit will soon be offered for sale.
BMW illustrated its sporty heritage and racing genes
BMW’s racing genes are well illustrated by the Bavarian presence at Le Mans Classics. They built an elegant podium in the village and secured a test fleet for interested customers. They also nominated two cars into the hall of fame stage.
In addition, Club members showcased some 150 cars, adding more of the lovely CSLs.
Alfa Romeo and Maserati ensured a proper presence.
Alfa Romeo followed the same approach as BMW. The Milanese brand brought along its renewed road car lineup and delegated a duo of cars into the hall of fame.
Alfa also populated the stables of official Le Mans auctioneer Artcurial.
Maserati also came with a decorative tent (plus two cars to the hall of fame), but we missed their new Granturismo coupé.
British brands made us forget about Brexit.
The traditional British luxury brands ensured a massive presence at Le Mans Classic 2023, each having a different focus.
Bently flashed an elegant podium showcasing its Le Mans prowess of several generations, including the #7 Bentley Speed 8, to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Bentley’s last win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Lotus fielded an immense fleet of club cars of every decade and generation.
McLaren brought together a fine selection of its iconic F1 model, including an Art Car.
Aston Martin flashed the authentic replica of 007’s most iconic company car from the movie Goldfinger, but the club members also showcased very impressive vehicles from the past decades.
The main attraction of the Le Mans Classic is still the racing.
The main attraction of the Le Mans Classic is still on the race track, and the 2023 edition offered everything you could ever want. Prewar legends and Group C monsters, this field had it all.
And between the races, the track welcomed parades from club members to buses.
The various segments lasted four days, and most categories entered the tracks on multiple days.
Of course, these races are never really about knives’ edge competition but still offer spins and a few accidents. In fact some of the most memorable moments were due to the somewhat strange traditional start (where the drivers run from the other side of the track), and the resulting traffic jam.
We only included a few of our favourite moments here, but we plan to publish another article on the races.
Legendary Paris actioner Artcurial returned to Le Mans
Artcurial is a recurring partner of the Le Mans Classic, has put a fine selection of cars under the hammer.
The main attractions were race cars and exotics, but we also witnessed dozens of Alfa Romeos among the auction lots.
The Le Mans Museum is a spectacle on its own
As with most famous race tracks, Le Mans has a home museum that contributed to the Centenary celebrations with a new permanent exhibition titled “100 years at the Museum of the 24 hours”.
The show was inaugurated on 14th July 2022 and continued with constantly changing exhibits ever since. This was particularly true to the weekend of the Le Mans Classic as many cars were brought out for a parade round on the track.
This also meant that the exhibits were moved constantly during the event, and with unlucky timing, you might even miss most of the displays (the ticket fees were still payable, and you may have lost some time in the queue as well).
Although the Museum enlisted over 60 cars, including some authentic winning vehicles, so be prepared to spend some quality time here.
Since the Le Mans Classic, the exhibition has continued, and the 24 Hours Museum promised further exhibits to come (but also leave) thus the collection continues to evolve.
Other sights in the area
The area is rich in tourism and offers plenty of diverse activities. As the event quickly filled the local hotels and inns, we decided to widen our search. At Retromobile, we marvelled at so many specimens from the Tank Museum of Saumur that we decided to have a look (you can find more info on their website).
Stay tuned for a more detailed report on the Tank Museum!
