Also invited are charismatic GT cars like Le Mans Cobras and Lightweight E-types, Ferrari GTOs and Aston Martin Project cars. In 2003, the Le Mans Legend will re-run the heroic battles between Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512, between Ford GT40 and Ferrari P4, between Matra V12 and Porsche 908. Changing regulations, and alterations to the track, have meant that the average speed of the winning Porsche in 1971 – over 138mph for a day and a night – has never been beaten. Their short but glorious life as contemporary racers came to an abrupt end in 1972, with the introduction of a new 3-litre capacity limit. Yet 1971 was the swansong of these 5-litre beasts. The Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512M were not only faster in corners: they also raised straight-line speeds well in excess of 200mph. Then, as the decade drew to a close, the emergence of aerodynamic downforce changed the face of racing for ever. In the mid-1960s, as Ford took on Ferrari, the new generation of mid-engined cars was reaching unprecedented speeds on the 3-mile Mulsanne Straight. The chosen years, 1959 to 1971, represent a golden era for Le Mans.
This is a serious race - not a parade - with classes based on engine size and age of car.
In front of the vast Le Mans crowd, and basking in the unrivalled atmosphere of the greatest endurance race in the world, it recreates legendary Le Mans battles gone by on the full 8.5-mile circuit. The Le Mans Legend, held a few hours before the start of the famous 24 Hours race, was initiated in 2001 and is now run every second year. It spans the last great front-engined classics, the mid-engined revolution and the emergence of the dramatic Group 4 and Group 6 racers. This time, however, the eligible years will be 1959 to 1971, which promises a spectacular battle between some of the greatest sports-racers of all time. This is the Historic race run on the Saturday morning of the main event and, as with the sensationally successful Le Mans Legend 2001, it will be exclusively for actual cars which ran at Le Mans and genuine sister cars of the same specification.
The car you see here is due to roll across the auction block with RM Auctions on the 10th of October 2013, the estimated value is just $20,000 to $25,000 USD, making it quite a buyable car all things considered.Ĭlick here to visit the car’s official listing.A new era has been chosen for the Le Mans Legend race at next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours weekend. When it comes to handling the Sprite is a remarkably fun car to drive, it’s not dissimilar to the Mini when it comes to size and road feel though the open top adds a roadster element that always proves to be hugely popular here in England, for the 6 days of the year when it doesn’t rain.
The beautifully restored Sprite you see here is fitted with the 56hp, 1,098cc inline four with twin SU carburettors, a 4-speed manual transmission, independent front suspension with coil springs, rear suspension with semi-elliptic leaf springs and live rear axle, as well as front disc and rear drum brakes. The Sprite MKII went onto continue the successful run started by its predecessor selling 31,665 units worldwide, compared with 48,987 units for the MKI, 25,905 for the MKIII and 22,790 for the MKIV. The small, lightweight car was fitted with a 948cc 4-pot engine when it was released, this was upgraded to a 1,098cc unit later in the model’s life and both engines were fitted with twin SU carburettors. The new Mark II followed the same design ethos as the Mark I, it was designed to be small enough to fit into the average man’s bike shed and be affordable as a second car for a blue collar worker. The Mark II was released in 1961 as a replacement for the Mark I, often referred to as the Frogeye Sprite. The Sprite is widely considered to be one of the best “starter classics” for those wanting to dip their toe into the world of classic car ownership, that said, many people love the Sprite so much they aren’t interested in owning larger or more famous classics. This is a 1963 Austin-Healey Sprite Mark II and it’s one of the nicest examples of the model we’ve come across in recent memory.