planetf1.com

As part of its celebrations for the 90th anniversary of the Le Mans 24 Hour Race, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest is giving us all the chance to vote for a favourite car from each of the 10 decades of the race. The greatest car of each decade will then be chosen according to these votes and those of a panel of experts.

Sadly, it isn't a completely free vote - the ACO has already narrowed down the choices to just three cars for each decade - so no chance to vote for the 1950 Cadillac Le Monstre but still a fun way to fill a few minutes while you wait for March to come.

You can vote on the ACO website: http://www.lemans.org/en/elect-cars-24-hours-of-le-mans.html or via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/24heuresdumans You could even win a prize!

I went with:

1930 Bentley Speed Six
1931 Alfa Romeo 8C
1949 Ferrari 166
1959 Aston Martin DBR1
1969 Ford GT40
1971 Porsche 917K
1981 Porsche 956 (although I erred for a while on the 80s choice as the Jaguar XJR is also a Le Mans icon)
1992 Pugeot 905
2008 Audi R10
2011 Audi R18 TDI

If they asked for me to pick one out off those as the all time greatest Le Mans car. I'd probably go with the GT40 although the 956 would run it a close second.

1930 Bentley Speed Six
1933 Alfa Romeo 8C
1949 Ferrari 166
1959 Aston Martin DBR1
1969 Ford GT40
1971 Porsche 917K
1988 Jaguar XJR-9 ('80s was the hardest to choose, Jean Rondeau's story is great and then the 956 dominated)
1991 Mazda 787b
2006 Audi R10 TDI
2012 Audi e-tron Quattro

The most iconic car would be the Porsche 917K.

I would choose the Mclaren F1 GTR for the most outstanding achievement award.

_________________

Cobra
GT-40

_________________
Disclaimer: The above post maybe tongue in cheek.

"I thought I'd get your theories, mock them, then embrace my own. The usual."

Ford GT40- winning le mans 4 times on the trot
Mazda 787/787B- Rotary engine was a great car
Porsche 956- Brilliant dominant
Jaguar XJR-9- Also a a brilliant car
Audi R8- Was unbeatable at the time
Audi R10 first diesel to win the le mans 24 hours

And because I'm only 16 I cant remember any others

_________________
Renault/Lotus F1 team supporter

e-tron ushers in a new era in sportscar racing, winner for me

_________________

Whatever wins, I hope it's painted in Gulf colors.

Had to give votes to both of the Jags, and it was a tough choice between the e-tron and the Deltawing, but the Delta got the vote in the end.

You chose the car not even capable of being classified as the greatest one ever

_________________

Roger Dorchy's WM Secateva... Hardly the greatest but still my favorite oddball.



No downforce to speak of but damn it was fast down Mulsanne!

Any Porsche with the Martini livery on!

I chose the one that has pushed the boundaries in terms of layout, design, and efficiency more than any other in quite a while. The e-tron while being a winner and advancing hybrid tech in endurance racing is really just an iteration of the the same thing Audi has been doing for years.

Will all prototypes looks like this anytime soon? Of course not, but if made others rethink their approach in any significant way it was an influential car.

I wasn't knocking your choice, I just thought it was funny that you chose the one car that wasn't actually competing. I think the Delta Wing hype will fizzle as the possibilities of including it in any series in a meaningful way dwindle, and people realize there is no value to running it in its own series because driving it doesn't prepare young drivers for anything bigger, manufacturers don't want to just show off engines in a spec chassis in a support series when they can do it in places like Indy Car, or build their own chassis anywhere, and the makers aren't geared up enough to offer a complete package as cheaply as say, Oreca can provide LMPC cars.

_________________

Why no Audi R8?

_________________

I admit that I parsed your initial post incorrectly, misreading what you meant by classification. You're right it wasn't able to place in any class. However it was the first car to be entered in the Garage 56 experimental car category. Which is something that I hope they continue to allow, and that there are people out there willing to expend the time, energy, and money to develop these types of "outside the box" designs and run them against the top endurance racers in the world.

I don't think the Delta, as it stands, will be the future, but there are concepts there that could be incorporated into future designs of prototype cars and push the edges a bit more than the incremental changes that have been seen over the last 10-15 years.

Prototype cars didn't always look like they do now, and things like the Delta Wing will mean that they won't look like this in the future.

There have been great ones for sure.
The two that pop out for me are:
1. The Ford MK4 GT (so good it got banned)
2. The Mazda (4 rotor) 787 B car (it was so good it got banned)

The euros are an imature bunch as they tend to change rules when some one bitch slaps them in their home race.

_________________
No matter where you go, there you are....

I thought the rules were relaxed to allow the 787B to compete. In any case my vote goes to the Sauber Mercedes C9. Great car,

The Mazda was never banned. Only the rotary engine was banned. The FIA said only 3.5-liter engines, like the ones used in F1 and by a few sports car teams at the time, would be allowed from 1992 on. IIRC it had nothing to do with the engine being so good, and the car itself was not really that successful outside of that 1 race.

_________________

LEGEND OF LE MANS VOTE WINNERS
1920s Bentley Speed 6
1930s Alfa Romeo 8C
1940s Ferrari 166MM
1950s Jaguar D-type
1960s Ford GT40
1970s Porsche 917K
1980s Porsche 956
1990s Mazda 787B
Peugeot 905
2000s Audi R10 TDI
2010s Audi R18 e-tron quattro

_________________

_________________

Hmm - I got 7 of the 11 the same as the panel.

As much as I loved the Mazda, being the only rotary engine one and so on, it had 1 win out of 21 races (total races, not only Le Mans) and it seriously lacked pace some times, only for reliability making up as other cars failed. How can they justify it being a legend if it doesn't have the results as well?