Top Endurance Racing Cars Of All Time – June 21, 2018 | Audi, Austin-Healey, Chaparral, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lola, Lotus, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Porsche, Shelby | Posted in Features | From the March 2015 issue | Don’t miss the article
There are certain types of smiles reserved for moments when someone is ready to do something evil. You know one thing: It’s indicative of good-natured evil that’s fun to watch as long as you’re not on the receiving end.
Top Endurance Racing Cars Of All Time
That’s the look on our faces when we pose this question to our accomplished friends: What is the best race car of all time?
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It is a question that arises a lot. What does it mean? the fastest? Win the most? Most influential? A real brain twister of questions. And that’s why we smile like the CheshireCat.
The answers we have collected from a select group of motorsports world legends are not conditioned by age or race series. These people have to think about the cars they drive as well as the people they wish they were driving. They have to weigh their best experience against the time of these heroes heroes.
We went in search of a vehicle that goes beyond the winner’s circle – good engineering. The best, the best story, the biggest heart. To be fair, we’ve also claimed our favorite contests – and for those interested, we count on your insight as well.
“The W196 was a winner from the start, unlike the Porsche 917 and Ford GT40. Name another race car that dominated a season out of the box in two disciplines.” -Bill Warner, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance
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Mercedes-Benz waited for 1954: they skipped all the racing activities of the previous year so that they could plan for a big appearance after the Second World War. According to the new Formula 1 rules, Mercedes decided to completely rebuild the 2497cc, eight-cylinder engine. Fuel received in the world. Wrapped in a new lightweight body, the racer with 256 horsepower can hit 170 mph. It is known internally as the W196 R.
Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling drove to a 1-2 finish for the first time in the French Grand Prix. Fangio won three of the remaining five races in his Mercedes and won the 1954 championship.
The following year, Mercedes set their sights higher. Engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut and racing team manager Alfred Neubauer not only wanted to conquer F1, but also prove their mettle with the world championship. So, for 1955, they added the full body of the W196 and increased the engine output to 310 horsepower. This new car is popularly known as 300 SLR.
Along with the increased competition package, Mercedes has recruited new drivers, including Stirling Moss. His first outing was the 1955 Mille Miglia with the now famous No. 722. Not only did Moss and co-driver Denis Jenkinson take the win, but their record-setting run beat Fangio’s second-placed SLR solo driver by more than 30 minutes.
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Fangio had better luck in the F1 series, where the W196 R – now upgraded to 290 horsepower – took him home first in four of the seven races, which was enough to clinch the championship for the second year running. Moss has been competitive all year, including leading a 1-2-3-4 win for Mercedes in front of his home crowd at the British Grand Prix.
The F1 season was shortened that year due to tragedy at Le Mans involving Mercedes. Thanks to a poor racetrack setup, a heated race between the German manufacturer and Jaguar ended with Pierre Levegh’s SLR launching into the crowd, killing the driver and 82 others. Mercedes withdrew from the race out of respect.
The 300 SLR would return to the track to claim the last two victories of the season in England and Italy, which was enough to win the overall title. It was a triumphant season with dark clouds, however, and Mercedes, deciding that it had achieved its goal, withdrew from racing to focus on passenger cars.
During its short career, the W196 proved to be a highly adaptable racer. It is available in support body and open wheel conversion, and there is a long wheelbase version, Medium and short with almost 8 inches of difference between the three.
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“I drive a lot – and I mean a lot of cars in my 30 years behind the wheel, so it’s not an easy choice. This is a good long-distance racer with few faults.” -David Hobbs, longtime racing driver, F1 commentator
Patience is the obvious key to endurance racing. But beyond the iron determination of the driver, there is a team of people who must believe that the elements can wear the longest and most stressful working days in the world. Engineer and team manager John Wyer had a solution that eventually led to the winner’s circle.
After a successful run as manager of the Aston Martin team, Wyer left to help Ford Advanced Vehicles (FAV) develop the Lola GT into the Ford GT40. The car had some teething problems in the opening seasons of 1964 and 1965, but Wyer knew its potential. Although Ford found greater success when it enlisted Carroll Shelby for the MkII model, Wyer was part of the group that bought the FAV and, as JW Automotive, continued to support the first model car.
But the JW Automotive team did more than just bring the MkI GT40 to life. They rebuilt it to be lighter, faster and more powerful. Gulf Oil stepped in as a major sponsor, and new race cars took to the track wearing the now famous light blue and orange livery. The car bears a close resemblance to the GT40s, but with enough improvements to warrant a new name, the Mirage M1.
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When JW Automotive wanted to compete in the 1968 World Championship, the rules stated that cars with a production run of 50 or more qualified for Group 4, which contained engines up to 5.0 liters. The Mirage M1 is too far removed from the original GT40 to qualify under these new rules, but the company’s experience in improving Ford makes them interesting.
JW Automotive updated the MkI GT40 engine using the Mirage chassis, and although many of the M1’s improvements were lost in the process, enough was made to make this the best MkI ever. The Gulf/Mirage Ford GT40 was more reliable than the racing giant in the prototype class, and it won overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1968 and 1969.
David Hobbs came second in the class behind his teammates Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver for the second appearance of the car at the Circuit de la Sarthe, and he remembers this GT40 well: “Of course it did not drop. We added small deflectors in the front fenders and a small spoiler for the back while both seasons unfurled, but it was slippery.
“At the end of the Mulsanne straight, we were pulling a speed of about 205 mph with 385 horsepower, now it takes more than 600 horsepower to pull that speed.”
Sports Car Racing
“All I have is a picture in my head of Mark Donohue’s 917 going up the hill at Road America.” -Lisa Noble, President, Auto Sports Club of America
The same rules that allowed JW Automotive to compete with the old GT40 also opened the door for Porsche. Tournament director Ferdinand Piëch didn’t share his grandfather’s last name, but he sure had moxie. To bet the family business on a new racing car.
To meet the homologation rules for the 1969 race season, cars with engines over 3.0 liters had to be one of at least 25 examples produced. This is to encourage competition among less specialized machines, but Porsche decided to jump to the head of the line.
Cars built for competition are expensive to produce and tend to have a short shelf life, so they are generally only hand-built. That is why it felt like a declaration of war when Piëch launched an unprecedented run and cost of 25 new 917s – all fully assembled and ready to compete – in the spring of 1969.
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These cars had a mixed rookie season, but when JW Automotive joined Porsche in this effort, the car became unstoppable. With an improved aerodynamic engine for 1970, the 917K won every race except Sebring and the Nürburgring. Further improvements for 1971 kept the car dominant, winning seven out of 11 races.
Porsche won the International Championship for Makes two years in a row, but new FIA regulations in 1972 meant that the 917’s 5.0-liter flat-12 had to lose 40 percent of its power. Instead of adding new restrictions, Porsche decided to develop the 917 for the North American Can-Am series, where the only limit to horsepower is imagination.
Jo Siffert has found moderate success running modified 917s in Can-Am since the car debuted in 1969, but now Porsche has thrown its corporate weight across the Atlantic. McLarens are crowding the winner’s circle, and it’s not bad for Porsche – its biggest market is North America.
The specially developed 917/30 developed the Spyder body style for a slightly longer wheelbase, improved front air system, and a large tail spoiler. 12 cylinder engine with Bosch