Wouter Melissen
07-22-2010, 01:33 AM
A vast majority of the cars that compete in events like the Le Mans Classic has become very familiar to us but there usually is a handful of very special machines that make our trips more than worth it. At this year's edition we were treated to the Ferrari that between 2002 and 2008 was the most expensive Ferrari ever sold at auction and the Jaguar that still holds the Jaguar record. And these one-off cars were not displayed on carefully manicured lawns; they were raced in the feature event!
The Ferrari in question is the 330 TRI/LM, which was built specifically for the 1962 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It is the final 'Testa Rossa' built and the only one to use the considerably larger 'long block' V12 engine, which produced a hefty 390 bhp. Olivier Gendebien and Phil Hill absolutely dominated the race in the car and made history by scoring the very last outright victory in a front engined car. Not eligible for the other World Championship races, it was only rarely raced after. Two of its subsequent owners used the Le Mans winning machine regularly on the street. The Testa Rossa's current custodian acquired the car in 2007a for EUR 6,875,000, which was an improvement of the record already held by this car since 2002. It was fantastic to see this important and obviously very valuable car back out on track and driven with great verve. The unique Ferrari's history is covered in a detailed article, illustrated by a twelve-shot gallery.
Although also raced in period at Le Mans, the Jaguar E2A is important for many more reasons. It was one of the prototypes for the legendary E-Type road car and as such forms a link between the triple Le Mans winning D-Type and the E-Type. Entered by Briggs Cunningham, it competed at Le Mans exactly 50 years ago, where it proved fast but not very reliable. For most of its history, the car has been owned by one family, until it was offered by Bonhams in 2008. It subsequently passed in the hands of a prominent Austrian Jaguar collector for a record amount. He has since carefully prepared the car for racing with great respect for its highly original condition.
We have updated our existing article with a set of beautiful shots of E2A flying around the high speed Le Mans track.
Enjoy the links:
Ferrari 330 TRI/LM (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/595/Ferrari-330-TRI-LM.html)
Jaguar E2A (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/3698/Jaguar-E2A.html)
The Ferrari in question is the 330 TRI/LM, which was built specifically for the 1962 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It is the final 'Testa Rossa' built and the only one to use the considerably larger 'long block' V12 engine, which produced a hefty 390 bhp. Olivier Gendebien and Phil Hill absolutely dominated the race in the car and made history by scoring the very last outright victory in a front engined car. Not eligible for the other World Championship races, it was only rarely raced after. Two of its subsequent owners used the Le Mans winning machine regularly on the street. The Testa Rossa's current custodian acquired the car in 2007a for EUR 6,875,000, which was an improvement of the record already held by this car since 2002. It was fantastic to see this important and obviously very valuable car back out on track and driven with great verve. The unique Ferrari's history is covered in a detailed article, illustrated by a twelve-shot gallery.
Although also raced in period at Le Mans, the Jaguar E2A is important for many more reasons. It was one of the prototypes for the legendary E-Type road car and as such forms a link between the triple Le Mans winning D-Type and the E-Type. Entered by Briggs Cunningham, it competed at Le Mans exactly 50 years ago, where it proved fast but not very reliable. For most of its history, the car has been owned by one family, until it was offered by Bonhams in 2008. It subsequently passed in the hands of a prominent Austrian Jaguar collector for a record amount. He has since carefully prepared the car for racing with great respect for its highly original condition.
We have updated our existing article with a set of beautiful shots of E2A flying around the high speed Le Mans track.
Enjoy the links:
Ferrari 330 TRI/LM (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/595/Ferrari-330-TRI-LM.html)
Jaguar E2A (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/3698/Jaguar-E2A.html)