The 1991 race-winning Mazda 787B has been selected as a 'Legend of Le Mans' to take centre stage with 11 other race cars in celebrations of the 90th anniversary of the 24 Hours in June.
Members of the public were asked to pick one car from each decade of the Le Mans 24 Hours 90-year history that best embodied the famous race. A 12-member jury, including FIA President Jean Todt, ACO President Pierre Fillon and multiple Le Mans winners Emanuele Pirro and Yannick Dalmas, then whittled the cars down, but stumbled on the entry for the 1990s before deciding that both the quad-rotor Mazda 787B and the Peugeot 905 were to be granted 'legend' status, bringing the field to eleven cars.
The ACO plans to bring together examples of each of the legendary cars for a series of events prior to the 2013 race and for a parade lap of the famous 8.47-mile Circuit de la Sarthe before the start of this year's 24-hour race on June 22/23.
The full list of Le Mans Legends is:
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 and Peugeot 905
2000s: Audi R10 TDI
2010s: Audi R18 e-tron quattro
Paul Healy - 15 Feb 2013