Gallery: 'Le Mans 100' celebrated with parade of legendary cars

Le Mans, perhaps more than another race, is the event where the cars are the stars – with the drivers shuffled to the side.

Though heroes like Jacky Ickx, Derek Bell and Tom Kristensen have captured the imagination of many fans, the story of the world’s greatest race is told through machines like the Bentley Blower, Ford GT40, Porsche 917 and Audi R8.

Legends of Le Mans are forged at the wheel of these iconic cars, and so in celebration of the race’s centenary this year, the circuit hosted an exhibition that featured 86 machines, including 65 winners. Many were wheeled out on track in a dazzling parade of colour, noise and speed.

Below, we run through some of the best on show.

Alfa Romeo 8C-2300 (blue)

1934 winner
Luigi Chinetti, Phillipe Etancelin

Luigi Chinetti-prepared car won by 180km after the Italian-American missed out by 9sec the previous year. Chinetti, who would win Le Mans three times in total, later became the official Ferrari importer to the US and persuaded founder Enzo to enter his cars at La Sarthe as a means of promoting his brand.

Lagonda M45R

1935 winner
Johnny Hindmarsh, Luis Fontes

Hawker Sidley fighter pilot Johnny Hindmarsh and wealthy socialite Luis Fontes were an unlikely pair, but took on the might of Alfa Romeo to win in 1935.

Read more Lagonda’s 1935 Le Mans upset: narrow victory that denied Alfa Romeo

1950, 11th place: Cadillac

11th at 1950 Le Mans
Briggs Cunningham, Phil Walters 

This Cadillac was not just an aerodynamic revolution, it was also the first car connected to the pit by radio. Nicknamed ‘Le Monstre’, for obvious reasons, it was a based on a Series 61 chassis.

Read more Doug Nye: Cadillac built itself serious racing heritage before F1 bid

Mercedes 300 SL

1952 winner
Hermann Lang, Fritz Reiss

This car marked Mercedes’ victorious return to racing after 22 years away. The lightweight tubular chassis and aluminium bodywork led to the ‘Sport Leich (light)’ designation, and gullwing doors were chosen to hasten driver changes.

Read more Hermann Lang: Mercedes’ working class hero

Jaguar D-type (blue)

1957 – third
Jean Lucas, Jean-Marie Bruin

Third of three D-types on the podium on 1957, this French-entered car featured the disc brakes that gave Jaguar its edge.

Read more The D-type cast

Aston Martin DBR1

1959 winner
Roy Salvadori, Carroll Shelby

After three second-place finishes in 1955, 1956 and 1958, Aston Martin finally won at Le Mans. Stirling Moss led a furious charge that did for his Aston — but also the faster Ferraris, leaving Salvadori and Shelby to take victory

Read more ‘It was our last shot’: how Aston Martin snatched its only Le Mans win

Ford GT40 MkII

1966 winner
Bruce McLaren, Chris Amon

Ford’s famous victory over Ferrari was led by this McLaren-Amon car, but only after team-mate and race leader Ken Miles slowed down as requested in an attempt to engineer a tied finish. The former car was deemed to have covered more distance and named the victor.

Read more 1966: Ford’s first Le Mans win

Porsche 917 K

1970 winner
Hans Herrman, Richard Attwood

The car that began Porsche’s winning streak: the short-tail (K) version solved the aerodynamic issues of the previous year’s car and with assured driving in treacherous conditions, Herrman and Attwood delivered the manufacturer’s first overall victory.

Read more “There was no euphoria, I was absolutely drained” Richard Attwood on winning Le Mans ’70

Porsche 917 LH

1971 winner
Jo Siffert, Derek Bell

Jackie Oliver set a 3min 13.6sec lap time — 14sec faster than this year’s pole — and a reputed 396km/h (246mph) on a chicane-free Mulsanne Straight in a long-tail 917 but the version never won the race; Bell and Siffert retired this car.

Read more Porsche 917’s secret advantage: winning Le Mans in 1971 — ‘whatever it took’

Porsche 936/77

1977 winner
Hurley Haywood, Jürgen Barth, Jacky Ickx

Ickx reunited with the car which he sensationally drove from 42nd to first in two four-hour double night-time stints, with only two hours out of the cockpit in between them.

Read more Porsche 936: the forgotten Le Mans-winning prototype

1988 WM P 88

1988, retired
Claude Haldi, Roger Dorchy, Jean-Daniel Raulet

The WM may have retired in 1988, but its place in history was assured when it was clocked at 407km/h down the Mulsanne Straight. Designed specifically to break the 400km/h barrier, the record remains to this day thanks to the introduction of chicanes.

Read more The WM team at Le Mans: Straight Fighters

1988 winning Jaguar XJR-9

1988 winner
Jan Lammers, Johnny Dumfries, Andy Wallace

Ending three decades without a Le Mans win, the No2 Silk Cut Jaguar was one of five XJR-9s deployed to beat the Porsche 962s and led the race for 18 of the 24 hours.

Read more Le Mans’ greatest Group C battle: Jaguar XJR-9 LM vs Porsche 962

BMW V12 LMR

1999 winner
Yannick Dallas, Pierluigi Martini, Joachim Winkelhock

BMW’s only Le Mans winner: the V12 LMR benefitted from a partnership with the Williams F1 team. Two cars were entered and No17 led for 17 hours before crashing, leaving the path clear for No15 to take the win.

Read more Le Mans’ ‘worst piece of driving’: Toyota’s bitter defeat to BMW

Mazda 787B

1991 winner
Johnny Herbert, Volker Weidler, Bertrand Gachot

With a quirky, screaming rotary engine, a small team and a car designed for a Mulsanne Straight without its recently-added chicanes, Mazda defeated Le Mans titans Jaguar and Mercedes thanks to bullet-proof reliability and outstanding fuel efficiency.

Read more Mazda 787B’s giant-killing ’91 Le Mans win: ‘None of us thought we could actually win it’

Bugatti EB110

1994, retired
Alain Cudini, Eric Helary, Jean-Christophe Boullion

A road-legal Le Mans car, the Bugatti EB110 entered just one race in 1994. Despite a rushed development, it showed impressive pace but reliability, and then a late crash, ended its chances of a strong finish

Read more Bugatti EB 110 SC: The lone ranger

Audi R8

2000 winner
Frank Biela, Tom Kristensen, Emanuele Pirro

Audi’s first victory that would see it go on to dominate a new century of racing at La Sarthe: the R8 would win five of the six Le Mans 24 Hours races it entered

Read more Audi’s engine guru retires: Ulrich Baretzky on 3 decades of ingenuity

Bentley EXP Speed 8

2003 winner
Guy Smith, Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo Capello

A dominant display by Bentley saw the No15 car led for the full 24 hours, after two seasons of development. But it also spelled the end of the programme, which had done its job of burnishing Bentley’s image.

Read more Bentley’s stunning 2003 Le Mans win: ‘Audi said it would never work’