Between the oldest and newest cars present at Le Mans Classic Legend 2026, nearly 50 years of evolution come together on the great circuit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
A striking demonstration of the ambition of this new Le Mans Classic Legend formulacapable of bringing together the greatest machines of modern endurance racing. The oldest car on the grid is a 1973 Lola T290.
Powered by a 1,8-liter, 4-cylinder Ford Cosworth FVC engine and weighing less than 600 kg, the Lola T2920 evokes an era when lightness, mechanical simplicity, and driver skill made all the difference. A true representative of the golden age of two-liter prototypes, it offers a fantastic journey back in time. The Lola family is also well represented, with the Dane Jan Magnussen, former pilot of Formula 1 and four-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans In GT racing, he was entered in a 1973 Lola T292. A true evolution of the revolutionary T290, the T292 retained the same aluminum monocoque chassis but benefited from significant aerodynamic improvements as well as mechanical modifications designed to reduce unsprung weight. This model quickly established itself as the benchmark for two-liter prototypes.
Half a century of automotive passion
At the other end of the grid are the 2015 Ligier JS P2, Oreca 05, HPD ARX-04b, and Gibson 015S, the latest representatives of the historical period covered by Le Mans Classic Legend. Carbon chassis, sophisticated aerodynamics, sequential paddle-shift gearboxes, and top-level performance illustrate the progress made over more than four decades.
The organization went even further by inviting, outside of the rankings, two more recent GTs: a Aston Martin 2020 Vantage AMR GT3 and a Classic Ferrari for sale 488 GTE Evo from 2020. These models benefit from a specific classification in order to offer the public an even broader overview of modern endurance racing.
Between these extremes, all the great eras of the Le Mans classic have followed one another: the Porsche The 935 from the turbo era, the legendary Group C cars, the GT1s of the 1990s, the first LMP1s, diesel prototypes, and the last endurance GTs. Ferrari F40, McLaren F1 GTR, Porsche 962, Audi R8, Peugeot The 908 or Aston Martin DBR9 make up an exceptional lineup which, on its own, tells almost half a century of history.
This is undoubtedly the great success of this first Le Mans Classic Legend: bringing together on the same track a 1973 Lola driven by a former Formula 1 driver alongside the prototypes and GT cars that wrote the final chapters of endurance racing. It’s a way of reminding us that at Le Mans, passion truly knows no age or era.
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