This desirable fleet will be offered by RM Sotheby's on May 9.
In the coming days, RM Sotheby's will auction off some of the most desirable racing cars and motorsport legends to ever grace the hallowed tarmac of Le Mans. This once-in-a-lifetime Le Mans auction sees 21 Le Mans racers and several other pieces of memorabilia up for grabs as part of the centenary celebrations of the fabled race. It includes some extraordinary machines from nearly every decade.
Those who know their Le Mans history know what a stir the Nissan R90CK caused at the 1990 race. Due to a rule change, Nissan deployed its R90C/1 chassis, a vehicle tuned for maximum turbo boost and rumored to produce more than 1,000 horsepower, for qualifying. This is the car you see before you today.
With Mark Blundell behind the wheel, the R90C/1 rocketed its way around the circuit and secured pole position – besting rivals by six seconds.
Even with four cars in the top five, the strongest finish was fifth place. Still, Nissan made it into the history books by becoming the first-ever Japanese manufacturer to take pole position.
Just six examples were ever produced, and with such strong provenance, the sales estimate of $1,050,000-$1,600,000 almost looks like a bargain.
And compared to the 1991 Jaguar XJR-12 LM, it is. Estimated to sell for $2,700,000-$3,200,000, the iconic Silk Cut Jag (chassis 891) placed fourth in the 1991 running. All three models finished strongly but were outclassed by the incredible Mazda 787B, the first Japanese car to ever win at Le Mans.
As part of the centenary celebrations, the 787B will return to Le Mans later this month.
You can't discuss legendary Le Mans racers without referring to Porsche. The 962 C pictured below is just one of three Works 962s that were set aside for the Rothmans Porsche factory team. First seen at the '85 24 Hours of Le Mans, chassis 004 qualified in fifth place.
Things were looking good, and the Rothmans-liveried 962 C maintained a strong 2nd place position for half the race. Sadly, a crankshaft failure in the 21st hour forced chassis 004 out of the race. Despite this, the Rothmans 962 C is an iconic racing car, as evidenced by the $6,500,000-$9,500,000 estimated selling price.
If you're interested in the earlier days of Le Mans, you'll be more interested in the 1932 Aston Martin Le Mans 'LM8'. On its first outing at Circuit de la Sarthe, LM8 managed to finish in 7th place overall and clinched 2nd in its class. Interestingly, the LM10 Aston finished 5th overall and drove off with top honors in its class.
Unlike modern Aston Martins (like the new DB12 and its twin-turbo V8), the Aston Martin Le Mans 'LM8' gains motivation from a rather tiny engine. A compact 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine lives under the hood and sends power to the wheels via a four-speed manual transmission.
This 91-year-old race car is estimated to sell between $1,000,000-$1,450,000.
Here's the entire list of vehicles that will go up for sale at Circuit 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 9:
- 1932 Aston Martin Le Mans 'LM8' (estimated selling price: $1,000,000 – $1,450,000)
- 1936 Delahaye 135 S by Pourtout (estimated selling price: $1,600,000 – $2,150,000)
- 1954 OSCA MT4 by Morelli (estimated selling price: $1,400,000 – $1,600,000)
- 1955 Ferrari 121 LM Spider by Scaglietti (estimated selling price: $6,000,000 – $7,000,000)
- 1958 Lister-Jaguar 'Knobbly' (estimated selling price: $1,550,000 – $1,950,000)
- 1963 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2 Series III 'Le Mans Safety Car' by Pininfarina (estimated selling price: $600,000 – $700,000)
- 1967 Alpine A210 (estimated selling price: $1,300,000 – $1,600,000)
- 1969 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Competizione (estimated selling price: $5,000,000 – $5,500,000)
- 1983 Rondeau M482 (estimated selling price: $430,000 – $550,000)
- 1984 Lancia LC2 (estimated selling price: $2,350,000 – $2,550,000)
- 1985 Porsche 962 (estimated selling price: $6,500,000 – $9,500,000)
- 1990 Nissan R90CK (estimated selling price: $1,050,000 – $1,600,000)
- 1991 Jaguar XJR-12 LM (estimated selling price: $2,700,000 – $3,200,000)
- 1993 Jaguar XJ220 C LM (estimated selling price: $1,700,000 – $2,350,000)
- 1993 Venturi 600 S-LM (estimated selling price: $320,000 – $430,000)
- 1996 Chrysler Viper GTS-R (estimated selling price: $650,000 – $750,000)
- 2000 Porsche 911 GT3 R (estimated selling price: $270,000 – $375,000)
- 2005 Spyker C8 GT2-R (estimated selling price: $270,000 – $375,000)
- 2006 Ferrari F430 GTC (estimated selling price: $800,000 – $1,050,000)
- 2007 Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 (estimated selling price: $2,250,000 – $2,700,000)
- 2008 Saleen S7-R (estimated selling price: $1,300,000 – $1,600,000)
Keyword: 21 Iconic Le Mans Race Cars Are Looking For A New Home