Top five affordable Le Mans racers for the road

By Greg MacLeman
Features
 | 23 Jun 2015

When you think of Le Mans, chances are the first cars that leap to mind are the Blower Bentleys of the 1930s, Jaguar D-types and Ford GT40s – but you don’t have to break the bank to get behind the wheel of a La Sarthe legend. Among the Ferrari 250GTOs and Porsche 718s, there were a number of much more accessible street racers – many of which were campaigned by privateers.

Here are our top five models that raced at Le Mans, and that you can put in your garage for less than the price of a new BMW. 

Datsun 240Z

Datsun 240Z £39,995

In 1975, the Datsun 240Z became the first Japanese GT to finish the 24 Hours of Le Mans, driven by André Haller, Hans Schuller and Benoit Maechler. The team completed 253 laps of the circuit at an average speed of nearly 90mph, finishing 26th overall. 

Datsun 240Z

The days of cheap 240Zs are long gone: values are on the march and showing no sign of slowing, so if you want one, you’ll have to act quickly. At almost £40,000, this is example is pushing the envelope of what is affordable for most of us, but it’s also one of the tidiest we’ve seen this year. Click here to view the full advert

Mini Marcos

Mini Marcos From £3000

There is no shortage of Mini-based kit cars on the market, but the Mini Marcos is arguably one of the most endearing. As well as setting a number of speed records for cars up to 1600cc, it was also the only British car (apart from the Shelby American-backed GT40s) to finish the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans after being driven to 15th place (though dead last) by Jean-Louis Marnat and Claude Ballot-Lena. 

Mini Marcos

Of all the cars on our list, it’s also the cheapest. This lovely MkIV example sold at Anglia Car Auctions this month for just £2940 – well below its £4-5000 pre-sale estimate. Someone bagged themselves a bargain! Click here to view the full advert

MGA

MGA £35,000

Though several MGAs ran at Le Mans with factory backing from 1955, one of the model’s most interesting outings at La Sarthe came in 1959 courtesy of a handful of dedicated members of the MG Car Club’s Northwest Centre. A factory Twin-Cam roadster was modified for the endurance race by the fitting of a long-range fuel tank and little else, before being taken to France by a dozen volunteers, MG mechanic Henry Stone and drivers Ted Lund and Colin Escott. Despite a promising start, the team’s hopes were eventually dashed after the car struck a dog on the Mulsanne Straight, causing problems that led to the gearbox seizing later in the race. 

Photograph: MGA Twin-Cam at Le Mans in 1960

MGA

This one-owner car is a real rarity, and it wouldn’t take much to return it to its factory specification. Click here to view the full advert

Chevrolet Corvette

Chevrolet Corvette £75,000

One of the Corvette’s most unlikely tales of derring do came at Le Mans in 1972, when a small team from Florida entered an L88-powered 1968 model. Race Engineering and Development had little money, and its racer actually began life as a $600 wreck bought from an insurance auction in Miami – though a tasty package of parts was supplied by Chevrolet. It made it to La Sarthe only with the help of Luigi Chinetti, who assigned the Corvette his team’s reserve place after RED’s original application to compete was turned down. After all the Ferraris pulled out, the stage was set: the Corvette finished in fine style, despite one crash, one spin and a few hasty repairs. 

Chevrolet Corvette

This 1965 example from our classified pages commands a higher price than a normal road car (non-racing C3 Corvettes can be had for as little as £15,000) because it was built to race at Daytona, but not much else is known about its early history. You’ll have as much fun uncovering its past as you will behind the wheel. Click here to view the full advert

Porsche 911

Porsche 911 £44,000

Throughout the 1970s, the Porsche 911 became the go-to car of choice for privateers wanting to take on the challenge of Le Mans, but the story began much earlier. The model’s first finish at the race came in 1966, when Jacques Dewes and Jean Kerguen drove a Porsche 911S to victory in the GT class.

Porsche 911

With 911S values going through the roof in recent years, we reckon this 911E-engined 912 offers a more affordable route into classic 911 ownership. It might not be concours, but would that bother you when you were driving it down to the Le Mans Classic? Click here to view the full advert

Profile picture for user Greg MacLeman
Greg MacLeman

Greg MacLeman is a contributor to and former Features Editor of Classic & Sports Car, and drives a restored and uprated 1974 Triumph 2500TC