+13 Introducing Tazio 11, our second Le Mans Special
Introducing Tazio 11, our second Le Mans Special
Introducing Tazio 11, our second Le Mans Special
In the second year of our partnership with the ACO, the organisers of the Le Mans 24 Hours, we are proud to present our latest Le Mans Special. TWR-Jaguar XJR-12, Matra, Audi R8, Ford GT40, NASCAR,… 160 pages of Le Mans history are ready.
Just like last year, we were given free rein to curate the stories for our second Le Mans Special, an officially licensed Le Mans product. Our new Le Mans Special will be available for shipping just before the race (around June 14th), unless you are going to Le Mans, in which case you can buy it at our stand in the paddock village from Sunday, June 9th on. Yes, we are going to Le Mans. Come say hi if you’re there.
Wrecking ball force
Tazio 11 brings some rather amazing stories. First of all, with the help of Jaguar Classic, we got behind the wheel of the 1991 TWR-Jaguar XJR-12. In 1990, this brought the last win at Le Mans for Jaguar. By 1991, it was slapped with more weight to make it less competitive, but since there was no limit on displacement, TWR responded with more ccs for its V12: 7.4-litres (451 cu.in.). Power went over 770 hp. But it’s torque that impresses the most. When you say ‘put the hammer down’, you’re no longer talking about a sledgehammer. You are about to get hit by a wrecking ball.
Anniversaries
And then there are all the anniversaries that seem to have gone unnoticed so far. It’s 25 years since Audi arrived at Le Mans with their first prototype. With the help of Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish, Wolfgang Ullrich and Tony Southgate, we reconstruct the story behind the winningest of all the Audi prototypes; the R8. It’s also sixty years ago since Ford came to Le Mans to teach Ferrari a lesson with the GT40. Things did not go according to the scenario the Ford executives had dreamed up.
It’s also 25 years since the first fully watercooled Porsche 911 took a class victory at Le Mans. The Porsche 996 GT3 R beat most of the faster GT cars, straight out of the box. Roland Kussmaul tells us the story.
Matra
What for us felt like a major moment, was the double Matra birthday. It’s sixty years since Matra began producing cars, when the company took over the René Bonnet’s Djet model. And it’s fifty years since Matra took the last of its three victories at Le Mans. When we discussed the story with author Richard Lieberman, he insisted: ‘I don’t just want to do a story on Matra statistics.’ And so, together with our chief photographer Dirk de Jager, he set out for Romorantin, France, where they found the Matra spirit to be still very much alive.
And then there is our interview with Kurt Ahrens, the man who was not only the fastest in the ill-handling initial Porsche 917, but also the man who helped sort it out. He almost got killed in the process.
And what about NASCAR’s history at Le Mans, or the collection of rain pictures we selected from the Revs Institute archives, the Peugeot 905,… the list goes on.
Also, for the first time, you can read Peter Stevens’ take on Le Mans liveries.
You know enough. Here is another not-to-be-missed special, available for pre-order here. And if you missed our first Le Mans special, that one is still available too.
