Le Mans Classic revolution. A new formula, a new beginning.

By popular demand, Le Mans Classic — the historic revival of the famous 24 Hours, contested exclusively by models that actually competed in the race — becomes an annual event from this year. From 2 to 5 July, the Circuit de la Sarthe prepares to experience one of the most anticipated changes among collectors with eligible cars. It is a decision — the event was previously biennial — that finds a pleasing and interesting counterpart in the renewed Museum. Every participant will be able to search among the scale models on display for their own car. Enormous display cases present all — and we mean all — the scale models of every car that has raced since 1923, the year of the first edition, to the present day. Something in the order of 4,800 distinct models.
A new chapter begins in 2026 as Le Mans Classic adopts an annual format. This year, the Legend version focuses on grids 6 through 10, representing a period that stretches from the 1970s to the end of the 2010s.
The Automobile Club de l'Ouest and Peter Auto, the organizers, propose a new format that will alternate between two distinct events: Le Mans Classic Heritage, dedicated to cars that raced between 1923 and 1975, and Le Mans Classic Legend, reserved for the cars that wrote the history of the race from 1976 to 2015. Serious machinery, in other words. For four days, the Circuit de la Sarthe will host around 500 cars divided across five grids, tracing more than four decades of technical evolution. Alongside the classic models — with a selection fixed from year to year — Le Mans Classic will feature Groupe 6 prototypes and the spectacular Groupe 5 silhouette cars of the 1970s through to the Groupe C machines, by way of the GTs and the legendary LMP1 and GTE cars of the new millennium. A singular opportunity to see in action some of the cars that helped return Le Mans to the centre of the world stage. The cars will not, of course, be measured over 24 hours, but across a series of races — run by day and by night — to produce classifications consistent with the different demands of endurance competition.
Between day and night races, Le Mans Classic returns to the circuit the cars that wrote some of the most significant chapters in endurance racing. A journey across more than four decades of history, from the icons of the 1970s to the prototypes of the new millennium.
Among the most anticipated guests is Gordon Murray, one of the great designers in automotive history. The South African engineer will be celebrated through a special parade bringing together some of his most iconic creations — from the McLaren F1 GTR that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1995, to Ayrton Senna's McLaren MP4/5B, through to the modern T.50, T.50s Niki Lauda, and T.33. The cars will also be displayed within the event village in the paddock, offering visitors a journey through more than half a century of innovation.