Le Mans, Garage 56, the extraordinary laboratory of the future

To understand the spirit of that special pit box bearing the number 56, you have to remember that Le Mans has never been just a race: from its very birth in 1923, it was conceived as a vast technological laboratory for the automobile and its progress. To uphold this principle, in 2010 the ACO — Automobile Club de l'Ouest, the race's long-standing organizer — chose to cement this tradition by creating a slot on the starting grid, entirely free from convention, reserved for a car belonging to no existing category, yet carrying sufficient technological, engineering, or human value to deserve a place in the 24 Hours.