In many ways, 2023 signified the revival of the Le Mans 24 Hours. It’s felt like a long time since the race held such significant gravitas as it did when a field of 16 Hyperc...
The 2024 running looks set to go even further as we expect the arrival of the likes of BMW, Lamborghini and Alpine. Suddenly, we’re on the verge of returning to something that might look a little bit like the video we’ve been watching today.
Here we have close to five remarkable minutes of trackside footage from the 1988 Le Mans 24 Hours. We’re positioned somewhere along the Mulsanne Straight, which in those days was an uninterrupted 3.7 miles long, and watching on as the Group C cars of the time absolutely rocket by. Their speed is one thing, the sound they make is simply unholy.
Of the cars we can just about make out, more by listening than watching the flashes of colour, we’re being treated to the flat-six roar of Porsche 962s, the howl of the 7.0-litre Jaguar V12 in the back of the XJR-9, and the utterly ludicrous wail of the Mazda 757’s rotary engine. There’s no other word for it, it’s biblical.
Having experienced the sound of the Group C Porsches at the 79th Member’s Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport, we’ve had something of a first-hand insight into what these cars sounded like, but here, where they’re playing with the realms of 200mph, the noise is unlike anything we’ve ever heard.
Welcome to Goodwood Elevenses, a helping of motoring-related amusement to help break up your day. Watch the last video: Incredible GTE racers at Le Mans 2014
Main image courtesy of Motorsport Images.
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Elevenses
Le Mans 24 Hours
Le Mans
Mulsanne Straight
Jaguar
XJR-9
Porsche
962
Mazda
757
Race
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Video: Group C heaven on the Mulsanne Straight
Le Mans has never sounded so good…
24th October 2023
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Video: Incredible high-speed onboard at Le Mans in a Porsche 956
This configuration of the Circuit de la Sarthe is absolutely mad…
17th October 2023
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Video: The Mazda 787B sings at Le Mans
Rotary machine stakes its claim as the best-sounding car of all time…
01st September 2022
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Video: Fighting at Le Mans in a Shelby Daytona Coupe
A savage challenge in a V8 brute…
14th June 2023
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Video: Porsche 962 and Jaguar XJR-16: the perfect two-car garage?
Malcolm Ross brought them both to the Classic 24 at Daytona…
12th May 2023
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The hardest race of Martin Brundle’s career – the 1988 Daytona 24 Hours
When Brundle’s TWR Jaguar XJR-9 triumphed over eight Porsche 962s…
25th March 2020
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Video: Ride in the 1986 Le Mans-winning Porsche 962 round Laguna Seca
Piloting any car around Laguna Seca is a dream, but this one is very special...
13th October 2023
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My first Le Mans | Thank Frankel it's Friday
"I’m trying hard not to dwell on the fact 1988 was closer to the 1957 victory than it is to the present day..."
21st April 2023
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