5 Of Chevrolet's Best Years At Le Mans
There is perhaps no single event in the auto-racing arena quite as thrilling as 24 Hours of Le Mans. Held every summer near the idyllic French city of Le Mans, the race requires the ultimate mix of speed, power, and endurance from all those who enter, as teams hit the Circuit de la Sarthe track for 24 hours of non-stop racing action.
The longest-running race of its kind, the race has historically been dominated by European racing teams, with the likes of Porsche, Audi, and Ferrari tallying the most wins among competing auto manufacturers. American automakers have traditionally been less successful at Le Mans, though Ford did put together a brilliant string of four straight wins with its Carroll Shelby modified GT40s between 1966 and 1969. It's less talked about, but the other major American manufacturer, Chevrolet, has also competed often at 24 Hours of Le Mans, with its Corvette appearing in the legendary endurance race for the first time in the early 1960s.
Though Chevrolet has never won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race proper, Corvettes have more than held their own in the race over the years, winning their class a whopping nine times since 2000 alone. Here's a look at arguably the five best years Chevrolet and Corvette have had at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.
Chevrolet's 1960 showing shocked many at Le Mans
The very first year Chevrolet entered a vehicle in the 24 Hours of Le Mans racing field was 1960. Since the race essentially began as a way for automakers to showcase the merits of their automobiles to the public, it should hardly come as a surprise that Chevy chose its legendary sports car, the Corvette, to tackle its European counterparts.
To say expectations were tempered ahead of the Corvette's 24 Hours of Le Mans would be an understatement, with questions abounding whether the American-made vehicle could legitimately compete in or even finish the race. Chevy entered four Corvettes in the 1960 running of Le Mans, with three of those vehicles performing, more or less, as the international racing community expected. The Corvette sporting the number three proved up to the challenge, however, with drivers John Fitch and Bob Grossman not only competing on the big racing stage but piloting their vehicle to a top 10 finish.
That duo finished the race in the number eight spot, shocking many in the international field and seemingly announcing Corvette as a potential force to be reckoned with at Le Mans. Unfortunately, it would be several years before Chevrolet was legitimately part of the Le Mans conversation again.
Chevrolet made a statement at the 2000 Le Mans race
Chevrolet wouldn't become a regular fixture at 24 Hours of Le Mans again until the year 2000, although the manufacturer has competed in every single Le Mans race that's been run in the two-decades-plus since. Over that span, their Corvettes have racked up an impressive nine GT class wins at the race, many of which were earned by the Corvette C5-R.
To be clear, a C5-R did not take home one of those class wins in 2000. Rather, the souped-up vehicle from Corvette Racing hit the track with arguably as many questions as the 1960 model did 40 years prior. Like its predecessor, the C5-R more than left its mark on the race, and that's not just because it debuted what would become Corvette Racing's iconic yellow racing livery. No, the C5.R also held its own against the faster Ferraris and Porsches it competed against in its class, with Corvettes earning a more than respectable third and fourth place finish in the race.
Though Chevrolet would no doubt have preferred a first and second place finish for its Corvettes, the third and fourth place showing surely got the attention of their competitors. Such a solid performance announced to one and all that the Chevrolet Racing team was ready to take on all comers at the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The 2001 race put Corvette on the Le Mans podium
Little did they know it after the 2000 race, but Chevrolet's 24 Hours of Le Mans competitors were about to get more than they could handle from the company's C5-R Corvettes and their intimidating yellow facade. In fact, Chevy's competitors were about to find themselves looking up at Corvette Racing, with the team becoming a regular presence on the Le Mans podium in its class over the ensuing years.
Chevrolet's dominant run in the GTS class at Le Mans began the year after the C5-R debuted on The Circuit de la Sarthe, with the road-hugging Corvette handing the manufacturer its first-ever class win in the 2001 running of the famed race. Perhaps more impressive than merely winning its class at the '01 Le Mans is that the C5-R finished the race a whopping 34 laps ahead of the second-place car!
To the delight of Chevrolet bosses, the second place car in the '01 running of Le Mans was also a Corvette, further cementing the automaker's superior showing in the race. Chevrolet would continue to dominate Le Mans in 2002 by finishing first and second in their class for a second straight year.
2004 cemented the legacy of Chevy's Corvette C5-R
As dominant as Chevrolet Corvettes were in the 2001 and 2002 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, 2003 brought with it a new back livery, and an unexpected fall-off in performance from the C5-Rs, which did not take the top podium spot in their class that year. They did, however, finish in the second and third spots behind only a Ferrari 550 Maranello, so there was still plenty to celebrate for the Corvette Racing team.
Still, Chevy's Corvette Racing team didn't want to see another racing team finish ahead of them at the 2004 running of 24 Hours of Le Mans. Perhaps in a move to reclaim its former glory, Chevrolet's C5-R Corvettes arrived at their race adorned in the glorious yellow livery they'd donned in the '00, '01, and '02 races. Chevy bosses were undoubtedly proud to see those yellow C5-Rs burning up the track as well, with the Corvette Team returning to the podium behind yet another first and second place finish in their class.
The C5-R's big day helped cement the vehicle's legacy as one of the most dominant racing vehicles of the early 21st Century. As the '04 race served as the last C5-Rs would run at Le Mans, that legacy will remain intact for all eternity.
Chevy's Corvette showed strong at Le Mans' 2023 centennial celebration
Chevy's C5-R Corvette was replaced in 2005 by the C6-R, which would have its own share of successes and failures over the ensuing years. The new Corvette also faced different competition, with Corvette Racing changing its competition class to GT2 (now renamed GTE) in 2010. Corvette Racing survived many ups and downs at Le Mans throughout the 2010s after upgrading to the C7-R and, eventually, the C8-R.
The C8-R is the model of Corvette Chevrolet sent to compete at the 2023 running of 24 Hours of Le Mans. It seems the race's centennial event will be the last time the vehicle graces The Circuit de la Sarthe track, however, as Chevy eyes a 2024 debut for its Corvette Z06 GT3-R. Likewise, 2023 marked the end of the road for Corvette Racing factory team, with Chevy essentially turning things over to private race teams moving forward.
It's safe to say Corvette Racing and its celebrated C8-R made the most of their Le Mans swans songs, with the vehicle handily winning its class in its final showing. Fittingly, the class win also marked the first podium the C8-R claimed at Le Mans. While the future of Chevrolet's racing program at 24 Hours of Le Mans is unwritten, the one certain thing is that Corvette Racing's past in the legendary race was capped by one of its most rousing class victories.