Competition vehicle Unregistered

- Fascinating history initiated by Alain de Cadenet

- The first car entirely designed by Gordon Murray

- Ex-24 Hours of Le Mans 1972, 1973 and 1974

- Sold with a certificate of authenticity signed by Gordon Murray

- Extremely competitive, winner of grid 5 at Le Mans Classic 2018

 

Le Mans 1972: Georges Pompidou flagged off the 40th edition of the famous endurance race and all eyes were on the leading Matras, but, in eleventh place on the grid, the Duckhams no. 68, driven by Alain de Cadenet and his friend Chris Craft, wasn’t there to make up the numbers and had every intention of flying the flag for Britain. It ran magnificently until the middle of the day on Sunday, when it was in fourth place, but after coming off the track unexpectedly during a shower, it unfortunately dropped back to twelfth place at the finish. For a private team with limited resources, it was nonetheless an excellent result, given that of the 56 cars that started the race, only 15 finished. It was also the first time that a Cosworth DFV V8 finished the race at Le Mans.

 

The car was built at the initiative of Alain de Cadenet, who was already an established figure in the world of motorsport. After taking part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time in 1971, driving a Ferrari 512 S for the Ecurie Francorchamps, he decided to enter an all-British team. As the owner of a Brabham BT33 F1 car, he asked the promising young designer Gordon Murray (who was working in the design department at Brabham, which was then owned by Bernie Ecclestone) to design a Le Mans prototype based on it. It would in fact be the first car entirely designed by the father of the McLaren F1, an absolute masterpiece in the supercar category, who worked on the project and brought it to fruition in his spare time.

The monocoque structure was built by Grand Prix Metalcraft and the body, inspired by the Ferrari 312 P, by ProToCo. De Cadenet then turned to Cosworth, who supplied him with a DFV V8 that had been used by McLaren in Formula 1 in 1968, and prepared it for Le Mans. At the same time, the feisty Englishman secured financial backing from the oil company Duckhams, whose yellow and blue colours would serve as the livery for the car.

The history file presently with the car includes some fascinating correspondence between de Cadenet and Cosworth (regarding the engine), Lockheed and AP Racing (brakes), Lucas (electrical system), Hewland (gearbox), Armstrong (shock absorbers) and Dunlop (tyres), showing the artisanal way in which racing cars were built at the time, using a combination of passion and pragmatism.

 

After Le Mans, de Cadenet considered selling the car to recoup his finances, but managed to keep going and competed in the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen at the end of July and the Can Am race the following day, although he failed to finish either race.

He decided to have another go at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1973, but the slightly longer body proved inconclusive, and, still teamed up with Chris Craft, he retired during the 13th hour following an accident.

The story did not end there, however, as de Cadenet returned to Le Mans in 1974; now in his name, the car was painted green and had a shorter body. With one arm in a sling, however, he was unable to take part and handed over his seat to John Nicholson, driving once again with his loyal team-mate Chris Craft. After posting the eighth fastest time in testing (and its first under 4 minutes), the car worked its way up to third place before running off the track in the early hours of the morning, forcing it to retire.

 

De Cadenet then sold the car to Colin Hawker, who saddled it with a Volkswagen 1600 body for club racing. Nicknamed “DFVW”, it competed successfully for many years before being restored in 2002 to its original specification from 1972. It was later bought by the gentleman driver Jacques Nicolet, a first-rate competitor in both modern and historic cars. He entered several historic events with it, including Le Mans Classic on two occasions, where he won the very competitive grid 5 in 2018.

 

The car is for sale today in the same 1972 configuration. Since Le Mans in 2018, it has not been serviced and has been driven only a few miles in lesser demonstration events. It is sold with several body parts and mouldings, seven rear wheels (two of them new), eight front wheels (three of them new), some used tyres, and sets of bodywork from 1973 and 1974. The documents supplied with the car include all the correspondence mentioned above, the construction drawings, a non-destructive ‘crack test’ from 13 March 2018, a valuation report from Henri Pluton and, most importantly, a certificate of authenticity signed by Gordon Murray confirming that this is indeed the car he designed for Alain de Cadenet and which raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1972, 1973 and 1974.

 

This car is a precious witness to the history of the 24-Hour race. The first car entirely designed by one of the most brilliant race car engineers of all time, it is a testimony to the efforts of a small private team which reached the highest level in the most famous endurance race in the world. It raced there three times and proved competitive, earning its place among the greatest legends of Le Mans. It is eligible for the most prestigious historic events open to cars from this period.

Photos © Jean-Marie Biadatti