20/24 #16: Mazda 787B (chassis 002)
Chosen by: Sam Hignett
Best finish: 1st, 1991
Team: Mazdaspeed
Driven by: Volker Weidler, Johnny Herbert, Bertrand Gachot

A colour scheme that assaults the eyes. An engine note that assaults the ears. A Belgian driver that assau- The Mazda 787B is the weirdest of all the Le Mans legends. It’s arguably the most famous car in the race’s history, but it came from a history of class winning – when the only other cars in the class were team-mates – and midfield finishes. But that’s part of what makes it so special.

“It’s the true underdog story,” says Sam Hignett. He’s the boss of Jota Sport, and he’s got more Le Mans races behind him than most. “They came as a fairly small team, with an unproven type of engine, and went and won it and the car became an icon!”

That unproven type of engine was the wankel, which for reasons I simply can’t understand is better known as the rotary. Through a quirk of the Group C rules it had a slight advantage on fuel, and the team used that to perfection. The car’s now the ultimate Mazda advert, and it travels the world.

“We have an affinity with at Jota, too,” adds Hignett, whose workshop is the car’s home-away-from-hime. “When it’s in Europe we look after it. So we’ve run it at Le Mans, and in the parade, and at Goodwood. It’s just a really cool car!

My ears are bleeding just thinking about it.

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