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24 Hours of Le Mans: 100 Years of Racing Spectacle

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One hundred years ago, a new era in automotive history began with the first 24-hour race of Le Mans. ZF has played a decisive role in this since 1933. Today, we bow our heads respectfully to the world’s most legendary automobile race...

Janine Vogler,

Janine Vogler Vintage cars related to ZF-products have been at the heart of the journalist. Outside of work, she enjoys to ride motor bike or to be accompanied in nature by her dog.

The first 24-hour Le Mans race was held on May 26, 1923, at the Circuit de la Sarthe in hail and rain. It was organized at the time by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), founded in 1906. The race was created in response to the increasing popularity of car racing in Europe, especially in the United States. The cars at the start were predominantly French, challenged only by a Belgian Excelsior Albert 1er and a private English Bentley. All cars had to be touring or road cars and at least one identical model of each participating car had to be presented on a display area. Minimum distances had to be covered by a two-man team during the race.

Vehicles with a displacement of less than 1100 cc were not allowed to cover less than 800 km over the 24-hour period, and 6-liter cars were not allowed to cover less than 1200 km. The distance covered was checked every six hours and cars that were too slow were taken out of the race. The total distance of the race was 17.262 kilometers and in the end the winner was a French Chenard & Walcker Sport driven by André Lagache and René Léonard.

The following year, the regulations were tightened: for example, there had to be at least 20 laps between each pit stop and the minimum speed was set from 38.333 km/h to 59.165 km/h for 1100 cc and from 56.250 km/h to 82.450 km/h for 3-liter cc cars.

Like Iso Grifo, the Bizzarini GT 5300 was equipped with ZF S5-325 transmission

Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta with ZF rack-and-pinion steering and locking differential

E-Type Lightweight with ZF S5-325

Ferrari 512 S with ZF steering & self-locking differential

Colin Chapman relied on ZF: Lotus Elite with ZF-S4-12

Concentrated work: screwing day and night in the paddock

Record: Henri Pescarolo participated 33 times in the race and won four times (1972, 1973, 1974, 1984)

The Le Mans Start is Born

In 1925, the legendary Le Mans start was introduced for the first time: Due to a dispute between the ACO and the land owner, the start had to be moved to the Hunaudières straight. The limited space forced the cars to line up in a "herringbone formation" - as the starting formation was initially called. Because the regulations stipulated that the cars had to have a body capable of traveling, which was also checked by the race stewards, all cars had to have the top fitted before the start and drive the first 20 laps with the top closed. To rule out any tampering, drivers had to line up on the opposite side of the road to their car, which was at an angle in the direction of travel, and sprint to their car.

ZF Entered the Race at Le Mans in the 1930s

During the 1920s, ZF invested a lot of money in technical equipment such as precision measuring instruments, and this strategy was to pay off in the long term: Within a very short time, ZF products had a reputation for first-class precision work. In 1932, ZF started steering production after taking over a license from Ross Gear & Toll Company Inc. and, at the same time, acquired a patent for self-locking differentials from the Knab company in Nuremberg. ZF's portfolio also included clutches and shock absorbers from Fichtel & Sachs, which were an integral part of the burgeoning motorsport industry. Probably as early as 1933, the first ZF product not only went to the starting line with Alfa Romeo in a Type 8 C, but even ended up in the top three places. First place at that time was taken by none other than Tazio Nuvolari.

After the 1936 Le Mans race had to be canceled due to a general strike, German manufacturers entered the starting field for the first time in 1937 with Adler and BMW. The Adler Trumpf cars were equipped with ZF steering systems and transmissions. BMW ordered the AKS 15 spiral transmission developed in 1933 to equip the legendary and successful 328 super sports car with it. Similar to the BMW 328 Coupé, this aerodynamically very sophisticated and extremely lightweight body consisted of a lattice tube frame with an aluminum outer skin. The BMW Touring made its mark at Le Mans in 1939, finishing fifth.

BMW 328 with ZF AKS-15

The Awakening After the War

In 1949, the race was resumed at Le Mans after World War II. Ferrari was able to celebrate not only its entry in Le Mans but also a brilliant victory with a 166 M and rack-and-pinion steering from ZF. In Germany, on the other hand, it took several years for the German automotive industry and to recover from the destruction and damage of the war. ZF was initially heavily dependent on the German automakers, and things did not really start to look up again for German racing until the early 1950s. In 1951, the first Porsche, a 356/4, was on the grid alongside eight Ferraris. The Panhard brand had also been participating since 1950 and relied on ZF; the cars were all equipped with clutches and shock absorbers from Fichtel & Sachs at the time. And from 1953, the successful Ferrari models 340 America and 212 Export were steered with the Gemmer steering system, for which ZF had taken over the license in the same year.

From Germany, Mercedes-Benz came back like a phoenix from the ashes in 1952 with the 300 SL racing sports cars (W 194) and entered the competition. In its preparations, Mercedes-Benz once again relied on ZF technology: The 300 SL featured ZF shock absorbers, clutches, and self-locking differential, and up to chassis number 151, even the steering system. At the very first attempt, the two Mercedes managed a double victory at Le Mans. The racing success of the Mercedes-Benz was halted from within at the end of 1955 when Mercedes-Benz declared at the end of its involvement in Grand Prix motor racing after the fatal accident at Le Mans in which more than 80 people lost their lives.

Mercedes-Benz 300 SL with clutch, shock absorbers, and self-locking differential from ZF

Porsche, on the other hand, continued to fight its way forward with the 550 Spyder, and in the following years ZF was increasingly represented in Porsche, Ferrari, Panhard, but also in the picture-perfect OSCA (Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili) built by the Maserati brothers. Like the Lotus Elite, the OSCAs were equipped with ZF four-speed transmissions.

24 Hours of Le Mans: 100 Years of Racing Spectacle

Part 2