Fans of the legendary Group C race cars that ruled the roost in the 1980s are in for a treat with the series being the highlight of the upcoming 8th Le Mans Classic. To date their are already 40 cars on the grid, with the event a curtain-raiser to one of the greatest historic race meeting in the world.

In force from 1982 to 1993, these legendary prototypes wrote some of the most glorious pages in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours and as was the case in period Porsche supplies the highest number of cars out of the 16 makes. Try an the entry list with 10 Porsche 962Cs to wet the appetite.  The 962s main rivals of that era are also down to appear in the Sarthe including two Lancia LC2s, two Jaguars, an XJR-12 and an XJR 16, a Mercedes C11 and a Nissan R90 CK – the most powerful car seen in the Sarthe with a power output of 1128 bhp!

Alongside the major manufacturers the small constructors, a vital part of the Le Mans 24-Hours scene, will be present in force with Alba, Emka, March, Sthemo, Rondeau, Spice and Tiga. The final evolution of that generation of sports prototypes, the Sport 3.5-litre machines, is represented by a Gebhardt C91, a very rare Lola T92/10, and above all a Peugeot 905 celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Le Mans debut this year.

In other words, the expected 110 000-strong crowd will attend an unprecedented retrospective on 8-9-10 July. However, before coming to Le Mans Classic, the Group C grid will make its 2016 debut next weekend at Jarama-Classic.