Which is the fastest le mans racer to date?

porsche 917 I found.

http://www.mulsannescorner.com/Porsche-PM1.jpg
http://www.mulsannescorner.com/Porsche-PM5.jpg

Engine : Flat 12 turbocharged (max boost 1.5 bar)
Capacity : 5,374cc
Bore / Stroke : 90mm / 70.4mm
Compression ratio : 6.5:1
Maximum power : 1,100bhp @ 8,000rpm
Maximum torque : 1,098 Nm @ 6,400rpm
Unladen weight : 845kg (33/67 front/rear split)
Fuel tank capacity : 400 Litres
Fuel Consumption : 85 Litres/100Km (or 3.4 miles per gallon)
Maximum speed : 238mph
Acceleration :
0-60 mph 2.1 seconds
0-100mph 3.9 secs
0-200mph 13.4 seconds

That's great, except that's the Porsche 917/30, which raced Can-Am, not Le Mans. The Le Mans-Spec 917's weren't nearly that fast.

By top speed, the Peugeot 905LM was the fastest at 405 km/h, though this was before the chicaines were added on the Mulsanne straight.

By top speed, the Peugeot 905LM was the fastest at 405 km/h, though this was before the chicaines were added on the Mulsanne straight.

Sorry I mean in this case any non open wheel racer.

Lol yea that kinda slowed the cars down just a tid...

For a non-open wheeled race car designed to turn both right and left, the Porsche 917/30 would be the fastest straight line accelerating car ever.

1100 HP is conservative, and probably in race trim. At full boost for qualifying, they were closer to 1500 HP.

The only car I can think of that would be close as far as overall lap times go would be the 1993 Toyota Eagle Mk III IMSA GTP car. In max power trim, they were about 1200 HP and had WAY more downforce than the 917/30. Given equal tires, enough suspension reinforcement that it wouldn't rip out of the tub on the 917/30, I think it would be very close between these two as the fastest closed wheel racing car ever.

For comparison between the Toyota and ALMS cars, at Lime Rock Park, the overall track record is 43.112 by the Toyota, and pole for the Audi R8 was 46.753 earlier this month, and yes, the 1993 time was set with the chicaine. Tire development alone on the Toyota would probably put it into the 40-41 sec/lap range.

I'm gonna go with the Jaguar XJR-13...hit a recorded 251 mph on the mulsanne straight at LeMans in 1991...I don't think anyone beat that.

Actually, as I recall, the Mulsanne record was set back in 1975 by the infamous "Spirit of Le Mans '76" IMSA Greenwood Corvette at well in excess of 250mph.

http://www.greenwoodcorvettes.com/Race%20cars/74,%2075,%2076/76/76LeMansElji1.jpg

The fans absolutely loved this car with its bellowing 7.0L V8 and wicked fender flares. Unfortunately, it went out with mechanical problems.

It did win the 1976 IMSA finale at Daytona, though.

I just checked the mercedes C112 race car hit 254.0 on the strait thats the record. But accel is a different story.

Actually, as I recall, the Mulsanne record was set back in 1975 by the infamous "Spirit of Le Mans '76" IMSA Greenwood Corvette at well in excess of 250mph.

http://www.greenwoodcorvettes.com/Race%20cars/74,%2075,%2076/76/76LeMansElji1.jpg

The fans absolutely loved this car with its bellowing 7.0L V8 and wicked fender flares. Unfortunately, it went out with mechanical problems.

It did win the 1976 IMSA finale at Daytona, though.
That car hit 250+ mph? It doesn't look like it would be aerodynamically fit to do that.

A 900+hp big block Chevy has a habit of making anything it wants go really fast.

But in actuality the extended fenders, massive vents, fixed headlights, and tremendous spoilers of the Greenwood Corvette helped the C3 Corvette a lot at reaching 250mph and gave it unerring stability at that speed.

Of course, it also had a bit of a reputation for knocking the lightweight Porsche 911's and Alpine A110's around in its wake as it roared down the Mulsanne. The amount of air that car displaced was ridiculous.

Of course, if you think it's wild, you should see the other 200+ mph American cars that came over to Le Mans in 1976.

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/buckhorn.wash/cars/nascarlm/76060008.jpg
Herschel McGriff's Olympia Beer sponsored 1976 Dodge Charger
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/buckhorn.wash/cars/nascarlm/76060013.jpg
Dick Brooks's Truxmore sponsored 1976 Ford Torino
http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/1976/Laguna_Seca-1976-05-02-001.jpg
Dekon Chevrolet Monza (not this specific car, but there were many IMSA Dekons)

Mercedes-Benz Sauber C9, 247 mph down Mulsanne Straight :iceslolan

A 900+hp big block Chevy has a habit of making anything it wants go really fast.

You got that right.

from http://www.corvetteracing.com/

6-13-05

1967: Seven Liters at Le Mans

Chevy's second-generation Corvette made its Le Mans debut in 1967 with Corvette legends Dick Guldstrand and Bob Bondurant sharing the driving duties. Entered by Dana Chevrolet, a Southern California dealership with an ambitious performance program, the big-block Stingray blitzed the Mulsanne Straight at more than 170 mph.

Thirty-eight years later, driver Dick Guldstrand returns to Le Mans this year with Corvette Racing. No one can appreciate the changes that have swept through the sport more than this legendary Corvette racer.

"I was the manager of the Dana Chevrolet high-performance center at the time," Guldstrand recalled. "It all started when L-88 Corvettes won their class at Daytona and Sebring. Can you imagine the publicity if Corvette had won Le Mans, too?"

"We were really on a high, and of course Duntov was beside himself. He'd call me every day and say, 'Deek, we got to do this, and this, and be careful of the aerodynamics.' There really weren't any aerodynamics; we screwed a piece of aluminum underneath the front end to try to keep the nose down!"

"That car was blindingly fast on the Mulsanne Straight," Guldstrand remembered. "I'd done quite a bit of high-speed driving at Daytona and Sebring, but nothing like that long straightaway. We were flat-out for two or three minutes, and it was mind-boggling. You'd get down to the kink at the end of the straight, and then go over a bump. You had to be perfect to go through there wide open. The first time I drove it, I used up all of the road and some of the dirt getting through there."

Today GM Racing's Le Mans effort involves dozens of team personnel who support the twin C6.R Corvettes. A complete 18-wheeler and 60,000 pounds of equipment accompanied the race team to Le Mans - a far cry from the way it was in 1967.

"We flew the car to the Orly airport near Paris," Guldstrand remembered, "and when we unloaded the car off the plane, all we had for support was a diesel truck and a four-door Opel - not even a trailer. So Bobby Bondurant and I filled up the gas tank, jumped into the race car, and drove it the whole distance to Le Mans!"

"The car had open sidepipe headers, and red, white and blue paint, so people certainly knew we were coming. The exhausts were blowing straw and dirt 30 feet in the air, and the crowds were getting bigger at every village we drove through. We got to Chartres, and damn near broke the stained glass windows out of the cathedral. A gendarme was standing on his little box in the middle of the square directing traffic, and he gave us a military salute as we went by, just as the exhaust about blew him off the stand."

"By the time we got to Le Mans, we had a following that was staggering," Guldstrand said. "The French loved that crazy red, white and blue American car. Unfortunately, the car was much too light for its class because we'd stripped it, so we had to fly the bumpers, the grille and all of the stuff we'd taken off over to France and bolt them back on the car before we could qualify."

The Stingray's near-stock 7-liter (427-cubic-inch) L-88 big-block engine was not up to the task for the entire 24 hours, and the Corvette's day ended shortly before the halfway point. Ironically, the Corvette C6-Rs that will race for Corvette Racing's fourth Le Mans victory on June 18-19 are also powered by 7-liter V-8 engines - although these powerplants are based on the GM small-block V-8 engine family that includes the 7-liter, 505-horsepower production LS7 that powers the 2006 Corvette Z06 supercar.

"We were leading our class by miles when the engine broke a wrist pin," Guldstrand explained. "We knew that was a weak point and we were trying to take it easy, but it didn't survive. Despite how our Le Mans adventure turned out, those were wonderful times with really great people. That's really what kept Corvette's racing spirit alive."

171.5 mph at Le Mans (http://motortrend.com/features/performance/112_0304_guld/index.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/CGGorman/Forum%20funnys/Guldstrand1967Lemans.jpg