RM Sothebys Le Mans Live Auction, 2008 Saleen S7

Aug 08, 2023

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31 May 2023, 3:11 PM

One of the attractions for the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans, in celebration of the event's centenary, is a public auction, organised by RM Sothebys, of some very significant cars from the storied history of Le Mans, the auction itself will take place on the track on Friday 9 June.

The auction is billed as " the most significant sale of sports competition cars ever offered" and will feature 24 sports racing cars all of which will boast significant race history at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The cars will be on display in the ‘Village’ with viewing open to the public.

Here's another of the cars set to feature:

2008 Saleen S7-R 082R

This car is believed to be the last of just 23 S7-Rs constructed and one of only four modified by Oreca to accept a transverse Xtrac gearbox.

The car was a four-time class podium finisher in the 2009 Le Mans Series, including a GT1-class win at the Nürburgring. It was then the sole example re-homologated in 2010, gaining revised aerodynamics, ceramic hub carriers, and Öhlins dampers.

Thereafter it became the final GT1 class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2010, finishing 13th overall.

2010 also saw the car score GT1 class wins at Paul Ricard, Portimão, Hungaroring, and Silverstone in the Le Mans Series. It has been in the ownership of Larbre Competition since 2008.

By then the basic Saleen design had been in limited production for over a decade, first unveiled in 2000, the road car was based around a honeycomb-reinforced spaceframe chassis, and an all-aluminium 7-litre Ford Windsor-derived V-8 engine boasting some 550 horsepower.

Construction of the racing version, the S7-R was initially undertaken by Ray Mallock Limited before Oreca took over production of late-series cars.

Significantly, the final four Oreca chassis—of which this is the last—featured a modified rear chassis and transverse six-speed Xtrac gearbox; the latter designed to address the poor reliability of the longitudinal units fitted to earlier cars.

Delivered in March 2008 to Team Larbre Competition of France, chassis 082R made its race debut in the 2009 1000 Kilometres of Catalunya; the first round of that year's Le Mans Series (LMS). Driven by established Larbre pilots Roland Bervillé, Sébastien Dumez and Steve Zacchia, the trio finished 22nd overall and 3rd in class. At the 1000 Kilometres of Algarve in August, chassis 082R again performed strongly to finish 23rd overall and 2nd in the GT1 class, behind the Luc Alphand-entered Corvette C6R.

The penultimate round of the Championship at the Nürburgring began with Zacchia being replaced by former French Formula Renault Champion, Laurent Groppi. The recruitment of the latter contributed to a maiden class win. The season concluded at Silverstone in September, where chassis 082R finished 2nd in GT1 and 21st overall, a result that led to Bervillé securing 3rd in the GT1 Drivers’ Championship and Larbre 2nd in the Team standings.

Larbre's plans for 2010 encompassed all five LMS rounds, significantly including the all-important 24 Hours of Le Mans. Notably, chassis 082R had been re-homologated for 2010 with revised Oreca-developed aerodynamics, Cerobear ceramic hub carriers, Öhlins dampers and an uprated Elan Technologies engine, the only S7-R understood to have been upgraded as such.

Chassis 082R achieved comfortable class wins at Paul Ricard, Portimão, Hungaroring and Silverstone. Understandably, Le Mans proved the season's focal point, with Bervillé returning to join Gabriele Gardel and Julien Canal in the car. Three Ford GTs, two Alphand-entered Corvettes and an Aston Martin DBR9 provided strong class opposition, but nevertheless it was the Saleen that prevailed, recording a superb class win and 13th place overall.

The season concluded with a final class win in the 1000 Kilometres of Zhuhai in November, Gardel and Patrice Gouselard—and Larbre—taking dominant wins in their respective categories in the final LMS standings.

Retained by Larbre ever since, chassis 082R benefitted from an engine dyno test by Oreca in May 2023 further to the renewal of all brake, fuel, and oil lines, brake master cylinders and brake caliper seals in November 2022. Furthermore, all major suspension components were crack tested, while time-expired safety items such as the seat, safety harness, fire extinguisher and rubber fuel cell were all renewed; the latter being valid for five years.

Accompanied by its FIA and ACO passports, and a spares package which includes four sets of wheels, two driveshafts and a spare gearset, chassis 082R is a prospective entry for Endurance Racing Legends and other historic racing events.

Finally, a complimentary test day at the Circuit du Val de Vienne, courtesy of Larbre Competition, is offered as a condition of sale, enabling the new owner to acquaint themselves both with this spectacular car and the team which campaigned it in period to such considerable effect.

Results

1000 KM Catalunya – 5 April 2009 – #50 Labre Competition – Dumez/ Bervillé/ Zacchia – 3rd in classFFSA GT Championship Nogaro (Race 1) – 13 April 2009 – #2 Labre Competition – Lebon/ Dupard – 8th in classFFSA GT Championship Nogaro (Race 2) – 13 April 2009 – #2 Labre Competition – Lebon/ Dupard – DNF1000 KM Algarve – 2 August 2009 – #50 Labre Competition – Lémeret/ Dumez/ Bervillé – 7th in class1000 KM Nürburgring – 23 August 2009 – #50 Labre Competition – "Groppi"/ Dumez/ Bervillé – class winner1000 KM Silverstone – 13 September 2009 – #50 Labre Competition – Dumez/ Bovril/ Groppi – 2nd in classFFSA GT Championship Lédenon (Race 1) – 18 October 2009 – #2 Labre Competition – Bervillé/ Bourdais – 5thFFSA GT Championship Lédenon (Race 2) – 18 October 2009 – #2 Labre Competition – Bervillé/ Bourdais – 2nd1000 KM Okayama – 1 November 2009 – #50 Labre Competition – van Dam/ Lémeret/ Bervillé – DNFLe Mans Series Test (Paul Ricard) – 8 March 2010 – #50 Labre Competition – Gardel/ Goueslard/ Canal8 Hrs Le Castellet – 11 April 2010 – #50 Labre Competition – Gardel/ Goueslard/ Canal – 4th in class1000 KM Spa – 9 May 2010 – #50 Labre Competition – Goueslard/ Gardel/ Rees – 4th in class24 Hours of Le Mans – 12/13 June 2010 – #50 Labre Competition – Canal/ Bervillé/ Gardel – Class winner1000 KM Algarve – 17 July 2010 – #50 Labre Competition – Goueslard/ Gardel/ Rees – Class winner1000 KM Hungaroring – 22 August 2010 – #50 Labre Competition – Gardel/ Rees/ Goueslard – Class winner1000 KM Silverstone – 12 September 2010 – #50 Labre Competition – Gardel/ Goueslard/ Rees – 18th in class1000 KM Zhuhai – 7 November 2010 – #50 Labre Competition – Lamy/ Bornhauser/ Groppi – 12 in class

Contemporary pics copyright Kevin van Campenhout and courtesy RM SothebysHistoric pics copyright Dailysportscar

Tagged with: Graham Goodwin

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by Stephen Kilbey 5 June 2023 0 Comments

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by Graham Goodwin 5 June 2023 0 Comments