One to Buy: 1 of 24 1991 Mazda MX-5 BBR Turbo Le Mans Special Edition
/
Arguably the greatest upset in the Group C era of sports car racing came at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1991 when the Mazda 787B of Johnny Herbert, Bertrand Gachot and Volker Weidler beat one of the strongest fields in the event’s history to take a famous and unexpected victory.
Having set the twelfth fastest time in practice, the works 787B (which exploited a loophole in the rules that allowed it to run lighter than its rivals) progressively moved through the field and ultimately won by two laps from the first of three Silk Cut Jaguars that finished second through fourth.
In addition to the Jaguars, Mazda had seen off other works cars from Mercedes-Benz and Peugeot in addition to a host of slick privateer Porsche teams.
To celebrate becoming the first Japanese manufacturer to win at Le Mans, 24 very special MX-5s were supplied to the UK market.
Rather than your average bundle-of-options release created to shift a slow-selling model from dealer forecourts, the MX-5 Le Mans Special Edition was the most powerful iteration of Mazda’s popular two-seat Roadster ever sold.
The hike in output came as a result of a BBR Turbo Kit that took the engine to 150bhp. Five-spoke wheels and an aero kit were also installed. However, most famously it was the paint scheme of these Le Mans Specials that yielded a massive amount of publicity with each of the 24 cars was painted the same orange and green livery as the Le Mans-winning 787B.
One of these extremely rare MX-5s is currently on offer at The Hairpin Company in Compton Basset, Wiltshire. Supplied new in Scotland, it has covered 90,000 miles, comes with an extensive history file to include the original service book, and remains in excellent condition throughout.
