T380 1975 for sale

3rd place in 1976 with Alain de Cadenet and Chris Craft at the wheel: The best-placed Lola in history at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Highly eligible for the most beautiful historic events Alain de Cadenet has had multiple lives: racing driver, constructor, television presenter, commentator. The London native – of a French father and an English mother – had chosen a career as a lawyer, before becoming a photographer and finally embarking on a motorsport career with the exceptional career we know him for. And it was with the Lola T380 HU1, the first "Lola De Cadenet", that he achieved his best result at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The story of the T380 HU1, also known as Lola De Cadenet, is fascinating. Not only does this car immerse us in the heart of the 70s with endurance legends behind its design, but it is also still to this day the Lola that has achieved the best results at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a third place in 1976. The story begins in the 70s when Alain de Cadenet is present in Formula 1 with his own team. He quickly realizes that his chances of victories could be greater in endurance. The decision is then made in 1971 to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Ferrari 512M from the Écurie Francorchamps (retirement after 235 laps, partnered with Baron Hugues de Fierlant). This is the trigger! Alain de Cadenet approaches young designer Gordon Murray, employed at Brabham under the direction of Bernie Ecclestone. He asks him to design a two-seater chassis inspired by the Ferrari 312PB (which Ferrari refuses to sell him) to use Brabham parts from Formula 1. The idea is to start in endurance with his own prototype, at a lower cost. Thus was born the Duckhams Special, thanks to the support of Duckhams Oil Motor Racing. The car finished 12th in 1972 and then evolved in 1973 and 1974 until De Cadenet decided to enter it under his name in 1974, thus becoming the De Cadenet LM. He would not drive it in 1974, preferring to return in 1975 with HU1, now offered for sale. 1975 marks the true rise of De Cadenet after the strong performances of the Duckams. The latter is sold to Colin Hawker (it is re-bodied as a Volkswagen) while Alain de Cadenet buys the brand new Lola T380, chassis HU1. To make it more suitable for Le Mans than the initial version, Gordon Murray worked on the suspension. This Lola was distinguished by a double wishbone architecture at the front, while the rear innovated with a particular configuration using high-mounted springs and a sliding block, moving away from traditional solutions with trailing arms. The ex-McLaren engine is still used with a power of 400 horsepower. The car is then named "Lola De Cadenet" and bears the registration VLA 451M. This registration, seen on another creation of Alain de Cadenet, was apparently meant to allow it to be driven... on the road. Indeed, Alain de Cadenet and his team tested their aerodynamic research on a stretch of highway at night. But let's return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1975 because that year Chris Craft would sign the fastest lap in the race. The car finished 14th (5th in the S3.0 category for three-liter Sports). At the beginning of this edition, the car was fighting in the top trio, but suffered from a top speed deficit, peaking at 190 mph (305 km/h) compared to 200 mph (320 km/h) for the Duckhams. In 1976, development continued with a revised design by Len Bailey. Gordon Murray was still there to suggest modifications. "We created a new short-tail body and managed to get it up to 205 mph," recalls Alain de Cadenet in the pages of Motorsport magazine. During the night, the prototype even reached 208 mph (335 km/h). That year, under scorching heat, Alain de Cadenet and Chris Craft secured a superb 3rd place behind Jacky Ickx and Gijs van Lennep in the winning Porsche 936, and just 1 lap behind the Mirage GR8 driven by Jean-Louis Lafosse and François Migault, who finished 2nd. The two companions did not have the joy of stepping onto the podium, which at the time was only reserved for the winners. A historic ranking for a private car. It is the best ranking for Alain de Cadenet in his 15 appearances, and the best overall position in Sarthe for a Lola to this day. Later, we would see Lolas in 4th place. A tasty anecdote, for this 1976 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Alain de Cadenet did not use his usual Ford Transit to tow his trailer but a 1928 Bentley Speed Six, with which he towed HU1! Both cars, of course, had a British Racing Green livery, superb. After the 1976 edition, HU1 was sold to Simon Phillips. A new car would be built in 1977 (the De Cadenet LM3 also p