The Garage 56 Le Mans entry that’s set to run a modified NASCAR Chevy Camaro at la Sarthe is hitting the track to prepare for the full race this weekend. In early testing the car has shown promising times, running faster than a number of cars in the LMGTE-Am class, which includes Corvette Racing as well as sports cars from Ferrari and Porsche. It does look a little silly doing it, though. The Next Gen car, dressed to look like a Camaro ZL1, is big compared to its European rivals. Comically big.
The image above shows the car leading a pack of vehicles from several classes. The Garage 56 car is about 50 inches tall, 193.3 inches long, and 78.4 inches wide. Le Mans hypercars, like the Ferrari immediately behind the Camaro, can be longer and slightly wider overall. They aren’t nearly as tall though. The Cup Car’s cockpit likewise isn’t shrunk around a single driver, which adds to the spectacle. There’s a little bit of perspective going on in the picture above for sure, but other images paint a pretty clear picture. The thing is just big compared to its rivals.
The 670-horsepower machine will be driven by a trio of drivers. NASCAR champion Jimmy Johnson is the only American, backed up by Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button and previous Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller. The most visible modification to the car is the slew of aerodynamic surfaces that have been added to the front and back of the vehicle.
Testing on the 8.46-mile track on Sunday revealed the Camaro, which is in its own class, to be faster than every machine in LMGTE Am by a few seconds, although there is a considerable gap between it and cars in the LMP2 class—over 10 seconds. As such it will likely be competing for a place near the front of LMGTE Am.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans will start on Sat, June 10 at 10 a.m. local time. It will end at the same time the next day—go figure, huh?
Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: peter@thedrive.com