RM will celebrate 100 years of Le Mans as a star-studded list of racers – led by a works Porsche 962 – crosses the blocks on 9th June ahead of the start of the world-famous endurance race. 

Guided at £5,000,000 – £7,500,000, the 962 was one of three cars assigned to the Rothmans Porsche Factory for the 1985 and 1986 seasons. It made its first appearance at Le Mans in 1985. Driven by John Watson, Vern Schuppan, and Al Holbert chassis #004 qualified fifth behind four other 962s (which were using specially prepared qualifying engines) but would spend half the race in second place before a crankshaft failure saw it retire with less than four hours of the race remaining. 

The same car took pole at Le Mans the following year – in the hands of Bob Wollek, Jochen Mass and Vern Schuppan – before an oil spill caused it to crash out in the early hours of Sunday morning, missing out on what looked like a guaranteed third-place finish. 

The Porsche went on to be raced by a host of privateers – its most notable success being second place at the Nürburgring 1,000km in the hands of Derek Bell and Hans-Joachim Stuck – before being sold to a collector in 1988. 

Bought by the current owner in 2004, the car was subject to a full restoration by marque specialist, Trevor Crisp, in 2018. It’s eligible for various historic events including the Le Mans Classic and Rennsport Reunion. 

While a German stars at RM, there’s no shortage of British machinery to get excited about, including the Jaguar XJR-12 LM. It took 4^th overall at the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans, driven by Derek Warwick, John Nielsen, and Andy Wallace and went on to finish 2^nd and 4^th, respectively, at the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring the following year. It’s guided at £2,150,000-£2,550,000.

Also flying the flag is a 1958 Lister-Jaguar ‘Knobbly’ (£1,250,000-£1,550,000), 1993 Jaguar XJ220 C LM (£1,350,000-£1,900,000) and a 2007 Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 (£1,800,000-£2,150,000).

Ferrari will have a strong showing at the sale, too. A 1955 Ferrari 121 LM Spider by Scaglietti (£4,700,000-£5,500,000) that was raced by works drivers Maurice Trintignant, Harry Schell, and Piero Taruffi will cross the blocks having been subject to a full restoration in 2023.

In addition, you can bid on a 1969 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Competizione (£4,100,000 – £4,450,000), while more modern machinery comes in the form of a 2006 Ferrari F430 GTC (£650,000 – £850,000). 

Fancy something a little bit different? Then how about a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2 Series III that served as the Le Mans Safety Car that same year. Expected to make up to £550,000, it’ll cross the block carrying no reserve. 

Other cars that caught our eye include one of two beautiful 1954 OSCA MT4s (£1,100,000-£1,300,000), class-winning 1967 Alpine A210 (£1,000,000-£1,300,000), Mark Blundell’s pole-setting 1990 Nissan R90CK (£850,000-£1,300,000), an early works 1996 Chrysler Viper GTS-R (£500,000-£600,000) and a factory-entered 2005 Spyker C8 GT2-R (£215,000-£300,000).

We’ll bring you a full auction report after the sale.