Jim Glickenhaus – “You can bet your kidneys we’ll be racing Ferrari at Le Mans”

To talk to in amongst the impassioned crowds of the 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard, he appeared an enthusiast like any other. Albeit one with his name on the nose of what is the first top-flight Le Mans Hypercar to have set wheels on the Goodwood Hill...

This year the 007 joined the Toyota GR010 in being the first to the Le Mans Hypercar top-end endurance racing class. Jim helped form the new category with a seat at the table from the very beginning, having traded ideas with the likes of Porsche, Ferrari, Peugeot, Audi and more.

“Yeah, we were involved from the very beginning,” he said, as he sheltered from the Sussex sun under his cowboy hat. “We made sure that our wishes were taken into account. We said we want to build a very nice-looking car, with a fair BOP.”

It was important that the car looked right. Before all this, Jim was a distinguished collector and still retains an enviable selection of old racing Ferraris among other tasty machinery. The 007 is as much a racer built for the future, as a nod to the greats of the 1960s. 

“We wanted to not make LMP1 but a modern-day racer with a more classic style. Our car is a nod to the ‘60s. Though everyone says red is Italian, it’s actually been the official racing colour of the USA since 1905.”

“A mutual passion for the sport, that’s why I love Romain”

SCG have some endurance racer big-name clout in Romain Dumas as a star driver of the 007. Jim says he needed versatility and someone with experience to help develop the car.

“I wanted someone with experience, to be a developmental driver. Romain’s won Le Mans, he’s driven Pikes Peak, Dakar, the Nürburgring. We knew each other from racing at the Nürburgring. He asked about what we were doing with the new car and that he’d like to talk to us about it and be a part of it. It’s mutual, a mutual passion for the sport and that’s why I love Romain. Plus... he won’t destroy the car.”

The car’s first outing was at the 8 Hours of Portimao, after extensive testing at Monza. It had a crunch and a few teething problems but he reckons the car’s coming along nicely.

“We made a car with very low downforce for Le Mans. It’s good. It’s good – reliable and fast.

“Basically it’s just trying to set the tyre pressures when we go out so that they build during the stint. The car was fast in the first few sections at Portimao, though slower in the third. That was because of low downforce so we knew that. We also beefed up the clutch a bit.”

They’re now in the process of preparing for Le Mans this weekend, following a strong outing at the Monza WEC round, which it completed with its FOS sticker still proudly displayed.

“We’ll be racing Ferrari at Le Mans in 2023. You can bet your kidneys on that.”

“I look forward to seeing Ferrari, Peugeot, Toyota, Porsche, Audi, Acura, BMW and perhaps General Motors, take part. Ferrari hasn’t won first overall at Le Mans for 56 years, they realise and they’re going back. Porsche has a great tradition there.”

“As for the future? We have a lot of talks, with different sponsors. Who knows where it’s going to go. We have some very big sponsors waiting in the wings. We’ll be racing Ferrari at Le Mans in 2023. You can bet your kidneys on that.”

SCG is now in the business of road cars too and by his account, it’s going swimmingly. The first UK customer just tried her distinctively specced SCG 004S up the Hill. He expects SCG, between 004s and Boot Baja-battling all-terrain vehicles, to be selling around 400 cars a year before too long. Car manufacturing means a dependent workforce and as such, Jim feels he has a responsibility to them to be financially sensible.

“We could race indefinitely but now I have a road car company, I have employees to look after. I don’t want to do something financially stupid but we’ll see where the 007 takes us.”

Finally, we ask whether he had any idea he might one day be going toe to toe with Ferrari at le Mans back in 2006 when commissioning his special Enzo-based P4/5 homage car.

“You know I did, but I don’t know how much of a realistic thought it was. Now I think it’s a very realistic thought, oh yeah.”

We look forward to it almost as much as he does.

Photography by Jordan Butters and Jayson Fong