Le Mans 1966 - Mini Marcos

1966 was a milestone year at Le Mans since Ford famously managed to beat Ferrari. But in between the Fords and Ferraris with their hundreds of horsepowers, there was also a tiny little car that became the darling of the crowds. It was the Mini Marcos, driven by Jean-Louis Marnat and Claude Ballot-Lena. The 1300cc car managed to finish an incredible 15th overall. This is the film footage I have found of it, put together in one video.
The car itself was found back in December 2016 in a sorry state. Regular updates on the restoration can be found here: maximummini.blo...

[@HSGAutomotive]

One of my top bucket list cars to own, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I won’t fit in it 😂

[@miguelplano2538]

Awesome job putting together all that wonderful footage! Can't wait to see the finished car!

[@BackBoneRock]

Great job editing all this Jeroen, looks really great and professional!

[@jdtseventyfour]

what a great film. Brilliantly made. A great tribute to the great little car :-)

[@BritIronRebel]

I've wanted a Mini Marcos since my teenage years.
You also caught the Ford GT-40 3 car finish.
Very cool footage all round!

[@danb.3397]

3 engines and 200 liters of oil later...a job well done. But seriously, 15th overall, remarkable.

[@pauln1557]

Great little cars, but ugly as sin!
I had one with a 1380cc mini engine in the 1980's, based in the English Lake District.
'Squashed frog' was it's nickname.
It was very quick due to its low weight and reasonable power, handled very well and was cheap to run. Brilliant fun to drive on the twisty country roads.
It used to give the early Ford Escort XR3's and Golf GTI's a surprise!
Reliability was marginal, the little needle bearings that supported the idler gear between the engine and gearbox couldn't handle the torque of the 1380 motor, good for 5-10,000 miles, the 11:1 compression ratio used to knock out the big ends at about the same interval.
I loved it! Paul, now in NZ

[@SemajSuper]

what an amazing little car

[@charleshill9236]

Never saw one until now. Very cool!

[@ragazzi25]

wow...incredible little car!!

[@plyspeed]

Spectacular and never seen sequences of the Mini Marcos 1966 entry at LeMans, but there is a big mistake, this movie is mixed up with black and white sequences from Montlhery, as in one shot I see the Mark Konig Nomad MK 1, and this car definitivly never started in the LeMans 24 hours.

[@maartenzeeful]

It is about the car, I think, kind regards, Maarten

[@marcos3ltrv6]

Totally brilliant film Jeroen♥♥

[@Ralph2]

Thank you my man!

[@ericdupont1326]

souvenir inoubliable que d'avoir pu en essayer une près de Montlhéry au printemps 1978

[@simcajet]

Excellent!

[@Bulletguy07]

Mon dieu magnifique Marcos!!

[@ferretboy221]

Amazing job....back when some actual grit and engineering/driving talent got you somewhere in racing rather than flat out money and computers......

[@huwzebediahthomas9193]

Treeeeeessssss... 😎

[@キリン-i9k]

思っていたよりも速い❗こんな 小さな車で😂

[@timpriddy349]

Music is not needed........

[@chunkyedwards5381]

Then why not go to the effort and put your own video together without the music and upload it?

[@camieldehoen]

Fraai gemonteerd!

[@aaaaaaaaaaaa899]

Vole Petite voiture vole