The 10 Best Looking Endurance Race Cars Ever Created

1. Jaguar XJR-9

Sporting the classic Silk Cut livery, the XJR-9 was an evolution of Jaguar’s XJR-8 car and looked downright mad. It was powered by a 7.0-litre V12 engine and weighed 893kg. A special, lower-drag version was created just for Le Mans.

The car debuted at the 1988 24 Hours of Daytona, where it won, and went on to take victory at that year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. It triumphed at five other rounds of the World Sports Prototype Championship to win the team and driver championships. However, the rapid development rate of the time meant the car was dated by the 1989 season and it was replaced by the XJR-10 mid-season.

2. Ford GT40

The GT40 was a beautiful car, whatever livery it was in. But, it looked the most special sporting the blue and orange Gulf colours. The car was dominant in its time, winning Le Mans on four consecutive occasions between 1966 and 1969, with various versions. 107 were produced in total, with the main aim being to fight Ferrari.

3. Mazda 787B

The beautiful orange and green-liveried Mazda was raced in the World Sportscar Championship, All Japan Sports Prototype Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1990 and 1991. Powered by a 700bhp four-rotor engine, it sounded epic and proved to be very reliable, helping it to the Le Mans victory in 1991.

4. Porsche 962

The 962 was unusual, mainly because it remained successful well after its introduction at the end of 1984. It was still being raced well into the 1990s. The car won Le Mans in 1986 and 1987, and Porsche customer Jochen Dauer modified the 962 and claimed victory in 1994. It was a dominant machine and claimed numerous championships around the world, and didn’t it look amazing?

5. McLaren F1 GTR

The GTR was an aggressive-looking beast, an unusual beauty and one that was very successful too. It’s most famous for beating prototypes to the out-right Le Mans win in 1995 thanks to superior reliability. Various upgrades were made to the F1 and in 1997 the ‘Long Tail’ version debuted. Some were raced well into the 2000s after being picked up by private owners.

6. Ferrari 330 P3/4

The 330 P3/4 is quite simply one of the sexiest endurance cars in history. It went up against the GT40 and while both were amazing to look at, the Ford just had the edge at Le Mans in 1967. Just one P3/4 and three P4s were ever made and although it missed out on a few milestone victories, it looked incredible out on the track.

7. Jaguar D-Type

Yep, another Jag, this time one from the 50s. The D-Type was an eye-catching car and featured a radically different structure compared to its predecessor. It was packed full of technology - including a monocoque chassis and advanced aerodynamics - that for its time, was highly unusual. The risk proved to be worth taking as the car won Le Mans three times (1955, 1956 and 1957) but sadly rule changes prevented the D-Type from further outings.

8. Audi R18

Now, while the current R18 may still be a good looking piece of kit, I’m talking about the first variation of the car which debuted in 2011. Its sleek lines, elegant styling and closed cockpit made it the most striking machine on the grid and it was quick too, winning at Le Mans and scoring several other podiums.

9. Mercedes CLR

This one will probably split opinion, as the CLR was certainly a peculiar-looking machine, but it had an odd beauty and elegance to its design. While it was a striking car, though, its stint in sportscar racing was short-lived.

The Merc’s one and only outing was at the 1999 Le Mans endurance race. Two terrifying airborne incidents for a young Mark Webber meant the number 4 car was withdrawn before the race and a similar, scary crash happened during the famous event, forcing the one remaining car to be retired.

10. Aston Martin DBR1-2

The DBR1-2, B09/60 as it was also known, was built by Lola and co-developed by Prodrive for Aston Martin Racing. It was the first prototype to bear the Aston Martin name since 1989 and raced in the LMP1 category between 2009 and 2011. It won nine of the 27 races it competed in and won the overall Le Mans Series titles. Plus, Gulf livery – wow!

Have we missed any? Let us know your best looking endurance race cars in the comments!