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, winner of 2003 Le Mans 24 Hours. The car as well as Bentley quickly retired from international Sports Car Racing after the victory. In fact, it is widely believed that the teams running the Audi R8 yielded the victory to Bentley because of Bentley's recent addition to the Volkswagen Group , of which Audi is a member. The Speed 8's engine was heavily derived from the Audi R8's, and the car was driven by Tom Kristensen , who won the three previous Le Mans (2000-02) in an R8]] The Le Mans Prototype (abbreviated to LMP), is a class of vehicles that were made specifically for high-speed circuit racing in endurance races such as the Le Mans 24 Hours . These cars rely heavily on aerodynamic devices such as diffusers and rear wings to achieve their intended corner speeds. Except for Formula One , these cars themselves are considered to be the most expensive in the world as they incorporate an array of cutting-edge technology. Estimates of the cost to design, develop and manufacturer these cars have run into millions of dollars. Only a very small number of them or their road-going variants are built, usually for Homologation . However, the Porsche 962 was sold in dozens. However, these cars are not without their dangers. In Le Mans 1999, three Mercedes-Benz CLR "took off" and crashed in three separate accidents due to aerodynamic flaws, and the front wheels of a Porsche 911 GT1 -98 and a BMW V12 came off the ground at Road Atlanta . History of the LMP Class The LMP class was introduced in 1995 as the successor to the Group C class from the 1980s . Group C could also mean "Group Consumption", as the car performance was primarily regulated by the fuel consumption. The method used was to limit onboard fuel capacity to 100 liters and restrict cars to 5 pitstops for 1000 kilometer events and 25 pitstops for 24 hour events. Unlike the LMP cars, Group C cars are less heavily regulated and thus, more engine tuning was allowed, such as the use of Turbocharged engines. Group C cars are even faster than Prototype cars but their extreme high-speeds became dangerous for drivers as developments continued. The 1989 Sauber - Mercedes C9 reached a top speed of about 400 km/h (250 mph), prompting ACO to add two Chicane s on the Le Mans straight to lower top speed and subsequently replacing the Group C class with World Sports Car s. A former Group C car could win in Le Mans in 1994 again, with victory going to a Dauer - Porsche 962 LM with was modified for road use and entered as a GT. As of 2005, no international races allow Group C cars although some private races are dedicated to Group C cars. Top speed plays an important, but not decisive role in victory at Le Mans. Through out Le Man's long history, the winners were usually not the fastest machines. In the 1960s, the first Ford GT40 s were designed to be fast but soon after, Ford realized that speed could not compensate for a lack of reliability. These cars were forced to retire after just 3 hours of racing. The revised Le Mans-winning Ford GT40s were built for reliability and speed. LMP Subclasses There are, today, two subclasses within the LMP class:
Former LMP subclasses included LMP900, '''LMP675''' and '''LMGTP'''. Future developments Audi will enter the Diesel-powered Audi R10 in 2006. Peugeot will follow in 2007. List of Le Mans Prototypes
Additional Links in Le Mans 1999]]
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