Miguel Sánchez
The beginnings of motor racing were a "Titans fights". And not just because you had to have enormous courage; launching at over 130 km / h on bumpy, gravel-filled tracks was a fool's errand in which many lost their lives. Not to mention the way to take the curves: pulling out one hand to maneuver with the brake lever -exterior to the bodywork- while the other tried to govern a large-scale steering wheel attached to a direction only accessible to the strongest arms.
As you can see, dealing with those potholes and those skids had to be quite an adventure. Even more so if we take into account the racing cars of the time, authentic tonne and a half giants equipped with 14! liters. Just you have to see this video de the Beast of Turin to get an idea (a bit extreme) of what we are talking about.
In 1909 the great prizes were stopped due to the bad European economic situation. When they resumed in 1912, the giants had nothing to do with the new Peugeot. At 5000 - 7000 cc, its engines were much smaller and its chassis more agile and lighter. With the L76 and the L45 was born a saga of giant killers destined to change the rules of the sports car game.
FATHER OF MODERN COMPETITION
Not all cars can be called the forerunner of something. Perhaps that is why this 45 Peugeot L1914 has just reached the number of $ 7.260.000 at the auction held on November 11 by the Bonhams house. It is a unique classic, and not only because of its mechanical design: It is also the last of the "Charlatans" who has stepped on a race track.
At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, builders saw an increase in displacement as the solution to all problems. The bigger the engine, the more power, and the more power, the more victories ... Actually, they were not so simple: The cars were reaching unruly proportions and weights, and precisely when the light and fast 'Charlatans' of Peugeot appeared in 1912 many realized this reality.
Its 4 cylinder 16 valve engines! they lowered the cubic centimeters to 7.500 for the L76 and 4.491 for this L45, enough to be the starting shot of a new sporty approach based on a relative loss of importance of the mechanics with respect to the rest of the car's components.
Those Peugeot opened the door to a new philosophy; its Downsize It was so revolutionary that they are considered the fathers of today's racing cars.
THE LAST OF ITS KIND: PEUGEOT L45
With the number 1 on its chassis, this L45 was one of the 3 copies that Peugeot sent to contest the 500 Miles from Indianapolis in 1916. Two were part of the brand's team -in fact the one driven by Dario Resta won the victory- while this specimen was in private hands: those of Ralph Mulford, who finished in third position.
It has been preserved in California, where until now it was part of the impressive Bothwell collection. At the moment we do not know who the new owner is, but what we do know is that he has taken something very special: this is the only Peugeot L45 with a sporting record that still exists. A car with such revolutionary technology that now, more than a century later, it has inspired the French brand to launch an equally groundbreaking prototype: the L500 R Hybrid. And, even as the years go by, this classic will always be an example for the pioneers ...
