DIVERSITY & RARITIES
A multi-disciplinary event par excellence, the Charade Super Show brings together exceptional vehicles from all horizons: single-seater, endurance, rally, drift, touring, motorbike... While awaiting the publication of the final entry list, the organisers have revealed the identities of seven remarkable models expected on the starting grid for the 3rd edition on 13 and 14 July 2024. (Charade Circuit - France)
Single-Seater
March 811 (1981)
It may not have left a mark on Formula 1 history with its results, but it stands out with details that will surely surprise the spectators at the Charade Super Show. Its sponsors, for example: a nightclub cabaret, a cigarette paper manufacturer, and a beer brewer. An explosive cocktail that is hard to imagine today. Technically, the car also stood out for its striking resemblance to the 1980 Williams world champion! A near-perfect copy of the bodywork down to the 3-liter, 500 hp Ford Cosworth V8 engine. By freely drawing inspiration from the best at the time, designer Gordon Coppuck was certainly hoping to restore the reputation of the artisan-builder March, which was returning to F1 after a four-year absence. It was not to be. Of the seven chassis built, the one presented at the Charade Super Show achieved the best result, a 7th place finish at the 1981 British Grand Prix under the hands of Derek Daly, thanks to developments from which it was the only one to benefit (a short wheelbase in particular).
Sportscar -
Lola T492 (1978) - Image: © Denis Blantot
Seeing this car in France is quite an exceptional event, as it never raced here. And yet, it looks like a Le Mans prototype. But upon closer inspection, something is missing. Look hard enough... Headlights! Because no, it was not designed for endurance racing, but to compete in sprints under the hands of gentlemen drivers in a championship called “Sport 2000,” very popular in England and North America in the 1970s and 1980s. The Lola T492, chassis HU33, presented at the Charade Super Show, comes from the United States where it raced from 1982 to 1985. After an accident, it was stored for several decades in a garage before being imported to France to be fully restored to its original specifications, including the 2-liter Ford Pinto 4-cylinder engine and VW gearbox. A curiosity not to be missed!
Rally
Lancia Stratos (1975)
Jean-Claude Andruet won one of the greatest victories of his career at the 1974 Tour de Corse, driving a Lancia Stratos. Fifty years later, the driver and the machine will be reunited at the Charade Super Show! Designed more than half a century ago by the brilliant Marcello Gandini, the Lancia Stratos remains astonishingly modern today with its wedge shape and mid-rear engine architecture. It remains forever the first car designed specifically to win rallies, a mission it perfectly accomplished by winning the 1973 Tour de France Automobile (which passed through Charade), and then clinching the World Rally Championships in 1974, 1975, and 1976 with legendary drivers like Sandro Munari and Bernard Darniche. Last but not least, the car on show at the Super Show will sport a striking 'Alitalia' livery.n
Touring Car
Renault 21 Europa Cup (1989)
Launched in 1986, the Renault 21 does not really inspire today’s collectors… Well, it depends on the version! Because the one presented at the Charade Super Show will attract many with its stunning looks and remarkable performance. But beware, despite appearances, this is not tuning. It is indeed an original model, one of the 52 built by Renault Sport for the single-make Europa Cup championship, which took place in 1989 as a support race for European F1 events. Its 4-cylinder engine, supplied with air by a Garrett turbo blowing at 1.6 bar, develops 300 hp and 420 Nm of torque. Enough to take the one-tonne saloon to a top speed of almost 300 km/h! In short, a perfect product to reveal young champions, including Philippe Bugalski. The green car, chassis number 10, presented at Charade, was at the time entered by the German team GM Motorsport and driven by a certain Carsten Stuwe. A guaranteed favorite for youngtimer fans.
Drift
BMW 1 Series V8 (2023)
The Charade Super Show will live up to its name with demonstrations featuring several cars from the FFSA French Drift Championship. For once, the drivers won’t be aiming to set the fastest lap time, but rather to achieve the best drift in front of the grandstands on the Rosier bend (the one before the pit straight). It’s a feat of skill and precision in which Jérôme Esteban, 35, a regular competitor in the Elite category, which brings together around fifty cars in France, excels. The driver will be at the wheel of his BMW 1 Series E92, an impressive machine with its bodywork built from carbon fibre and its aggressive fluorescent paintwork, but above all because of its 800bhp 6-litre compressor V8... Much more than enough to skid over several hundred metres!
Gran Turismo of Tomorrow
Foenix H2 (2024)
When the Foenix H2 takes to the track, the spectators at the Charade Super Show will undoubtedly be surprised to find that a “green” engine can retain some of the beloved sound qualities. Because, in the end, at 6,500 rpm, it will be impossible for anyone to tell the difference between the 6.2-liter supercharged V8 running on hydrogen and a traditional equivalent running on gasoline. The car, designed and manufactured by Solution F, a subsidiary of the GCK Group, is a forerunner of the GT cars of the future. This technological laboratory, with over 600 hp, proves that motor sport can still play its role as a full-scale test bed for the vehicles of the future.
Motorcycle
Norton F1 588 (1992)
Another extremely rare model! While it's impossible to say how many of the 130 examples sold worldwide in the early 1990s are still running, we can confirm that the one presented at the Charade Super Show remains the only one of its kind registered in France! The other great originality of this British sports bike lies in its rotary piston engine: a 588 cc twin-rotor Wankel engine, whose sound – at 9,500 rpm – will delight spectators. This technology, almost abandoned today, offers good performance (95 hp, 250 km/h top speed) for a lightweight and minimal vibration. On the downside, it is fuel-hungry. Behind its simple, very British lines, the Norton F1 hides excellent sporting qualities, as evidenced by its resounding victory at the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy in 1992 with Steve Hislop at the handlebars… at an average of 195 km/h!
