CHASSIS : 911 020 0699
FRENCH CHAMPIONSHIP IN 1972
Estimate: 1.150.000 – 1.600.000€
PROVENANCE:
Delivered new to Porsche Sonauto in 1970
ST ordered by SONAUTO French Porsche imported at Robert BUCHET Racing team in Poitiers
Road registration : 293 LX 86 in 09/1971
Driver for the 1971 and 1972 season : Claude BALLOT-LENA
Racing assistance : Écurie Sonauto
RACE HISTORY :
1971 Tour de France Auto, car driven by Claude Ballot-Léna :résult 3rd Over All, hight butterfly engine 2380 cm3, 240ps.
1972 Tour de France Auto, car driven by Claude Ballot-Léna, car n°111, hight butterfly engine 2.5L 280ps
1972 Winner of the Circuit’s France Championship, GT class
1972 European GT Championship : 6th over all
Sold back in 07/1973 to Sonauto
Practice car of Guy Chasseuil ( Sonauto Driver ) for the 74’ season.
1973 Tour Auto - Écurie Sonauto BP Sponsor
Forgotten for years, the car always stayed in France. The car was rediscovered in 2012 largely modified and civilized. Start a complete restoration, putting it back to its period conformity of the 1972 Tour Auto with a 2.5L.
The car still has its Hellgelb color which is the color of SONAUTO, and its alloy identification plate is still original.
This incredible authentic an unique car, definitely the most glorious French 911, just ended its restoration thanks to the «savoir-faire» and the large experience of Franco Lembo in Classic and Racing Porsche’s.
It is absolutely exceptional to have to run-in a 2.5 ST with such a history! Eligible for the best events in the world (Tour Auto, Le Mans Classic, 100 Ore di Modena, etc.), this is a real privilege today to buy a piece of the national automobile heritage. Its traceability and its historical follow-up are complete and come with rare period photos, press articles and a copy of the property title. It has a large dossier of restoration with more than 500 photos and an appraisal value.
In 1970, the introduction of the 911 2.2L was an inspiring opportunity at Porsche to introduce a replacement to the 2.0L 911 R for their devoted racing clients. Using as a starting base a 2.2L, the ST ran in Group 4 competition after the FIA allowed Porsche to increase the bore of its 2.2L so to enlarge the engine. Displacement increased to 2247cc due to the 85mm bore and unchanged stroke of 66mm. Porsche took the opportunity of the Gr 4 rules, to enhance all areas of the engine.
Biral cylinders, higher compression ratios (10.3:1), Mahle pistons, twin-plug heads, polished connecting rods and plastic high butterfly intake trumpets were a few of the improvements. Horsepower jumped to an astonishing 240 hp. The body material was exchanged for lightweight material and all non-essential interior items were removed. Alloy doors and hood, and bumpers were comprised of an exotic and ultra-thin fibre-glass material.
When work was completed, the vehicles weighed just 850 kg. About 30 works cars were built, then some unserved clients had cars modified at the factory or they were delivered M491 mounting kits.
In 1972, with the introduction of the 2.4L, the engine was again enlarged to the limits of the 2.0-2.5 L class and evolves to 2.5L with this time 280 hp, thanks to a stroke of 70.4 mm and a bore of 86.7 mm.
Claude Ballot-Léna was again at the wheel of the car for the 72 season. He takes the start of the Tour Auto with the number 111 and after a fierce race with Sandro Munari and its Stratos, Claude was forced to drop his gloves in the very last leg, after a clutch failure, while he was a second overall.
The same year he won the French circuits Championship and then he affixed the tricolor cockade on the right corner of the hood. The car was also entered in the European GT Championship and finished 6th overall.
In 1973, the car is bought by SONAUTO because the importer delivers to its successful driver the famous Psychedelic 2.8 RSR chassis 360 1497 (this particular car that I personally owned from 2003 to 2008 and with which I participated in the Tour Auto). So in 1973, as attested by a copy of the registration document, the car is sold by Buchet to SONAUTO where it was used by their works driver Guy Chasseuil as a practice.
During the 1973 Tour Auto, SONAUTO rents the car sponsored by BP and will be engaged under the number 99 with Marie-Odile Desvignes at its wheel and Brigitte Carrier, still registered 293 LX 86. SONAUTO sells the car in 1976 to Mr. Curnin from Paris who keeps it until 1984, when the car goes to Strasbourg. And finally, from 1987 to 2012, the car is in the hands of a same owner in Sarrebourg, still in France.
The car will be delivered with all copies of the french documents, press article , , old racing pictures and thousand pictures of his restoration.
The French importer SONAUTO decided at this time to invest in competition and entrusted the heavy task to Robert Buchet to build and assist the race cars. So, the Parisian company entrusted a recent used car taken from its stock, a green 2.2 E, registered for the first time in September 1971.
Buchet fully disassembled and sent it to the Weissach the racing department of the factory for a complete 2.3 ST preparation. To note that in 1971, the famous Germans wheels Fuchs in forged alloy did not exist, so the car drove with Minilite wheels at the back. To honor one of his main sponsors, the car was equipped with the famous iodine Cibié.
The car aligned at the start of the Tour de France Automobile on September 17th 1971 with Ballot-Léna and J-C Moreno under the number 129 and registered 293 LX 86. They finished at an incredible 3rd place overall just behind 2 prototypes: the Matra of Larousse and the Ferrari 512M of Jabouille.
Claude Ballot-Léna had a long 30-year racing career, mostly at the wheel of Porsches. He won the 1969 24 Hours of Spa in a 911, the 1983 24 Hours of Daytona in a 935 Turbo, and entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans 22 times with a general podium in 1977 and 7 victories of his class.
ROLEX DAYTONA & PORSCHE 911 Auction 19th July
