The 1000 Kilometres of Paris was an endurance race, mainly for

sports cars A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

, which was held at the

Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry Autodrome de Montlhéry (established 4 October 1924) is a motor racing circuit, officially called L’autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry, owned by Utac, located south-west of the small town of Montlhéry about south of Paris. History Industria ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

from 1956 to 1995.

1956

The event is called ''Grand Prix of the Automobile Club of Île-de-France''. Following the accident of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1955 and the measures taken by the public authorities, the safety conditions of the Linas-Montlhéry autodrome were improved; in particular 34 stands, with access to refueling, were built. A Maserati 300S win at the average speed of 150.239 km/h. A

Gordini Gordini () is a division of Renault Sport Technologies ( Renault Sport). In the past, it was a sports car manufacturer and performance tuner, established in 1946 by Amédée Gordini (1899–1979), nicknamed "Le Sorcier" (The Sorcerer). Gordini b ...

T15S finished in eighth place, a DB Panhard at the thirteenth, a Ferry powered by

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...

at the fourteenth and a Vernet-Pairard — also powered by

— at the sixteenth. The three Panhard Monopoles did not finish.

1962

The race became part of the

World Sportscar Championship The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and ...

René Bonnet René Bonnet ( Vaumas, 27 December 1904 – 13 January 1983) was a French driver and automobile constructor. Early life The young René first learned about machines working with his father, a carpenter. By 1915, with most teachers conscripted, ...

and Charles Deutsch each line up a 1000 cm3 prototype powered by

and

Panhard Panhard was a French motor vehicle manufacturer that began as one of the first makers of automobiles. It was a manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its final incarnation, now owned by Renault Trucks Defense, was formed ...

. The domination of the

Ferrari 250 GTO The Ferrari 250 GTO is a GT car produced by Ferrari from 1962 to 1964 for homologation into the FIA's Group 3 Grand Touring Car category. It was powered by Ferrari's ''Tipo 168/62'' Colombo V12 engine. The "250" in its name denotes the displa ...

was unchallenged in the first six places:

Pedro Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, mean ...

and Ricardo Rodriguez win another victory at 157,727 km/h average.

1995

The race was interrupted after 540 km. The four

Ferrari F40 The Ferrari F40 (''tipo'' F120) is a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car engineered by Nicola Materazzi with styling by Pininfarina. It was built from 1987 until 1992, with the LM and GTE race car versions continuing production until 199 ...

s entered in the

Group GT1 Group GT1, also known simply as GT1, was a set of regulations maintained formerly by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), for Grand Tourer racing. The category was first created in 1994, as the top class of the BPR Global GT Seri ...

were broken, as was the

McLaren F1 GTR The McLaren F1 GTR is the racing variant of the McLaren F1 sports car first produced in 1995 for grand touring style racing, such as the BPR Global GT Series, FIA GT Championship, JGTC, and British GT Championship. It was powered by the nat ...

; only a Venturi 600 LM had saved the GT1's honor by finishing in fourth place.

Winners

*Note: The 1972 race was held at

Rouen-Les-Essarts Rouen-Les-Essarts was a motor racing circuit in Orival, near Rouen, France. From its opening in 1950, Rouen-Les-Essarts was recognized as one of Europe's finest circuits, with modern pits, a wide track, and spectator grandstands. The street ci ...

Endurance racing in Paris before 1956

Prior to 1956 other races were held at Montlhéry for touring cars.Les Grand Prix de Paris sur l'autodrome
- P. Pannetier, Autodrome.over-blog.com, 19 décembre 2007 These included: Grand Prix Tourisme of the AC.F. *1925 (1000 kilometers of Paris) — won by

André Boillot André Jacques Boillot (8 August 1891 – 5 June 1932) was a French auto racing driver. Born in Valentigney, Doubs, he was the younger brother of race car driver, Georges Boillot. Following in his brother's footsteps, André Boillot began racing ...

in a

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

18CV ahead of

Pierre Gaudermen Sous-Lieutenant Pierre Gustave Gaudermen (20 October 1882 – 20 December 1948) was a French World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. Early life and background Pierre Gaudermen was born in Paris. In 1904 he enlisted in the '. ...

, covering nearly in less than 12 hours 13 minutes.GP de l'A.C.F. Tourisme 1925
(RacingSportsCars). 24 Hours of Paris *1927 —

George Duller George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

and Frank Clement led from start to finish in a

Bentley 4½ Litre The Bentley 4½ Litre is a British car based on a rolling chassis built by Bentley Motors. Walter Owen Bentley replaced the Bentley 3 Litre with a more powerful car by increasing its engine displacement to . A racing variant was known as the Blo ...

. *1955 — Auguste Veuillet and Gonzague Olivier, in a 1.1 L

Porsche 550 The Porsche 550 is a racing sports car produced by Porsche from 1953 until 1956. In that time only 90 Porsche 550s were produced, and they quickly established dominance in the 1.1- and 1.5- liter classes. The Porsche 550 is a mid-engine car with ...

Spyder. 8 Hours of Montlhéry *1934 — Charles Balester won this unique edition.8 h Montlhéry
- RacingSportsCars 12 Hours of Paris *1938 —

René Le Bègue René Le Bègue (15 January 1914 – 24 February 1946) was a Parisian-born French race car driver in Rally and Grand Prix motor racing. In his first year of top level racing, his best showing came at the 1936 Spa 24 Hours endurance race when h ...

and André Morel, in a Talbot Lago T26 for the first ''Olazur Cup''. *1939 — Ten days before the scheduled race date Germany invades Poland, starting the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Race is cancelled.Affiche des 12 Heures de Paris 1939
/ref> *1947 —

Guy Mairesse Guy Mairesse (10 August 1910 – 24 April 1954) was a French racing driver. He participated in three Formula One World Championship ''Grands Prix'', debuting on 3 September 1950. He scored no championship points. Mairesse built a haulag ...

, in a

Delahaye 135 The Delahaye 135 is a luxury car manufactured by French automaker Delahaye. Designed by engineer Jean François, it was produced from 1935 until 1954 in many different body styles. A sporting tourer, it was also popular for racing. History The D ...

. *1948 —

Luigi Chinetti Luigi Chinetti (July 17, 1901 – August 17, 1994) was an Italian-born racecar driver, who emigrated to the United States during World War II. He drove in 12 consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans races, taking three outright wins there and taking two m ...

, in a

Ferrari 166 Ferrari used its 2 L (1995 cc/121 in3) V12 engine in a number of models, all called 166 for the displacement of a single cylinder. Most early 166es were sports cars built for racing, though a later line of GT cars launched the compan ...

Spyder Corsa.Résultats des 12 Heures de Paris 1938
- RacingSportsCars *1950 — Luigi Chinetti and Jean Lucas, in a Ferrari 166 MM.Résultats des 12 Heures de Paris 1950
- RacingSportsCars Grand Prix of the AC.F. (

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...

) *

1931 French Grand Prix The 1931 French Grand Prix (formally the XXV Grand Prix de l'A.C.F.) was a Grand Prix motor race held at Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry on 21 June 1931. As with the other two races in the 1931 AIACR European Championship, this race was held ove ...

– The Grand Prix was held as a 10 hour endurance race for Grand Prix cars, won by

Louis Chiron Louis Alexandre Chiron (3 August 1899 – 22 June 1979) was a Monégasque racing driver who competed in rallies, sports car races, and Grands Prix. Among the greatest drivers between the two World Wars, his career embraced over thirty years, ...

and Achille Varzi driving a Bugatti. *

1936 French Grand Prix The 1936 French Grand Prix (formally the XXX Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France) was a Grand Prix motor race which was held at Montlhéry, France on 28 June 1936. The race was held over 80 laps of the 12.5 km course for a total distance of ...

– The Grand Prix was held as a 1000km race for Sports Cars. Won by

Jean-Pierre Wimille Jean-Pierre Wimille (26 February 1908 – 28 January 1949) was a Grand Prix motor racing driver and a member of the French Resistance during World War II. Biography Born in Paris, France to a father who loved motor sports and was employed as t ...

and

Raymond Sommer Raymond Sommer (31 August 1906 – 10 September 1950) was a French motor racing driver. He raced both before and after WWII with some success, particularly in endurance racing. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in both and , and altho ...

driving a Bugatti. * 1937 French Grand Prix – The Grand Prix was held as a 500km race for Sports Cars. Won by

driving a

Talbot Talbot was an automobile marque introduced in 1902 by English-French company Clément-Talbot. The founders, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Adolphe Clément-Bayard, reduced their financial interests in their Clément-Talbot ...

References

External links

Livre : les 1000 kilomètres de Paris 1956-1994
(Edition Palmier)
1000 km de Paris 1960
(Panhard Racing Team)
Montlhéry - 1000 km 1971
(Classic Courses) {{DEFAULTSORT:1000 km de Paris Sports car races Endurance motor racing Recurring sporting events established in 1956 Auto races in France