A fragment of the Chenard saga at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
1924 Chenard & Walcker T3 Sport Works 2.0L

• Engine used at the 1924 24 Hours of Le Mans
• Driven by André Pisart in the 1924 Boulogne GP
• Fully restored between 2015 and 2018
• Has competed in the Goodwood Revival and Le Mans Classic
• Up-to-date international HTP

The story of the 24 Hours of Le Mans began in 1906, when the Sarthe département won the bid to organise the ACF Grand Prix, and so on 26 and 27 June, the first large-scale automobile race was held in Sarthe, over more than 12 hours! The idea of an annual automobile race was the brainchild of Georges Durand, president of the Automobile Club de la Sarthe, future Automobile Club de l'Ouest. After various races organised in Sarthe, before and then after the First World War, in the end it was at a 1922 meeting between Georges Durand, Marcel Canit and Charles Faroux that the idea of an endurance race to demonstrate automobile reliability and performance really came into being. At first intended to last 8 hours, the race would, however, last 24 hours, based on an idea from Emile Coquille, CEO of Rudge-Whitworth. In fact, he gave his company's name to the first race, the Rudge-Whitworth Cup, the Grand Prix de Vitesse et d'Endurance de 24 Heures, organised in 1923. Two Chenard & Walcker 3.0Ls would finish in first and second place, leaving a permanent mark on the history of the race.

For the 1924 edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours, Chenard & Walcker lined up six cars, including two T3 Torpedo 2.0Ls, fitted with engines developed by the engineer, Toutée. While noneof the team crossed the finish line, the two T3s were nonetheless ranked by distance, 4th place (André Pisart; Joseph Chavée) and 5th (Rafael Manso de Zùñiga; Christian Dauvergne), who abandoned respectively during the 24th and 23rd hours due to a failure of their Hallot brake servos. Following the Le Mans 24 Hours, Chenard took the engine of what seems to have been car no.31, that of André Pisart, to install it in a new shorter chassis without a brake servo, and thus 65843 was born. At the 1924 Boulogne Grand Prix (Coupe Boillot), the two Chenard & Walcker 2.0Ls lined up alongside two left-hand drive Tank 2.0Ls, which would finish in first and second place. André Pisart was driving the new short chassis and was in fourth place before the end of the race, he then waited for the second T3, driven by Lagache, and they finished joint fourth, behind the Chandon Bugatti 35 in third place. In total, Chenard & Walcker only built two 2.0L Toutée Type engines with a left-hand exhaust pipe; one of these has vanished, while the other, number 01, is still fitted in chassis 65843. We are not aware of where the chassis was until 1976, when it was acquired by Mr Christian Ponticq in Lot-et-Garonne. It was from Christian Decombas that the current owner acquired the car in 2009, in good general condition and painted red. The T3 needed, however, to be taken back as far as possible to its original state. After several years' research to piece together the car's history and create a roadmap for its restoration, in 2015 AS Classic Engineering received the T3 to complete a full restoration. The work was undertaken by stripping the car right down and rebuilding the wrought iron cage-shaped chassis, typical of a Chenard racing chassis. The body was recreated based on period photos, but with more conventional wings than those used for the Boulogne Grand Prix, with the oil exchanger and headlights also placed differently. The overhead camshaft racing engine was overhauled, notably with the reproduction of specific parts with 3D development and machining. In total, the work took three years, and the budget exceeded €230,000!

Finished in early 2018, the T3 returned to Le Mans Classic that same year, but was only able to complete a few laps, with a tune-up and adjustments being made to some details following its full restoration. It was in 2022 that the Chenard was able to prove itself on the Sarthe circuit, finishing the weekend's three races, taking 47th place by the end of the event, between two Bugatti Type 35s. In 2023, the T3 2.0L returned to Le Mans Classic and once again showed itself to be impressively reliable, finishing the three races and taking 63rd place overall, out of 86 cars entered. Being one of the oldest cars at the event, the car was invited by Lord March to take part in the Rudge-Whitworth Cup at the 2023 Goodwood Revival. There, the Chenard once again proved how reliable it is, being among the 20 cars that finished the race. More recently, in summer 2024, it was invited to the 100-year anniversary of the Autodrome Linas-Montlhéry.

Today, this Chenard & Walcker T3 Sport 2.0L is a true piece of history, just begging to take part in the many events for which it is eligible. Sold with its French registration document (carte grise), its FFSA technical passport, and a file of invoices and photos chronicling its restoration, it also comes with the documentation required to trace its history.