The votes have been cast and the numbers have been crunched but the world will have to wait until Tuesday 2 July to find out the final result to the ultimate ‘Race Car of the Century’ poll.
To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Motor Sport magazine has conducted a definitive ballot to reveal the greatest competition car of the last century.
Nearly ten thousand votes have been cast and the winner will be revealed during a star-studded dinner at The Dorchester, London in the week running up to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Appropriately for such a milestone occasion, the guest list includes past and present champions including both Grand Prix and Le Mans winners with proceedings hosted by well-respected TV presenters Steve Rider and Karun Chandhok.
For the ‘Race Car of the Century’, Motor Sport explored its own remarkable history to shortlist ten all-time greats – one from each decade it has been published – and opened a public ballot in which all could vote.
Perfectly illustrating the incredible breadth of the fields covered by the magazine over the past 100 years, the nominations included five of the greatest Grand Prix cars, four supreme sportscars and one icon from the world of rallying.
Just about all the great sporting marques are represented: Audi, Bentley, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lotus, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Red Bull and Subaru. Moreover, the shortlisted track icons were raced by many of the world’s greatest drivers: Birkin, Caracciola, Hawthorn, Clark, Hill, Siffert, Rodriguez, Prost, Senna, McRae, Kristensen and Vettel to name but a dozen.
“We wanted to celebrate Motor Sport’s remarkable centenary in style and this ‘Race Car of the Century’ ballot has certainly caught the public’s imagination,” said Joe Dunn, Motor Sport editor.
“Not only did the voting numbers far exceed our expectations but they also reflected both the magazine’s unrivalled history and its ongoing compass of coverage. Without giving anything away, the top four in the poll spanned the eras as well as the full spectrum of motor sport disciplines… as will be revealed when the overall winner is declared on 2 July.”
Motor Sport’s ‘Race Car of the Century’ – Nominations
For many, the dark green Bentley Speed Six was the car which put Britain on the motor sport map with two of the marque’s five famous Le Mans wins between 1924 and 1930. The Union Jack-waver supreme fired Brits’ endearing love for the French classic.
Taking victory after victory in 1938 and 1939, the supercharged Mercedes W154 ‘Silver Arrow’ would prove to be the peak of pre-war Grand Prix engineering. Very powerful and a devil to drive, the W154 had no equal as the world went to war.
Winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours, Targo Florio and Mille Miglia, the stocky 166 is hailed by many as the greatest Ferrari of all. It is certainly the car that started the legend and with which the feted Prancing Horse hit its stride.
Beautiful, influential, fast – and a lasting winner, Jaguar’s aero-inspired D-type defined the new post-war era. The Spitfire of the racetracks and as British as bully beef, the ground-breaking D-type won where it mattered: the Le Mans 24 Hours.