Talbot Lago T26GS Le Mans 1951 #8

Talbot Lago T26GS Le Mans 1951 #8 by Bizarre

We were slightly confused when we started digging out photos of this car from the 1951 running of Le Mans as the photo in both the recent three volume Le Mans history and its two volume predecessor show a car that looks like the model except for the fairly major detail that the engine configuration is reversed with the inlet (and consequently the spare wheel) on the left and the exhaust on the right. However, further digging suggests that there was a certain amount of musical chairs going on at Talbot with regard to who finally drove which car and which race number and shots of the grid and this car in the race show that the model is correct with the exhaust on the left. Whether it’s the same chassis as in that pre-race shot and it had an engine change, we haven’t managed to establish but we do know that the car retired from the race with a cracked radiator and ultimately engine failure. Well done Bizarre for not falling into the trap.