Three-quarters front view of a Deutsch and Bonnet HBR4 Le Mans Race Car which competed in both the 1959 and 1960, 24 Hrs of Le Mans Race
The HBR-series was constructed with one main target: small displacement, long distance competition. Any concessions to comfort were there to meet regulations, and also to accommodate those drivers who had to go to and from the track in their racing car. One of the HBR's best outings was at the 1954 Le Mans, where René Bonnet himself - together with racing legend Élie Bayol finished tenth overall. The other HBR also finished (in 16th), while three Renault-engined central-seater DB designs all failed to complete the race.[12] DB proceeded to focus on Panhard designs exclusively. The HBR 4 (745 cc) won the Index of Performance at Le Mans 1956 (Laureau-Armagnac) and came in second in 1958.[13] In 1959 they won both the Index of Performance and the Index of Efficiency, with one car finishing ninth overall. DB HBRs won the Index of Performance again in 1960 and 1961 (with the same car which won in 1959) The same cars were often converted to barquette (roadster) specifications to make them lighter yet, although the roofed models benefited from lower drag. The HBR was also popular in American SCCA club racing as well as long distance races across the world.
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Museum of the 24hrs of Le Mans, Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -quarters, ., 15th, 24, 745, 1959, 1960, 24hrs, car, cc, circuit, de, efficiency, finished, finishing, france, front, hrs, index, la, le, lemans, mans, museum, ninth, performance, race, sarthe, view, won
