Deep Sanderson 301

It’s been said, by me in private, that the worst thing about the 24h of Le Mans is the French officials’ penchant for legislative jackassery.

In decades past, certain cars (read up on the Shelby Daytona Coupe), teams, and drivers learned the hard way it was easy enough to build a fast car — it was another thing entirely to dot ‘i’s, cross ’t’s, and grease enough palms that race officials wouldn’t haul your car into the pits for an impromptu inspection.

People today complain about officials throwing a “NASCAR yellow” and affecting a race with a caution or safety car — I’m saying I wouldn’t be surprised if the yellow flag itself originated in the land of dijon.

Hold that thought. 

At the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, the British-made Deep Sanderson 301 and its 1,300-cc 4-cylinder racing engine prepared by Downton Engineering — originally from a humble BMC Mini — achieved a terrifying 244 km/h (152 mph) on the Mulsanne Straight.

This was a high point before things took a turn for the small British firm.

That impressive speed was hit a year after the car's 1963 appearance at the French 24h race, where it was gunning for the prestigious Index of Thermal Efficiency award that rewarded both speed and low fuel consumption. It was also the year Carlo Abarth apparently became furious at all of his cars being overtaken by the Deep Sanderson garagistas from Britain, and (some say) cajoled officials to disqualify the team over a bogus technicality.

I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself with its racing results, but it's important to appreciate this car's achievements when you consider that the Deep Sanderson 301 was envisioned as a kit car.

That's right: developed by talented engineer Chris Lawrence from lessons learned with his company's Deep Sanderson Formula Junior cars, the 301 was a road-focused kit simply because "Race on Sunday, sell on Monday" was the best way to get more enthusiasts into sports cars.

NOTE: Which car did the 301’s windshield come from? See below…