FIVA preservation award goes to… the 1966 CD Peugeot

Published: 14/07/2016

On 10 July at the Le Mans Heritage Concours, part of this year’s Le Mans Classic, a jury of four FIVA officials presented the FIVA Preservation Award to the 1966 CD Peugeot that raced at the Le Mans 24 Hours that year, driven by Alain Bertaut and Pierre Lelong.

Says FIVA President Patrick Rollet, “Although the car retired from the 1966 Le Mans race with clutch problems in the 6th hour, it nevertheless has immense historical interest due to its role as a testbed for new aerodynamic technologies.”

Designed by renowned engineers Charles Deutsch and Lucien Romani, the car appeared in various forms, most recognisably with the long tail and huge fins seen at the Le Mans Classic concours. The car in question has been beautifully preserved by L’Aventure Peugeot Citroën DS, the organisation that safeguards the constructor’s heritage.

The CD Peugeot becomes the third car to receive the prestigious FIVA award in 2016, and to receive an end-of-year invitation for the winning cars to assemble in Paris, where it is hoped to put them on display at UNESCO’s international headquarters. The awards are part of the World Motoring Heritage Year programme of events, launched by FIVA to celebrate its 50th anniversary and which has received UNESCO patronage.

Previous 2016 awards were given at Amelia Island and Villa d’Este, with more to come at Schloss Dyck on 5-7 August, followed by Pebble Beach, Chantilly, Autoclasica in Buenos Aires and the Cartier Travel & Style Concours d’Elégance in Hyderabad, India.

Photograph:
(L to R) Stéphane De Smedt (Belgian Federation President), Peugeot representative Jean Christophe Bolle Reddat with the FIVA-UNESCO plaque, David Whale (UK Federation President), Patrick Rollet (FIVA President) and Gautam Sen (FIVA Vice President External Relations). Picture courtesy of Eli Solomon and Rewind Magazine; free to use for editorial purposes but please credit where possible.

FIVA is the only global organisation of its kind aiming to encourage the safe use on the roads of historic, self-propelled, mechanical vehicles, while remaining equally focused on preserving and promoting the very culture of motoring. In 2016, FIVA celebrates its 50th anniversary with the FIVA World Motoring Heritage Year programme under the formal patronage of UNESCO.

For more press information, or to speak to a FIVA representative for a specific country, please contact Gautam Sen, FIVA’s Vice President External Relations on external-relations@fiva.org, +33(0) 6 87 16 43 39 (mobile), or +33(0) 1 53 19 14 20 (landline).