Le Mans Nuit 1967

"Le Mans Nuit 1967" T-shirt: the meaning of the design

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a legendary race, probably the toughest one in Motorsports. And, within its annals, the La Sarthe circuit has the 1967 edition as one of the most notable: Ferrari against Ford in an all-out day and night fight.

After Ferrari's defeat at the hands of Ford in the 1966 event, which Hollywood immortalized in a film of the same name, the Il Cavallino Rampante racing team, with Enzo Ferrari at the helm, wanted to offer its particular vendetta for the 1967 edition. Thus, the italians presented themselves with the brand new Ferrari 330 P4 to face the legendary Ford GT40 (Mk. IV).

After an exciting 24 hours of competition, the oval brand repeated its victory from the previous year, but the night duel between the Ford with the nº1 (the winner) and the nº21 Ferrari (which finished second) will remain in history: on the Mulsanne straight, the Ferrari (driven at that time by Mike Parkes) tried to bother its opponent (Dan Gurney) with its lights, which finally caused both drivers to stop their cars on the side of the track to avoid that game at the limit of the regulations and chivalry.

With this T-shirt we wanted to pay tribute to that legendary duel of the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1967, of the Ferrari 330 P4 against the Ford GT40, on the Mulsanne straight that lasted during the day, but, above all, during the night of La Sarthe. Because of that night battle, this T-shirt is not only midnight blue, but it has a secret kept: if you expose it directly to the light (sunlight or white light, preferably) for 5-10 minutes and then you go to a dark place, you will see how the headlights of both cars turn on (they are fluorescent).

The T-shirt is finished with the French flag on the chest, with the number 24 inside it in honor of the duration of the race, and a phrase on the back that frames the scene and reproduces (in French) what is always said to explain the toughness of the race of the La Sarthe circuit: the 24 hours are not won, “Le Mans chooses its winner” (“Le Mans choisit son vainqueur”).

Anecdote: in the victory celebration of that edition, the before-mentioned driver of the No. 1 Ford, Dan Gurney, started the motorsport tradition of shaking and spraying champagne on the podium.