24 Hours of Le Mans: here is the incredible story behind the 100th anniversary trophy

1.40 meters for 80 kg. The trophy which will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, on June 10 and 11, is a beautiful baby. Above all, it is a unique model entirely created by the artisans of the Monnaie de Paris. CNEWS went to meet them to discover their secrets.

It’s a legendary trophy for a legendary race. The 24 Hours of Le Mans celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. A century of passion around motorsport which gave rise to the idea of ​​creating a special trophy for this edition. And it is Monnaie de Paris that has combined the know-how of its artists and craftsmen to create a true work of art.

A 1.40 m high baby who weighs 80 kilos of bronze on the scale. “We wanted to create a trophy that it is not possible to lift alone, because the first step of the podium is conquered above all by a team at Le Mans”, underline for CNEWS Joaquin Jimenez, general engraver and artistic director of the Monnaie de Paris, and Sébastien Poteloin, manager of the tooling workshop at Monnaie de Paris. Two men who admit to being car enthusiasts themselves and who, in a way, have also “won Le Mans”, as Joaquin Jimenez jokes.

From its tip adorned with a checkered flag to its base where all the names of the drivers and winning teams for a century have been engraved, the trophy lights the flame of automotive passion. Two tracks entwine in a spin, one is the shadow of the other, to remind us that this 24-hour endurance race solicits drivers and mechanics, day and night.

Five months of work were needed to develop this work of art which, for the first time, can be kept by the winning team, unlike previous editions. An exception to recall the historical value of this trophy. “The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a human adventure to which we wanted to pay homage”, agrees Joaquin Jimenez.

In their workshop on the Quai de Conti in Paris, founder, engraver and skater are still busy with the task, with the aim of providing the unique model of the trophy before mid-May, i.e. almost a month only before the scheduled race. for June 10 and 11. Currently, two 1:1 scale replicas are rotating around the world as events unfold, but this is not the original model. The latter is being finished and assembled. Because the precious object is not created from a single block. Too heavy, the bronze is melted here piece by piece to be assembled and welded like a perfect puzzle according to a very particular know-how.

Molten bronze at 1080°C

Wax molds are created using a 3D printer. A delicate step then consists in pouring the molten bronze at 1080° C, very exactly, in order to see the metal take the desired shape.

“We will first melt 20 kg of metal to form a plate which will take the form of wax, while it melts and so on for the others, explains a founder from the Monnaie de Paris. The bronze used here is an alloy of copper, silicon and manganese. We will then act with different solidification mechanisms, the aim being to obtain a plate with as few imperfections as possible”. The work will thus lead the craftsmen of the Monnaie de Paris to give a shiny appearance to the raw bronze.

The skater will then engage in colorization work using the art bronze technique, the first works of which date back to Antiquity. A know-how which consists in particular “in hot patina, in particular with a blowtorch, in order to heat the bronze and to work its color with different products which are dabbed with a brush. It is not a question here of painting, the aspect is not the same. Artistic bronze indeed gives a more direct relationship with the material”, explains this craftsman.

The history of the 100 years of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will therefore also be written on the podium this year with this legendary trophy. But motorsport fans are not forgotten for this edition, since the Monnaie de Paris also plans to issue some 7,000 commemorative coins, but also 24 gold coins worth ten thousand euros, symbol of the 24 Hours.