Mark Olsen forwards:
. . . I am trying to find out more information
about the Index of Thermal Efficiency as won by Alpines at LeMans. Do
you have any idea how this award was given and what was used to
determine the winner? Any help would be appreciated , even just the
name of a publication were the information would be avalible!"
***** NOTES from Jay Laifman (JLAIFMAN @ PNM) at 10/10/96 10:09a
Along the same lines, I would like to know if anyone knows the history
and current whereabouts of that winning Alpine. And, if anyone has tried
to duplicate the covered headlights of that car, or knows what headlight
buckets were used for the car. I haven't seen any mention of the
foregoing in any of the Alpine or Tiger books (maybe the new one?), other
than the pictures of that awesome front end.
To answer John's question, to quote Chris McGovern's book, Alpine, the
Classic Sunbeam: "The Harper/Proctor car continued steadily and
unobtrusively with complete regularity, only stopping to take on fuel and
oil. The drivers had decided to drive in stints of three hours, as they
found that this was sufficient to stop fatigue. The last three hours were
the worst by far, for the brakes had almost gone and there was little
tread left on the tyres. After 24 hours of continuous driving, they had
achieved the impossible: they had won the 'Index of Thermal Efficiency'.
This forbidding title simply designates the car that runs in the most
efficient way throughout the race. It is calcualted on the weight of the
car, the petrol used, and the average speed over the 24 hours."
The Alpine finish 16th overall, used 122.5 gallons of gas for 2,180 miles
averaging over 91 mph (the winning Ferrari was 115 mph with 2X the cc's),
with the fastest lap at 95.5, and the fastest speed down the Mulsanne
straight at over 115 mph (Ferrari: 160 mph).
>From other books, if I recall correctly, the award went to Porsche before
and after 1961.
Jay Laifman
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