The problem with insanely popular race cars, beloved by almost all petrolheads, is that some lines get blurred quite often. Word of mouth can turn speculations and urban legends into facts. This list is not intended to criticize or doubt the status of these cars but rather to shed light on some facts that some people might not know. Let's set the records straight shall we?

Godzilla isn't Japanese

One of, if not the biggest name in JDM fandom is Godzilla. Ever since the Group A R32 destroyed the competition at Bathurst the name stuck with the car. The misconception here isn't people calling the R33, R34 and R35 Godzilla, but rather the fact that the true OG Godzilla isn't exactly a JDM icon. It's Australian.

The Group A R32's prepared by Nismo were already proving to be fast, but the one prepared by Gibson Motorsport was without a doubt the fastest. After stuffing the car with all the Nismo goodies available, and racking up quite the parts bill, Team owner Fred Gibson decided to make his own parts instead. The end result was a car that consisted of 95% home built Australian parts. Only the body, engine block and front and rear cross members stayed "stock"

The Mazba 787B wasn't banned because it was too fast

In fact, the 787 wasn't even that fast to begin with. Surely it was in another league compared to normal sports, super and race cars but when you compare it to its actual competition it's not that impressive. When it qualified for the 1991 24H of Le Mans, which it ended up winning, it set a time almost 13 seconds slower than the Sauber C11 driven by Jean-Louis Schlesser.

How did it manage to win then? well, with reliability and a healthy dose of good luck. Despite being capable of hitting 900 horsepower on the dyno, the 787B was limited to 700 horsepower for the race. 1991 was also a transitional year for Group C racing. By 1992 all Group C cars had to be powered by a naturally aspirated 3.5L engine. Teams were still allowed to run their "old" cars in C2 class in 1991, but had to make way for the new 3.5L cars who were guaranteed a spot at the front of the grid as a C1 car.

While almost every other team suffered from mechanical failures. The 787B just soldiered on. With the new engine rules in place for 1992, the 787B's, and many other legendary Group C cars, weren't welcome anymore in Le Mans.

Most Supra race cars are not powered by the 2JZ engine

The 2JZ engine is without a doubt a very capable engine. The big strong straight six can easily handle four digit horsepower figures. Perfect for drift and drag cars, but not for actual race cars on a circuit. That's because the downside of the 2JZ is that it's a tall and big heavy lump of iron.

That's why the majority of Supra race cars in JGTC were powered by the small, lightweight 2.0L 3S-GT turbo four cylinder. When JGTC evolved into Super GT, the 3S-GT was replaced by the naturally aspirated 3UZ-FE V8. The latter did weigh more but was still more compact and responsive when compared to the 2JZ. It was also mounted as a stressed member to the chassis, something you simply can't do with a straight six.

The most peculiar engine layout in a racing Supra is that of the 2007 HV-R GT Hybrid where the 3UZ-FE was working in tandem with 3 electric motors. Good for a combined output of 711 horsepower.

The Mercedes CLK GTR did not flip at Le Mans

Bring up the Mercedes CLK GTR and people immediately remember it as "that car that did a backflip at Le Mans". While it is true that a Mercedes had the most memorable crash at Le Mans, it wasn't the CLK GTR. it was the CLR that did an impromptu stunt show. The CLR was lower and had a more sleeker body compared to the earlier CLK GTR and was powered by a different engine.

The whole incident was a Deja-Vu for Mercedes as the Mercedes V8 powered Sauber C11 had the exact same accident at the exact same spot 14 years earlier. Cars like the Matra 640 and Porsche 911 GT-1 also had similar aerodynamic problems.

Ferrari's last laugh

The Ford vs Ferrari story at Le Mans often ends with the 1-2-3 Ford GT40 finish at Le Mans in 1966. After many tries Ford finally beat Ferrari at their own game. One year later though, Ferrari decided to do exactly the same and got sweet, sweet revenge.

For the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours Ferrari entered the new 330 P4. An improved version of the P3, that got beaten at Le Mans, with 30 more horsepower, a new 5 speed gearbox and new wider wheels and tires. It all paid off as the prancing horses blocked the entire width of the race track when they staged their own 1-2-3 finish, right in Ford's backyard.

Enzo Ferrari even got a painting of the Ferrari squadron crossing the finish line as a birthday gift. He proudly displayed it in his office where it stayed until he passed away in 1988.

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