Spark 1:43 Peugeot CD SP66: 1966 24 Hours Le Mans

This highly detailed resin cast model is a replica of the car driven by A.Bertaut/P.LeLong in the 1966 24 Hours Le Mans

The model is mounted on a base in an acrylic display case

After his separation from René Bonnet, Charles Deutsch founded his own automobile company in 1962. SECA-CD concentrated on the development of sports cars in small numbers. After the vehicles were equipped with Panhard engines in the early 1960s, a vehicle with a Peugeot engine was developed in 1966. The vehicle designer and aerodynamicist Robert Choulet also left Deutsch & Bonnet with Deutsch and constructed a new prototype that was to be used primarily in the 24 Hours of Le Mans .

The CD SP66 had an extremely aerodynamic, round shape, with two upright rear fins and covered rear wheel arches. Although the car had a rather small displacement engine, a 1.2-liter 4-cylinder in-line engine from Peugeot , the car reached a top speed of almost 300 km/h on the straights. The vehicle was fitted with two different chassis, with the long-tail version being used primarily on the fast tracks.

The car made its debut at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans . Three SP66s started, but none reached the finish. The crews Claude Laurent / Jean-Claude Ogier (starting number 51) and Johnny Rives / Georges Héligoin (starting number 53) each had accidents. Car number 52, driven by Pierre Lelong and Alain Bertaut, retired with a clutch failure. In 1967, Deutsch came to Le Mans with two revised SP66s, now known as the SP66C . Again both cars retired. Claude Ballot-Léna and Denis Dayan failed with an overheated cylinder, and the second car - again driven by Alain Bertaut - retired with transmission damage. Bertaut's sixth place in the 1966 Coupé de Salon in Montlhéry remained the best placing for an SP66.

For financial reasons, the concept was not pursued any further. Choulet moved to Matra and built the MS640 , which was a further development of the SP66.