At Le Mans, Rondeau was the main opposition to Porsche in the early 80s, winning the race in 1980 and finishing 2nd and 3rd in 1981
Unique: car eligible for two grids during the same race weekend: CER2 and Group C
Prototype driven by Jean Rondeau himself
Two participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1981 & 1982: Eligible for Le Mans Classic grid 6 and Group C
Powered by a Ford Cosworth V8
Clear history
Eligible for the most prestigious events

1981 RONDEAU 379C
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At Le Mans, Rondeau was the main opposition to Porsche in the early 80s, winning the race in 1980 and finishing 2nd and 3rd in 1981
Unique: car eligible for two grids during the same race weekend: CER2 and Group C
Prototype driven by Jean Rondeau himself
Two participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1981 & 1982: Eligible for Le Mans Classic grid 6 and Group C
Powered by a Ford Cosworth V8
Clear history
Eligible for the most prestigious events
Brand
RONDEAU
Model
M379C
Year
1981
Chassis number
005
Chassis
TUBULAR STEEL
Body
FIBERGLASS
Engine
FORD V8 COSWORTH 3 L
Power
430 HP @ 11000 rpm
Gearbox
HEWLAND 5 SPEED
Weight
780 KG
ELIGIBILITY
TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS
LE MANS CLASSIC
CLASSIC ENDURANCE RACING BY PETER AUTO
GROUP C RACING BY PETER AUTO
GROUP C BY MASTERS HISTORIC RACING
DUBAI GP REVIVAL
SEBRING CLASSIC 12 HOUR by HSR
DAYTONA CLASSIC 24 HOUR by HSR
ROLEX MONTEREY MOTORSPOSTS REUNION
GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED

LOCALISATION
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TAXES
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Ascott Collection is proud to offer for sale the car of the boss, Jean Rondeau, whom many of us have admired and supported at Le Mans. A 379C with a particularly clear history!
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In the 1970s, Jean Rondeau set himself a number of challenges: to become a racing driver, to build his own cars and to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And he succeeded! With the financial backing of the Inaltera paper company and its director Charles James, he managed to build his first chassis and even won the GTP category in 1976 (with Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Henri Pescarolo), before repeating the feat in 1977 (4th overall for Jean Ragnotti/Jean Rondeau). Few manufacturers can boast of having finished and won a race on the Sarthe at their first attempt.
From 1978, Jean Rondeau entered cars under his own name, now without any financial backing. The only M378 (chassis 001) again won the GTP category (9th overall) with Bernard Darniche and Jacky Haran at his side. In just 3 years, Jean Rondeau had won 3 categories and all his cars had finished.
In 1979, it was time to aim higher and harder, and new chassis were assembled. The M378 became the M379 and it was another class win (for Jean Ragnotti and Bernard Darniche, in group 6, 5th overall). In 1980, this victory became legendary. Jean Rondeau and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud won, denying Jacky Ickx and Reinhold Joest's Porsche 908/80 another title. A second Rondeau M379 completed the podium! It was the car driven by Gordon Spice in partnership with the Belgians Philippe and Jean-Michel Martin.
Never before had a driver managed to win the world's toughest endurance race with one of his creations.
Jean Rondeau prepared his cars for Le Mans not only for one-lap performance but also for long-term success. The results speak for themselves! He competed with Porsche and finally won.
Chassis number M379C 005 is part of Jean Rondeau's career in the 1980s. In fact, this car was driven by the driver/owner himself in 1981, in the emblematic Otis livery that has now been reintroduced. It is a car in the image of Jean Rondeau, designed for performance, meticulous in its preparation and presentation, and guided by simplicity with an ever-tightening budget... which didn't stop Rondeau from conquering Le Mans!

The origins of the M379C
To understand the appeal of the M379C in the family of Rondeau prototypes, we need to go back to the Inaltera GTP and then to the 'classic' M379.
The Inaltera project began with a team of enthusiasts who designed a tubular chassis with bodywork, a 1:5 scale model of which was tested in the Eiffel wind tunnel in 1975. With the assistance of aerodynamicist Robert Choulet and the confidence of a Cosworth DFV V8 mated to a Hewland gearbox, the adventure began. Vic Elford was team manager for the first year, with a cast of five-star drivers: Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Henri Pescarolo, Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, Christine Beckers and of course a place for Jean Rondeau.
Rondeau was as passionate about building prototypes as he was about racing. After finishing 5th in the 1969 Shell-ACO race, he made his racing debut in an Alpine Berlinette in 1970, before taking part in the 1972 Le Mans 24 Hours (Chevron B21-Ford, retired) and then switching to Formula Renault in 1973. He returned to endurance racing for good in 1974 (in a Porsche 908/2, 7th place) and in 1975 in a Mazda RX-3 (retirement).
With both cars finishing at the first attempt, Rondeau switched to three chassis in 1977 (3 Inaltera LM77s), which also finished. With the M378 from 1978 and then successive versions of the M379, the idea was to continue to make progress while having a car capable of evolving year after year in competition.
The M379s entered in the Le Mans 24 Hours therefore shared the main technical characteristics of the Inaltera LM and the M378. Their structure is based on a tubular steel chassis reinforced by aluminium sandwich panels, which also act as engine mounts. The suspension system is based on a deformable wishbone configuration on all wheels, complemented by a Lockheed disc brake system.
The engine was originally a 3.0-litre Ford Cosworth DFV V8 before being upgraded to a 3.3-litre DFL on certain chassis. This DFV block, proven in Formula 1 and endurance racing at the time, developed over 450 bhp. Power is transmitted via a five-speed Hewland gearbox.
In terms of styling, the M379 was designed by Jean Rondeau himself, assisted by Robert Choulet for aerodynamic consistency. The fibreglass bodywork was designed in collaboration with the Bureau de Design Ovale specifically for the Le Mans 24 Hours. Its elegant design is characterised by the absence of a conventional rear wing, replaced by a simple pair of ailerons to ensure stability at high speeds. Compared to the original Inaltera LM, it has a longer rear section and partially streamlined rear wheels.
There's also a family resemblance with the M378, a 'line' later shared by the M382. Logical, since they share a common element: the Citroën CX windscreen. Jean Rondeau drove this model and appreciated its visibility. So he chose it for the first Inaltera (designed by Bernard Beaumesnil) and then for the Rondeaus. Re-cut windscreens, often broken... as Porsche also experimented with the first versions of its 956!
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From the M379 to the M379C
M379 in 1979, then M379B in 1980 and M379C from 1981 onwards, the base remains the same but with a few tweaks. Just like the British craftsmen! Except that the performances of Jean Rondeau's cars were regular and even excellent (overall victory, class victories and even a pole position).
The successive developments of the M379 brought some notable differences.
- The M379B had two small ailerons, not present on the M379.
- The M379C had a full width spoiler. The latter version also featured the new 3.3-litre Ford Cosworth DFL V8, an evolution of the DFV specially adapted for endurance racing. This was the case for M379C chassis 005 in 1981 and 1982.
Offered for sale, the Rondeau M379C was optimised for ease of servicing and speed of intervention to reduce downtime. It was also the quest for ever higher top speeds (the chicanes were still there) that guided the modifications between 1980 and 1981. The new bonnet, with its integrated spoiler, increased the speed by more than 10 km/h, with an increase of 300 rpm.
Finally, the windscreen was reduced in size to increase the rigidity of the cockpit. The rear window was removed and a larger NACA socket replaced the 2 small ones on the 1980 version.
In the April 2011 issue of Echappement Classic n°10, we will find out more about the sometimes surprising technical details of the Rondeau models, which can also be found on the M379C chassis 005.
While the structural, mechanical and aerodynamic parts have been carefully thought out with performance in mind, the details have been designed with simplicity and ease in mind. The gullwing doors, for example, are hinged on... shutters! The sockets on the front and rear bonnets are no more than standard trailer sockets. The fuses on the dashboard are from a Peugeot 404! These details may seem simple, even crude, but everything works perfectly. You can imagine that the team had to get all these parts from the DIY store, the car centre or the nearest dealer '. A car with a spartan interior? A little, but the essentials were there: thermometers to monitor water temperature, oil pressure and temperature, voltmeters, rev counters.
What's more, each car had an on-board monitor showing the layout of the track, so the drivers could see where accidents had occurred. And as we were in the early days of communication, the drivers could also hear instructions from their pits.
It should be noted that M379s (in their various iterations) competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1979 to 1988.
This long-term commitment, in the GTP, Group 6 and Group C categories, now makes chassis 005 eligible for both Group C Racing and Classic Endurance Racing 2 (CER 2)!

Rondeau M379: An impressive track record
On their own, the M379s have some crazy statistics at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and became the main opposition to the Porsches before the arrival of Group C:
- 1 overall win (in 1980)
- 2 class wins (Group 6 in 1979, GTP in 1981)
- A 2nd place in the C2 category (11th overall) in 1984 for Graff Racing;
- One pole position (3'45.2 at an average speed of 217.822 km/h in 1980 for Pescarolo / Ragnotti).
- 3rd place in qualifying (Pescarolo / Ragnotti in 1980 in 3'44''200, compared to 3'40''200 for pole position for Dick Barbour's 935 K3).
- 4th and 5th in qualifying in 1981, behind a trio of Porsche 908/80 and 936.
- 4 podiums (1st and 3rd in 1980, 2nd and 3rd in 1981)
Chassis 005 of the M379C is a credible rival, perfectly capable of taking on the 908/80, 936 and other 935 K3s!

Two Le Mans 24 Hours starts for M379C chassis 005
M379C chassis 005 was produced for the 1981 Le Mans 24 Hours, in which five Rondeaus took part. Lightweight (776kg compared to 778kg for Pescarolo and Tambay's number 26), the car was presented at the weigh-in with a roll cage that was not welded but riveted. This element has now of course been secured. Accepted by the ACO stewards, the car was withdrawn from the race after less than 60 laps. The official reason given at the time was a handling problem. But the story goes that it was also the emotion caused by the death of Jean-Louis Lafosse (on Rondeau) at the start of the race that caused Jean Rondeau to be cautious. Lafosse lost control of his car at full speed in front of the Hunaudières restaurant and hit the rails on both sides. On the previous lap, he had spun and hit a safety barrier, probably damaging his front end...
At the time of their retirement, Jaussaud/Rondeau were already 73 laps behind the leading Porsche, as a fuel pump problem at the start of the race had put the car out of action for 1 hour and 30 minutes, eliminating any chance of another victory.
Robert Médard, who was responsible for preparing the car for the 1982 Le Mans 24 Hours, found no particular problems with the chassis. For this second and final participation, it was the engine that prevented the team of Jacky Haran, Hervé Poulain and Vivian Candy from continuing. For this new adventure in the Sarthe region, the car was painted in a livery combining Maisons Saplo and Alain Delon perfumes.
Preserved in the Charbonneaux Museum, it was repainted in red with the L'Automobile decoration, which it never had during the race. Sold, the car was completely restored by Robert Médard. In 2007/2008, the car was returned to its 1981 Le Mans 24 Hours livery with a Cosworth 3.0 litre engine. The car then competed in the Endurance Racing Legends and Le Mans Classic events, driven by Henri Pescarolo!

Eligible for two grids in Peter Auto and Le Mans Classic and in Group C in Masters Historic Racing
Having competed in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1981 and 1982, this is one of the very few cars that can now be entered in both Classic Endurance Racing 2 and Group C at Peter Auto. At Le Mans Classic, this Rondeau M379C can be entered in both Plateau 6 and Group C. A two-in-one car! Enough to keep you busy at Peter Auto meetings and Le Mans Classic!
With the introduction of Group C by Masters Historic Racing, this Rondeau OTIS will be eligible for additional top-level races, starting with the Grand Prix de France Historique at Paul Ricard in April. You have a rendez-vous with a piece of Le Mans history!