“It’s a 962 that you can put a license plate on,” says owner Matthew Ivanhoe of his Schuppan, which was ostensibly created as a homologation special for a Le Mans effort that never transpired. We saw this car at Luftgekühlt 5 earlier this year, and the car certainly gathered a crowd. The car, at that time and as I recall it, had an odometer reading in the low single digits, making this effectively a brand new 25-year-old car. The fact that Matthew allowed Leno to step aboard, fire it up, and take this easily 7-figure masterpiece out for a drive is a special treat. Even if the driving was done on a closed course, and not the road, as is Jay Leno’s normal video fodder, it’s a special opportunity for both of them, and we’re glad we were able to ride along in video form.
Back in the early 1990s, the ACO and the FIA made some change ups to the Le Mans rules as the World Sportscar Championship was disbanded due to waning manufacturer support. A plan was put in place to allow existing tail-end Group C cars to compete for 1993 and 1994, but a new GT class was created, which got rid of the engine regulations of that class and instead simply required a 50-car run of street-going homologation specials for eligibility in the GT class. This is the loophole that allowed the Dauer 962 to win at Le Mans again well after the car and its class had officially been retired. Dauer managed to get their cars to race, while similar efforts from Schuppan and the Derek Bell signature edition 962 were sidelined due to a lack of funds.
In this video, you can see that Mr. Ivanhoe is an enthusiastic owner of the car, and is more than happy to make it available for enthusiasts to see and hear. He mentioned, even, that the car may make a second appearance on Leno’s show when it comes time to sell the thing. We look forward to seeing that video as much as we were excited about this one. Press that play button and you just might learn something (as Leno did).