The 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans filled its 2-litre prototype classes with a grid of tubular-spaceframe machines, the Lola T296 among the most familiar. Trofeu, the Portuguese specialist in overlooked but historically genuine race entries, has rendered car No. 23 in 1:43 die-cast metal — complete with its Pronuptia bridal-fashion livery and the names of all three co-drivers: Bruno Sotty, Gérard Cuynet and Marc Frischknecht.
The Lola T296: a Group 6 Workhorse
Designed by Lola Cars and first seen in 1976, the T296 was a successor to the T294 and built around a tubular spaceframe chassis clothed in fibreglass bodywork. It targeted Group 6 and IMSA competition with a 2.0-litre engine in the tail, remaining a competitive proposition through the late 1970s in European 2-litre championship events. Its combination of light construction and accessible running costs made it a natural choice for privateer teams seeking a credible Le Mans entry in the prototype classes.
Fashion on the Circuit: Pronuptia at Le Mans 1979
The race took place over 9–10 June 1979. The Pronuptia name belonged to one of France's best-known bridal and fashion retail chains, and the brand backed several French motorsport efforts during the late 1970s. Seeing a bridal-wear logo on a Le Mans prototype is precisely the kind of period detail — specific to a corporate culture that crossed fashion and circuit racing — that makes late-1970s endurance grids so visually rich. Three drivers sharing the cockpit was standard practice for the era, and Sotty, Cuynet and Frischknecht all carried the Pronuptia colours through the Circuit de la Sarthe.
The Trofeu 1:43 Scale Model Car
Trofeu has built its reputation on exactly these entries that larger manufacturers routinely pass over. The model is produced in die-cast metal at 1:43, the scale that has defined serious endurance racing collecting for decades. The Pronuptia livery is reproduced across the fibreglass-form bodywork, and the No. 23 race number and all three driver surnames are represented. Trofeu's focus on authentic, historically specific race cars rather than generic livery studies is what separates this release from catalogue filler.
In the Display Cabinet
At 1:43, the T296 sits comfortably alongside other Trofeu Le Mans releases from the 1978–1981 period, and pairs naturally with models of the Rondeau M379, WM Peugeot P79 and Porsche 935 entries that shared the 1979 grid. Collectors building a complete record of the 1979 Le Mans entry list will find this one of the few available representations of a 2-litre prototype from that race. It also appeals to collectors of French corporate liveries and period Lola prototype history in a single piece.
