Description
GT Butler presents this prototype specially built for the 2003 film “Michel Vaillant”, the cinematic adaptation of the famous Jean Graton comic book. Released in 2003 and directed by Louis-Pascal Couvelaire from a screenplay by Luc Besson, Michel Vaillant brings Jean Graton’s iconic automotive comic to the big screen by plunging the viewer into the heart of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. To deliver absolute realism, the production pushed authenticity to the point of hiring real racing cars to take part in the official competition at the 2002 event. The showstopper, though, is the design of the Vaillante itself—a true LMP900 “top class” prototype (the equivalent of the LMP1s of the time). To bring it to life, the team based it on a Lola B98/ 10 chassis, powered by a 4. 0-litre Judd V8 producing over 600 bhp. The bodywork was entirely redrawn by the production team to wear the iconic blue-and-white livery from the comic, with aggressive, futuristic lines true to Graton’s original strokes.
Run under the DAMS team banner and entrusted to professional drivers (including Emmanuel Clérico), this “real” Vaillante shared the track at over 300 km/ h alongside the official Audi R8s and Bentleys—serving both as a massive onboard camera and as a competitor, thereby turning the fiction of the Mans story into something real.
The vehicle we’re offering you is the second of the three Vaillantes produced for the film. Built specifically for the film’s off-track filming, it’s a cinema vehicle: a replica of the Le Mans 24H cars of the time. It’s the only remaining road-going example—the first one that raced at the 24 Hours was later dismantled, and the third, intended for stunts, is on static display at the Musée de Lohéac.
The vehicle is for demonstration only, cannot be registered, and does not have an FFSA or FIA technical passport.
HISTORY & CONFIGURATION
Our Vaillante was manufactured in 2002 by the DAMS team in Ruandin, near Le Mans, at EuropaCorp’s request to produce the filming and stunt work for Michel Vaillant, a Luc Besson production. It was then acquired directly from Luc Besson by its second owner shortly after filming. He kept the vehicle as a “showcar”, without driving it. Its current owner bought it in 2023 and carried out major recommissioning work, so the vehicle could be presented at events on closed circuits.
This prototype is based on a Formule France chassis, fitted with a Lola carbon body shell, and powered by a Suzuki 4-cylinder 1200 Bandit engine with a 5-speed sequential gearbox, producing 135 to 150 hp.
- Specific steel tubular chassis, with rollbar, built by DAMS
- Specific triangulated suspension with R21 Turbo shock absorbers adapted
- Clio Williams hubs and brakes up front; Golf 1 Series 1 brakes at the rear
- Hard-brake lines (aeronautical-type hoses)
- SADEV Compétition steering
- Specific Formule France rear end (no differential, but possible adaptation)
- Master cylinders from the production range (Simca for the clutch; PSA for the brakes)
- Suzuki 1200 Bandit engine and ancillaries, with Dynojet Stage 3 carburettor preparation
- Specific stainless-steel exhaust made by DAMS
- FT3 competition fuel tank
- 18" OZ Racing forged magnesium LMP900 wheels
- Michelin Pilot Sport Legends S819 slick tyres
- LOLA B98/ 10 dashboard
- Removable Momo steering wheel
- FIA bucket seat with harness
- Fire extinguisher
- AIM dash (speed, revs, temperature, etc.)
- Steel bulkhead wall + anti-fire fibre covering
- Engine bay fireproof bulkhead
- Sequential gear selection control with gear-indicator
- FIA battery cut-off with external control
- Front & rear towing rings
- Kevlar carbon bodywork B98/ 10 front, rear and right side
- Resin bodywork for cockpit and left side
- Carbon rear wing with aluminium mast, LOLA B98/ 10 type
- Composite diffuser
- Front lighting: 4 Cibié xenon units; rear lights to FIA standards (position/ brakes/ rain)
- FIA fuel filler neck and flap
- Front protection bay in aluminium honeycomb
- Aluminium flat floor
- Sealed lithium battery
WORKS & MAINTENANCE
Our Vaillante has benefited from numerous works since 2023, to recommission it and perfect its resemblance to Michel Vaillant’s race car:
- Weight reduction to 850 kg
- Removal of wooden parts, replaced with aluminium or composite (cockpit; flat floor, diffuser…)
- Replacement engine fitted
- Digital display system for selected gear
- New front brake callipers
- New master cylinders
- FT3 fuel tank
- Type approval compliance in the style of LOLA B98/ 10 (AIM display screen, diffuser, front mudguard plates, cockpit protection pods,
- --fuel filler neck...
