There is no race quite like the Le Mans 24 Hours. Across the course of its 100-year history, no other event has come close to generating the sheer volume of stories, myths and legends that have become sewn into the very fabric of the Circuit de la Sarthe.

It’s a race of immeasurable challenge, and one that regularly pushes drivers and the finest racing technology in the world to breaking point, and beyond. Heroes have been made, and lost, at Le Mans and it remains one of the great pillars of the racing landscape, some 100 years and 91 editions on from that formative first event in 1923.

While the race itself has changed hugely since those early days, the ethos of it hasn’t. It is still the ultimate test of endurance, featuring a mixture of supreme speed, public roads and permanent race track, changeable weather and a mixture of abilities and classes unlike anything else in the world. Drivers and teams must be ready for anything at Le Mans, because anything usually does happen. That’s a big reason why there have been so many feats of heroism and ingenuity.

From those early days of production road cars with cloth hoods and faltering headlights to the cutting-edge hybrid Hypercars we have now, the rate of progression at Le Mans has been constant. Cars now regularly exceed 3000 miles on the 8.5-mile circuit over the day and night, pushing more than 200mph multiple times over the race distance.

Since its formation in 1924 Motor Sport has covered every Le Mans 24 Hours event, and in this special issue we bring you some of the most stirring stories from the history of the greatest race of them all.

To read more about the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours and the drivers that have helped forge a legend, visit: motorsportmagazine.com