24 Heures du Simeone - The Americans at Le Mans

The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum will host the fourth annual 24 Heures du Simeone on June 13-14, 2026, running concurrently with the actual 24 Hours of Le Mans in France. This year's theme, "The Americans at Le Mans," traces the full arc of American ambition at the world's greatest endurance race, from the earliest American pioneers in the 1920s through the defining battles of the 1960s.

More than 40 historic car demonstrations will run across 12 themed segments over a continuous 24-hour program. Live coverage of the race in France streams throughout the museum. Historic drivers and competitors will appear for interviews, with live check-ins from drivers and engineers on the ground at Le Mans as the race unfolds.

The weekend will also mark the public unveiling of the latest addition to the Simeone permanent collection. The museum has not disclosed what the acquisition is, describing it only as a significant addition to one of the world's great collections of racing sports cars.

Returning for the second consecutive year as an official event partner is the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, the French organization that has organized the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 1923. The ACO brings an expanded presence to the event, including an ACO Members Lounge in the museum's Bugatti Room, three racing simulators, a custom Le Mans trivia game, exclusive swag bags for new ACO members, and a raffle for WEC Lonestar Le Mans weekend tickets.

ACO members receive discounted admission. See ticket options below.

On-site vendors include Federal Donuts (full-service food truck, Saturday only), Campos Deli, Zerno Coffee, and Mr. Softee (Saturday afternoon). Zerno Coffee available throughout the weekend.

Info: Before Ford. Before Cunningham. Before Shelby. Americans were already racing at Le Mans. From the Duesenberg to the Du Pont, meet the pioneers who believed they belonged at the greatest race in the world and made the journey first.

1921 Duesenberg 183 Grand Prix / 1927 Stutz AA Blackhawk Speedster / 1929 DuPont Le Mans Speedster / 1929 Stutz Supercharged Le Mans / 1931 Bentley 4.5-Litre Supercharged

Info: Briggs Cunningham was an American who refused to be outclassed. He built his own cars, hired the best drivers, and took on the world at Le Mans with nothing but ambition and for American glory. This is his story.

1952 Cunningham C-4R / 1956 Jaguar D-Type / 1963 Corvette Grand Sport / 1948 Cadillac Series 61

Info: An American fighter pilot who became a Le Mans racer. John Fitch took on the European establishment with borrowed machinery and sheer nerve, and left a mark on the sport that few Americans ever have.

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing / 1952 Cunningham C-4R / 1948 Allard J2 / 1953 Jaguar XK120 FHC / 1954 Ferrari 375 Mille Miglia / 1966 Corvette 427 Stingray

Info: Before the movie, there was the man. Phil Hill lived the Ferrari v Ford era from the inside, as Ferrari's standard bearer and America's first Formula One champion. The era that defined American motorsport, told through the cars that lived it.

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Mille Miglia / 1952 Jaguar C-Type / 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa / 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe / 1966 Ford GT40 MkII

Info: Carroll Shelby arrived at Le Mans as a driver. He left as something more. The cars he built, the team he assembled, and the campaign he ran changed American motorsport forever. What he built at Le Mans echoes to this day.

1948 Allard J2 / 1956 Maserati 300S / 1958 Aston Martin DBR1 / 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe / 1966 Ford GT40 MkII

Info: Ferrari came to America because of one man. America went back to Le Mans because of the same man. Luigi Chinetti built the North American Racing Team and changed the course of American motorsport. Meet the man behind it all.

1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Mille Miglia Spider by Castagna / 1950 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport / 1954 Ferrari 375 Mille Miglia / 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa

Info: Ford won in 1966. And 1967. And 1968. And then came the Porsche 917. One of the defining confrontations in motorsport history takes the tarmac tonight. The GT40 MkII and the 917, side by side.

1966 Ford GT40 MkII / 1970 Porsche 917 LH

Info: A moment to pause and remember. Dr. Frederick Simeone built this collection because he believed cars like these deserved to be seen and heard. Tonight the cars he loved run in his memory and in memory of the drivers we have lost.

1970 Porsche 917 LH / 2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR / 1966 Ford GT40 MkII / 1967 Ford MK IV

Info: The race rolls on and so do we. Classic motorsport films play through the night alongside live race coverage from France. For those keeping the watch, the museum stays open, the screens stay lit, and the occasional car finds its way to the tarmac.

Info: Le Mans is in its final hours. The GT40 MkII and the Porsche 917 return to the tarmac at dawn for one last run before the checkered flag falls in France.

1966 Ford GT40 MkII / 1970 Porsche 917 LH

Info: Hurley Haywood: An American at Le Mans
Three Le Mans wins. A career that spanned decades and continents. One of America's greatest endurance racers, remembered through the cars he drove and the race that made him legendary.

2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR / Guest car to be announced

Info: The race ends. The champagne flows. Ford GT40s from 1966 to today make one final lap of the tarmac in a Le Mans parade six decades in the making. And then the Simeone Museum tells you what comes next.

1966 Ford GT40 MkII / 1967 Ford MK IV / 1934 MG K3 Magnette / 1938 Peugeot Darl'mat Le Mans / 1936 Bugatti Type 57G Tank / 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Le Mans

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