Le Mans Museum to Transform into M24 Motorsport Museum

Photo: ACO

The 24 Hours of Le Mans Museum will transform into an all-encompassing motorsport museum, named M24 Motorsport Museum, which is set to open on May 28, officials from the ACO and Richard Mille have announced.

Unveiled on Wednesday at the ‘Retromobile’ show in Paris, in an event attended by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Mille and ACO President Pierre Fillon provided details of the museum’s transformation that’s been headed up by M24 architect Frederic Audevard and the ACO’s culture & heritage director Fabrice Bourrigaud.

The project, which has been in the works since 2022 when the ACO and Mille formed a dedicated company, MACO, which acquired the Le Mans Museum space that was built in 1961 and was most recently renovated in 1991.

The expanded museum aims to become an “international benchmark for automotive heritage” according to a statement from the ACO.

“M24 is a response to two facts: our heritage is absolutely unique, and today’s visitors expect something different,” said Fillon.

“They no longer come just to see one car after another. They want to understand and feel what it was like. They want to be part of a story. M24 stands at the crossroads between our heritage and our future.”

The M24 museum will not only include heritage cars from Le Mans, in a space dedicated to the history of the French endurance classic, but all forms of motorsport, including Formula 1, rallying, rally-raids, IndyCar and “American culture” in a section for other major disciplines.

More than 120 vehicles will be on display alongside artifacts such as a firesuit worn by Aryton Senna.

“The idea is not to amass cars, but to tell stories,” said Mille. “To spotlight outstanding pieces in the same way as we exhibit works of art, to arouse emotion, curiosity and awe.”

The renovation project has involved 23 companies, predominately local to the La Sarthe region, and will include space for conferences, seminars and bespoke events.

The museum will have a regular rotation of pieces, such as the 1986 Dakar rally-winning Porsche 959 borrowed from the Porsche Museum, and is expected to host two temporary exhibitions per year.

Fillon and Mille said they expect to initially attract more than 300,000 visitors per year and have the museum become one of Europe’s “leading cultural and tourist attractions.”

“M24 is a place where these stories will live on,” added Mille. “It’s where a kid can fall in love with a car and maybe decide one day to be an engineer, designer or racing driver.

“If anyone comes out with their eyes sparkling a bit brighter than when they went in, then M24 will have served its purpose.”

Image: M24

Image: M24

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John