with standard 700cc Fiat-engined cars. After the break-up of the Deutsch et Bonnet partnership, Panhard and Bonnet arrived with new cars. Charles Deutsch stayed with Panhard power for the returning works team, while René Bonnet presented his new Djet with Renault engines. At the recent race at a wet Nürburgring, Colin Chapman’s Lotus 23 driven by Jim Clark had led the whole field. He entered two such cars for Index honours, but was stymied at scrutineering because the front and rear wheels had different numbers of wheel studs. The officials said the compulsory spare wheel therefore could not be universally applied. Chapman pulled the entries and swore he would never return to Le Mans – and never did. As with previous years, the GT division was dominated by Ferrari cars. As well as three of the 250 GT, there were five of the stunning new 250 GTO entered by customer teams. It carried the 3-litre engine from the Testarossa sports car. Although the GT regulations stipulated that 100 examples had to have been built, Ferrari was able to convince the authorities that it was actually a derivation of an existing model - the 250 GT. Permitted under the rules loophole, it could use that production record to get homologation (the ‘O’ in ‘GTO’). The previous year's Jaguar E2A prototype had now been homologated as the ‘E-type’ and there were three such cars entered, including Briggs Cunningham’s team again. Cunningham was co-driven by Le Mans race-winner Roy Salvadori because he could not fit into Brigg's Maserati cars. As well as an Austin-Healey 3000, there were also a pair of Aston Martin DB4s including a return from Frenchman Jean Kerguen. The biggest car in the field was the private American-entry Chevrolet Corvette, virtually stock with its 327 cu in (5.4-litre) Stingray engine modified to produce 360 bhp. In the 2-litre GT class, the Morgan Plus 4 works car was entered again after being rejected in the previous year for looking too old-fashioned. The Super Sport version had an uprated Triumph engine produce 115 bhp and capable of . The 1.6-litre class was to be a battle between three Porsche-Abarths (Porsche 356 B Carrera GTL Abarth, also referred to as Porsche 695 GS Abarth) and three works Sunbeams. Porsche had decided not to enter their new Flat-8 in the Experimental class. In the 1.3-litre class it was between the Elites of Team Lotus