Which Japanese manufacturer won Le Mans in 1991?

Mazda won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991.

The winning car was the Mazda 787B, entered by Mazdaspeed and driven by Johnny Herbert, Volker Weidler and Bertrand Gachot. It completed 362 laps and finished ahead of Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz, turning Mazda into the first Japanese manufacturer to win Le Mans outright.

The victory was especially notable because the 787B was not the fastest car over a single lap. Mazda exploited the durability and fuel efficiency of its four-rotor engine, while the leading Mercedes and Jaguar entries suffered reliability problems. The bright orange-and-green car became one of endurance racing’s most recognizable machines.

A common mix-up is Toyota: Toyota eventually won Le Mans in 2018, but Mazda had already claimed the first outright Japanese victory 27 years earlier. Nissan and Toyota were major Japanese competitors in the era, yet neither won the race in 1991.