The first edition in 1899 was won by
René de Knyff driving a
Panhard et Levassor at 30 mph (50 km/h). Organized by
Le Matin, under the control of the
Automobile Club de France, held July 16 to 24, in seven stages: Paris-Nancy; Nancy-Aix-les-Bains; Aix-les-Bains-Vichy; Vichy-Périgueux; Périgueux-Nantes; Nantes-Cabourg; Cabourg-Paris. Out of 49 starters, 21 vehicles finished. The 1908 event was won by
Clément-Bayard.
1950s revival The first event after the war took place in 1951, organised by the , and was won by
Pierre Boncompagni "Pagnibon"/Barracquet in a 2.6-litre
Ferrari 212 Export. The event visited the
La Turbie Hill Climb, near Nice. The 1954 event was won by the 2.5 litre
Gordini of Jacques Pollet and M. Gauthier, on the traditional Nice to Nice route. Scuderia Ferrari won eight times between 1951 and 1962. After the triumph of Alfonso de Portago in 1956,
Olivier Gendebien won with partner
Lucien Bianchi three times in a row (1957, 1958 and 1959). The 1956 event was won by
de Portago/Nelson in a Ferrari 250 2.9 with Moss/Houel (Mercedes 300 SL) in second place. In 1958 the British racing driver
Peter Whitehead had a fatal accident on the tour driving a Jaguar with his half-brother
Graham Whitehead, who was considered a reliable co-pilot in long-distance races. On September 21, 1958, after dark, Graham was driving when the car broke through a rotten bridge railing in
Lasalle, Gard, near
Nîmes, and crashed into a ravine.
1960s In the 1960s, French racing and rally driver
Bernard Consten (
:fr: Bernard Consten) won the race five times, making it the record winner to this day. In the same decade, the stage race was also opened to sports prototypes, so that racing cars like the
Ferrari 512 S, the
Ford GT40 or the
Matra MS650 drove hundreds of kilometres on public roads. The 1960 Tour de France took place between September 15 and 23 that year. Starting at Nice it visited
Mont Ventoux, Nurburgring, Spa,
Montlhéry,
Rouen and Le Mans with the finish at Clermont Ferrand. The event was won overall by the
Ferrari 250 G.T. of
Willy Mairesse/
Georges Berger. The
Jaguar 3.8 litre Mk. II of Bernard Consten/J. Renel won the Touring category with the
BMW 700 coupé of Metternich/Hohenlohe winning the Index of Performance.
Willy Mairesse won again in 1961 together with
Georges Berger. The last Ferrari victory was in 1964 with
Lucien Bianchi/Georges Berger driving a
Ferrari 250 GTO, entered by
Ecurie Nationale Belge. The event started at Lille, visiting Reims, Rouen, Le Mans, Clermont-Ferrand, Monza and Pau. The Touring car category was won by
Peter Procter/
Andrew Cowan in a
Ford Mustang, entered by
Alan Mann Racing. The A.C. Shelby Cobras of
Maurice Trintignant,
Bob Bondurant and
André Simon all retired.
1980s The 1980s saw the event incorporated into the
European Rally Championship which saw an influx of new competitors. The last event was held in 1986.
Historic race The event was revived in 1992 for
historic cars, now known as the
Tour Auto. It is held in April and features both a competition and a regularity class. The format is a 5-day event combining about 2,500 km of roads, 4 or 5 circuit races and 6 to 8 hillclimbs. The start is always in Paris, whereas the finish alternates between various southern seaside towns like Biarritz, Cannes and Nice. Patrick Peter of Agence Peter is the organiser. The winning cars over the years (since 1996 only pre '66 cars can win overall, even though cars up to 1974 are allowed) include the Ford Shelby Mustang 350GT, Ford GT40, AC Cobra 289,
Lotus Elan, Ferrari Daytona Gr IV. Drivers who won the competition class include
Jürgen Barth,
Henri Pescarolo and
Walter Röhrl. ==Competitors==