A CLASSIC sports car of a type that won fame at the Le Mans 24-hour race will take pride of place at the Tour de Yorkshire.

An iconic Jowett Jupiter – designed and built in Bradford – will accompany the race ambassadors in front of Sir Bradley Wiggins and rest of the peloton on all three days of the event, which starts on Friday at Beverley.

One of the most advanced sports cars of the early 1950s, the Jupiters were renowned for their exploits at Le Mans, where they won their class three years running from 1950 to1952. They also entered the record books by achieving an average speed there of almost 76mph over 1,819 miles.

Only 900 Jupiters were built and surviving examples are much sought-after by collectors.

Race ambassadors for the Tour de Yorkshire, who will travel alongside the Jupiters, are Brian Robinson, the first Briton to win a stage of the Tour de France, former professional rider Malcolm Elliott, from Sheffield, Wakefield’s Barry Hoban, who won eight stages of the Tour de France between 1967 and 1975, Denise Burton Cole, daughter of the legendary Morley cyclist Beryl Burton and Bernard Hinault, five-time winner of the Tour de France.