Here’s an excuse to look at excellent old Prodrive race cars

Prodrive of course needs no introduction, but we’ll give it a short one anyway. Since its birth in 1984, the Banbury-based firm has built more than 1,100 race and rally cars for a number of different teams and manufacturers.

It’s been pretty successful too. With six World Rally Championship titles, five Le Mans class wins and four British Touring Car Championship trophies to its name. Yeah, not bad. 

Now though, the company has set up something called Prodrive Legends – essentially an authentication, restoration and support service for its now privately-owned race cars.

This gives us – and you – a great excuse to look at said race cars. So, click through the gallery here and bask in all of their glory. There’s McRae, Burns and Solberg Subarus, Aston Martin and Ferrari Le Mans winners and a few things you might not have expected…

This was actually Prodrive's motorsport debut back in 1984. It was a winning one too, for Saeed Al Hajri in the 911 SC RS.

Prodrive says DBR9 owners are increasingly wanting to compete in historic race series. The DBR9, historic? We're getting old.

Here's Frank Sytner leading the field at Silverstone in his 1990 M3 touring car.

It wasn't just touring car versions of the E30 that Prodrive built, though. This rally car is impossibly cool.

Whoever owns this now - we will find you...

Another string to the Prodrive bow - this is the Ford Performance FG Falcon from 2010. 

And here's another. The Aston Martin DBR1-2 endurance racer at Le Mans.

The Mini Countryman JCW WRC car was hardly a classic Prodrive number, but we just wanted to include this pic of Kris Meeke FLYING.

Prodrive has worked with far more manufacturers than the ones we all associate them with. This is the Honda Accord Super Tourer from 1997.

Unfortunately this 550 GTS Maranello that Prodrive ran at the 2002 24 hours of Le Mans never finished the race. Wherever it is these days, we hope the owner is still competing.