CAO Flathead V23 Pays Tribute to the 24 Hours of Le Mans

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, an iconic car race in France. General Cigar Co.’s CAO brand is celebrating the occasion with a limited edition cigar from its automobile-inspired Flathead line.

The CAO Flathead V23 is a 6 x 60 gordo that uses a Honduran wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Honduras and Nicaragua. Like most CAOs, it is produced at STG Estelí in Nicaragua. General Cigar Co. says it was inspired by the Ford GT40, a car that won each race from 1966-1969, and as such, the vitola is formally known as MK1 660.

Each cigar will have an MSRP of $13.99 and they will begin shipping on Sept. 1.

“The new CAO V23 celebrates 100 years of Le Mans and the American muscle car that took the racing world by storm,” said Ed Lahmann, senior brand manager for CAO, in a press release. “V23 has the large-ring, box-pressed, full-bodied attributes of its predecessor blends, and that’s where the similarities end. This smoke is about power, for sure, but it’s more about power and finesse. Just as a legendary racecar like the GT40 MK1 had substance and style, so does V23. This is a cigar lover’s cigar because it’s got body and nuance and is a true pleasure to smoke. We’re excited to share V23 with the fans of CAO.”

The company says that it was inspired by the Gulf Racing livery that was used on the winning car in both 1968 and 1969. While the color scheme is best known for using a powder blue color with orange, technically marigold, as the accent color, the Gulf scheme actually started with a darker blue, which General seems to be replicating for the CAO release.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans takes place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, a mixture of racetrack and public roads in Le Mans, France. Typically, the race is run during the second weekend in June.

This year’s race featured a new rules package, which reduced the number of competitive classes from four to three. This year’s overall winner was a Ferrari, the first time a Ferrari has won Le Mans since 1965. In addition to Ferrari’s return to the podium, Chevrolet and NASCAR ran a modified version of the current NASCAR car as part of Garge 56, Le Mans’ one-off and experimental class.

The race begins at 4 p.m. local time on Saturday and concludes shortly after 4 p.m. on Sunday. As is tradition, the race runs for 24 hours plus one lap. In modern times, each car is run by a team of three different drivers, who swap in and out of the seat throughout the 24-hour period.

General Cigar is not disclosing production numbers for this release.