Jean Rondeau was a French racing driver and constructor who built his racing cars in Le Mans. The M379 was his most successful design, constructed to compete in the Group 6 prototype category that was the premier class of international sportscar racing in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The car carried the numerical designation 379 reflecting the year it was first developed.
The M379 used an aluminium-reinforced steel spaceframe chassis covered by a fibreglass panel body. This lightweight construction resulted in a total weight of 760 kg. Power came from a 3.0-litre Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 engine — the same unit that had dominated Formula One racing — producing approximately 460 hp. Drive was transmitted to the rear wheels through a Hewland five-speed manual gearbox. The combination of a proven engine, simple chassis, and low weight gave the M379 a competitive package against the factory-backed prototypes of the era.
The M379 made its Le Mans debut in 1979 and performed strongly for a privately-entered constructor, finishing fifth overall and winning the Group 6 class. Jean Ragnotti and Bernard Darniche drove the car to that result, demonstrating from its first appearance that the design had genuine top-level potential.
The 1980 24 Hours of Le Mans delivered the M379's defining result. Jean Rondeau himself, sharing the car with Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, drove to outright victory — the only occasion in Le Mans history that the constructor's name and driver's name have been one and the same. A second M379, driven by Gordon Spice, Philippe Martin, and Jean-Michel Martin, finished third overall, giving Rondeau a remarkable first and third at the world's most prestigious endurance race.
The 1981 Le Mans was a major event for the M379, with five cars entered. Jacky Haran, Jean-Louis Schlesser, and Philippe Streiff drove one M379 to second overall and first in the GTP Group category. Gordon Spice and François Migault brought another home in third place for a second consecutive podium double. However, the race was marked by tragedy when Jean-Louis Lafosse was killed while driving one of the other entered M379s — a sombre counterpoint to the car's on-track achievements.
The M379 achieved one further outright win at Monza in 1982, adding to its tally of five podium finishes and three class victories across its competitive career. The car competed sporadically until 1988, though it was only with the successor Rondeau M382 that Jean Rondeau entered the World Sportscar Championship as a full campaign constructor.
The Rondeau M379's 1980 Le Mans victory stands as one of the great achievements in endurance racing history, representing the triumph of an independent French constructor over heavily-resourced factory teams. The fact that Jean Rondeau personally drove the winning car gives the result a unique character in the 24 Hours' history. Despite the tragedy of Lafosse's death in 1981 and the modest scope of subsequent results, the M379 secured its place in motorsport history through a single iconic victory.