Paul Newman film: your first look

It's no great controversy to suggest that Paul Newman was one of Hollywood's coolest operators. The man won an Oscar, six Golden Globes, a BAFTA, Cannes and Emmy too.

But did you know he raced at Le Mans in a Porsche 935 in 1979 and came second?

It's the latter part of his prolific career that comedian (and noted petrolhead) Adam Carolla explores in an upcoming documentary entitled Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman, which details the actor's journey from his first involvement in motorsport - during the filming of 1969's Winning - to racing (and winning in) a plethora of icons.

Winning paints the story of Newman's 35-year racing career, which saw him pilot everything from a racing Datsun 280ZX, through a Nissan 300ZX IMSA GTO to a GT1-spec Corvette, and even a Triumph TR-6.

Newman was, as the trailer reveals, "terrible at first," and was hampered by movie studios' reticence to actually let him race at all. Newman persevered, naturally, stating they'd have to "strap me down before they kick me out of these things". They failed. Newman ended up winning four national championships as a driver, and eight championships as an owner.

He raced at Daytona, at the Baja, and of course, at Le Mans. "The only thing that I ever found any grace in was an automobile," he once remarked.

Have a watch of the trailer above, which looks like a fitting tribute to the late, great icon. The film is scheduled for a May 22 release. Is this 2015's Senna?