Porsche Cars
that made History
Source: Bill Oursler (from the VP Racing website)
Porsche's first official racing entry was the 356 SL which appeared at the famed Le Mans 24-Hour endurance classic in 1951, winning the 110cc category to begin a record of success that continues to this day. These cars were based on the hand built aluminum-bodied Gmund coupes constructed between 1948 and 1949, before Porsche moved back to Stuttgart from the Austrian mill town. With that move came the revised steel-bodied 356's which rendered the Gmund coupes obsolete.
When representatives from Le
Mans approached Porsche about participating in the event, the left over Gmund
356's seemed a perfect solution, being far lighter than their newer
counterparts. The 356 SL Gmund coupes achieved an outstanding record of success,
not only at Le Mans, but also in a number of other events, ranging from rallies
to speed record attempts. In all they served the factory from 1951 through 1954.
Several also raced in North America, carving out their own winning tradition.
The first 500's appeared in 1953. These were the first true competition-bred Porsches; lightweight, two seat, aluminum bodied, tubular framed, open-topped cars. The initial pair of 550's was unique unto themselves, racing only with Volkwagen-derived pushrod boxer four cylinder engines, fitted with detachable roofs. These dominated their class at Le Mans finishing one-two in the 1500cc division. Later, one of them won its category in the famed Pan Americana Mexican road race.
Subsequent 550's, all fitted with the four-cam Carrera flat four cylinder, carried on what the initial 550's had started. The became the dominant cars world wide in the small displacement sports racing categories in the factory's hands, but also in the hands of Porsche's customers who purchased every one of the quick little cars they could find.
In 1956, Porsche introduced a
slightly modified Spyder, the 550A. This shocked the racing world when it won
the brutal Targa Florio road race outright in its debut appearance, humbling
such well-known and much more powerful rivals as Ferrari, Maserati and Jaguar.
During the next five years the 550A continued winning, for the factory, and the
factory's customers in almost every venue where it competed. Indeed, it was a
car that got more attention for its occasional loses than it did for its nearly
non-stop string of victories.
The next step in Porsche's Spyder saga came in 1957 with the introduction of the Type 718, initially known as the "RSK" for its uniquely configured form suspension. In various forms, the Type 718 would be raced by factory and customers through the end of 1964. During that period it achieved an outstanding record which not only included class triumphs, but outright wins at the Targa Florio and in 1960, at the prestigious Sebring 23-Hour long distance affair in Central Florida. Many famous drivers, including American Dan Gurney, as well as Wolfgang von Trips and Jo Bonnier helped to polish their careers behind the wheel of the Type 718.
The most famous example of this
Spyder variant was the W-RS, which was constructed in 1961 as a four-cylinder
entry. The following year, fitted with a 2.0-liter flat eight, it began to win
everywhere it went. It took important class victories not just in the great road
races such as Le Mans and the Nurburgring, but also in the hillclimbing arena.
Long a benefit for Porsche Spyders, it claimed the season championship with
Edgar Barth in 1963 and 1964 before it was retired to the Porsche Museum.
In the late 1950's the Porsche factory began its involvement in Formula racing by running virtually standard 550A Spyders. In the Formula Two portion of the annual German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, in 1958, Jean Behra, driving a modified Type 718 RSK Spyder with its seat located on the chassis centerline won the Formula Two race at the Rhiems circuit in France.
In 1959 and 1960, Porsche produced an open wheel, single seater version of the Type 718, using this to dominate the Formula Two championship during that latter Season, the last for the 1 5-liter formula The next year. When Formula One adopted the 1.5-liter displacement cap, Porsche appeared poised to claim the World Title. Unfortunately, things didn't go Porsche's way; the Type 718 being outclassed by Ferrari's Type 156 V-6.
For 1962, Porsche introduced the Type 804 that abandoned Zuffenhausen's traditional flat four cam, four-cylinder for a new boxer eight. While the engine was competitive, and indeed could be found for many years thereafter powering Porsche sports racing prototypes in 2.0 and 2.32-liter form, the Type 804 could not keep up with the British BRM and Lotus V-8's.
In all, the 804 won only twice,
coming home first in the French Grand Prix at Rouen and again on its home turf
at the Solitude Ring outside 01' Stuttgart in a non-points affair, Gurney being
the driver on both occasions. At the end of 1962, Porsche withdrew from Formula
One, not returning to the sport until 1983 as an engine supplier for McLaren.
Often referred to as the first of the "modern" Porsches, the 904, developed in 1963 and first raced in 1964, featured another "first" for Zuffenhausen, a full fiberglass bodied coupe, bonded to a steel channel frame. Intended to use the new boxer six from the then just introduced 911, it wound up employing the aged Carrera four cam four-cylinder instead. Even so, this engine was enough to help the 904 dominate the 2.0-liter production sports car class for Porsche for the next two years. That success was achieved mainly by Porsche's customers, the factory concentrated on running a small fleet of six and eight cylinder powered 904's of its own in the 2.0-liter prototype category.
As had its customers, the
factory came dominate the division with its coupes, enjoying nearly total
success from Daytona and Sebring through Le Mans in 1964 and '65. The only
blemish on the 904's record came in 1965 when it was defeated in the hillclimb
arena by Ferrari's Type 166 Dino Spyder. In an attempt to keep the 904 on par
with its Ferrari rival. Dr. Ferdinand Piech, the newly appointed head of Porsche
racing, converted the 904 from a coupe to an open-topped car. Those efforts were
in vain; however, they led Piech to pursue new directions in design that would
take Zuffenhausen to the top of the sport.
With the failure of the 904 hillclimb Spyders, in August 1965, Piech and his engineers introduced a tubeframe open topped car created over a three-span, that utilized the hubs, brakes, and 13-inch diameter wheels from the Type 33 Lotus single Formula One Grand Prix racer. Dubbed "the Ollon Villars" Spyder after its debut event, this was the foundation for all of Porsche's subsequent prototypes up through the famed 917's and later the 936's that last won at Le Mans in 1981. Although this important car didn't beat the Ferrari - due largely to a lack of development, it did win the hillclimb crown in 1966, ironically using a coupe body.
In January of 1966, the car that the Ollon Villars Spyder had spawned, the Carrera 6, or 906, made its debut. Intended strictly as a circuit racer, this coupe featured the earlier car's tubeframe, however, it didn't have the Spider's advanced suspension. Rather it used the same running gear as the 904, with its rather antique 15-inch diameter wheels. This retrograde step was forced on Piech by his uncle, company head Dr. Ferry Porsche, who did not want to waste the suspension components completed in anticipation of a second batch of 904's - cars canceled in favor of the 906.
Despite the compromise, the 906 took up right where the 904 left off, dominating the two liter 2.0-liter production sports car category using finally the 911's six cylinder engine. As with the 904, the factory ran several 906's on the 2 0-liter prototype category, some in long tail form and some with the boxer eight. No matter which version, or which class, the 906 dominated; winning victories at all the major international events. Even on occasion challenging for the outright honors - this despite the then intense battle between Ford and Ferrari for domination of the sport.
Despite its success, Piech remained unhappy with compromised 906. By the summer of 1966, his engineers had produced its replacement, the 910. Virtually identical to its predecessor, with the exception that it had abandoned the 904-suspension design run in the last hill climbs of the season, the 910 showed much potential. Over the winter this was developed into reality. The new coupe debuted in the 1967 Daytona 24-Hour endurance event with a class victory. Interestingly while there were both six and eight cylinder versions of the 910, the car was never intended to achieve "production" status. However, because of Piech's edict that new cars be used at every race, enough were built that the six-cylinder 910 did eventually qualify as "production sports car".
Like the 906, the 910 was a winner, the highlight of its career being an outright triumph at the Nurburgring 100 KMs in 1961. This came on top of its similar performance in the Targa Florio where it collected the overall honors. With these, as well as several other high overall placing, the 910 had propelled Porsche into the thick of the 1967 contest for the World Manufacturers crown with Ferrari.
Even so, Piech was getting ready to sell his 910 fleet to Porsche privateers, having pushed the envelope even further with the introduction of the new 907 at Le Mans that June. While all subsequent versions of the 907 would be eight cylinder powered, these two long tail coupes used fuel injected flat sixes While one retired, the other won its class, finishing high up in the overall rankings.
For the 1967 Brands Hatch season finale Porsche fielded both a short tail 907 as well as the venerable 910 in an effort to upset Ferrari. This was not to be as the Italians finished ahead of Zuffenhausen in the British affair to take home the coveted championship. Porsche would achieve some measure of revenge the following January at Daytona where three 907 long tails would sweep the two, three places in the American 24-Hour.
That was a good beginning to what Porsche hoped would be its first Manufacturers crown. Fueling those aspirations was a change in the regulations which now limited all prototypes, such as the 907 coupes to a maximum of three liters, the international authorities having summarily banned the big Ferraris and Fords from the scene in a hasty decision made after Le Mans the previous June.
Such was the tightness of the time frame, that officials decided that production sports cars of which at least 50 examples had been made, could race as long as their engine displacement didn't exceed 5.0 liters The short, and long term effects of this were to be huge. In the meantime, though, Porsche and Piech weren't worried as they were about to introduce their own 3.0-liter prototype, the 908 - a 908 fitted with a simple eight -cylinder powerplant based in large measure of the 911's boxer six.
The 907 would soldier on
throughout 1968 while Piech's men would struggle to make the initially
troublesome 908 an effective tool to accomplish Zuffenhausen's goal of winning
both at Le Mans and in the Makes title chase. Unfortunately, the aging but
reliable Ford GT 40 came away with both those prizes. The 908 was constantly
breaking down, while the 907 didn't have enough "punch" to stay even with the
John Wyer run, Gulf Oil sponsored Fords. Things would be different, however, in
1969.
Perhaps more than any of the other cars of its era, the 905 was unique. It started life as a clone of the 907 with a new, simplified Type 901 boxer six derived 3.0-liter flat eight. It wound up Its career in the early 1980's with a completely different chassis, and a turbocharged six cylinder powerplant akin to what could be found in the 934-935 silhouette prototype coupes as well as the 936 prototype Spyders.
When it was first introduced in the spring of 1968, however, the 908, both in short and long tail forms were virtually indistinguishable from its 907 predecessor. Only the keenest of eyes noting the slightly different air ducting, and the slightly revised rear aerodynamic package of the "langhects" that included a full width wing and movable, suspension activated flaps.
Although the 908 won the 1000 km event at the Nurburgring in only its second race appearance, engine vibration woes kept it from achieving further success that year. The best the new coupe could do was a third at Le Mans, which had been pushed back from its usual June date to September by political unrest in France. The following year was to be quite different; this despite the utter failure of the 908 charge in the season opening 24 Hours of Daytona, where again engine problems sidelined Porsche's hopes for a victory.
After that, with the exception of its close defeat at Le Mans by Jacky Ickx's Gulf Wyer Ford GT-40, the 908 ran flawlessly to give Porsche its first ever World Manufacturers title. The disappointment of losing at Le Mans was indeed painful, however, the overall success achieved was something of which Zuffenhausen and Piech could be proud. Interestingly, these accomplishments in large measure came not with the traditional long tail coupes, although these were used at high-speed tracks such as Daytona. Monza, Spa, and Le Mans, but rather with a new open-topped Spyder, the 908-02.
This came into existence because of a new set of regulations for the 3.0-liter prototypes, which permitted the simplified bodywork configuration. Actually, there were two versions of the Spyder in 1969; the original whose flowing fender lines followed those of the coupes, and the later 908-02 "flunder". This car featured a flat upper surface that produced a pleasing overall shape that would later spawn the body design for the first 917 Can-Am Spyders.
No matter what the body or chassis configuration, the 1969 908's all featured a revised engine that employed a new crankshaft, which eliminated the vibration problems that had so plagued it the previous season. Such was the competitiveness of the 908 and its modified eight-cylinder that after factory use the cars continued to be campaigned for another five years or so in private hands, often challenging their younger rivals for the top honors in their class. Perhaps the most famous of the 908's customers was movie actor Steve McQueen who took his 908-02 Spyder to second overall and first in the prototype division at Sebring with Peter Rebvson as his co-driver in the run up to his movie "Le Mans".
While the 908 had been largely consigned to the back burner by the new 917 12-cylinder in 1970, it had not quite finished its service for the factory. Realizing that the heavy 917 would be unsuitable for such events as the Targa Florio and the Nurburgring - both of which were extremely important to Porsche, Piech and his engineers produced a new 908. The 908/3, used the standard 908 drive train, but otherwise was based on a lightweight 1968 hillclimb Spyder, the 909.
As a factory entry, the 908/3 saw service in just four events, the Targa Florio and the Nurburgring rounds of the Manufacturers Championship in both the 1970 and 1971 seasons. Of these appearances, the 908/3 was victorious three times, winning the Targa Florio in 1970 and the Nurburgring both years. After that the cars were sold off. In 1975 several were fitted with turbocharged sixes, Herbert Muller using his Martini example to help him win his second straight Interserie title that year. The cars continued to soldier on through the first part of the 1980's - still surprising competitive -until the new Group C prototype regulations came into force in 1982.
Of all of the historic racing Porsches, without doubt the best remembered, and the most important was the Porsche 917 which debuted in 1969 as a 4 5-liter, 550 horsepower, twelve-cylinder version of the 908. In 1970, the developed 917 not only brought Zuffenhausen its second straight World Makes crown, but its first ever, outright victory at Le Mans. In subsequent seasons, the coupe would be transformed into a 1000 HP. turbocharged, open topped Spyder that would come to dominate the North American Can-Am series much in the same fashion as it had the endurance scene. In short, the 917 was a watershed car that put Porsche in the center stage spotlight of motorsport.
Piech and his group created the 917 after discovering a rules loophole big enough to sink 20 Titanics That regulatory miscue permitted so-called "production" 5.0-liter sports cars, of which at least 25 identical examples had to have been made, to run in the Manufacturers title chase. The idea that this figure would permit such aging vehicles like the Lola T-70 coupe and the Ford GT-40 to flesh out the relatively slim 3.0-liter prototype ranks in the championship. Never did anyone think that someone would go to the trouble of building 25 expensive prototype-like vehicles simply to qualify them as "production" legal.
Yet, in the spring of 1968 that's exactly what Piech and Porsche decided to do. The reasoning behind the decision was not complicated, since Porsche already was building twice that many competition cars a year to meet the internal decree that new racers would be used by the factory for every event. Further, Piech reasoned that the 917 wouldn't have to be created from scratch, but could be developed from the just introduced 908 eight-cylinder.
In fact, while the 917 was largely new, much of its major components could be traced to the 908. This included its awesome twelve-cylinder powerplant that kept the 908's basic head design, injection system, and bore and stroke dimensions. New was the central power pick up arrangement which effectively created two six cylinder crankshafts tied together - thus eliminating the torsion problems found with a more conventional arrangement. Fortunately, from the start, the engine, which would eventually be produced in 4.9, 5.0 and 5.4-liter displacement variants worked well from the beginning.
Less successful was the transformation of the 908's chassis that kept its overall shape and wheelbase. The only real changes were the substitution of a detachable tsail that permitted the car to be raced either as a "langhect" or in "Kirtz" fashion, as well as the placing of the driver slightly further toward to accommodate the extra length of the new flat 12. Unhappily, while the 908 was fairly stable, the 917 was not, especially approaching the 220 plus mile-an-hour speeds of which it was capable.
Ultimately, this was traced to an aerodynamic problem that caused the rear of the car to lift creating severe high speed oversteer. Testing produced the upraised wedge tail shape that came to so characterize the tamed 917K models, this being discovered during a post 1969 shakedown run conducted by Porsche and the Gulf Wyer team which was to represent the factory in 1970-71.
With its aerodynamics corrected, the 917 went on to dominate the World Championship of Makes against the almost equally awesome 5 0-liter Ferrari 5l2. Likewise the 25-example "production" sports car by the Italian marque. Ironically, while the 917 won Le Mans both years, it wasn't the Wyer team that triumphed. Instead, the Porsche Salzburg team belonging to Piech's month Louise, with Englishman Richard Attwood and longtime factory driver Hans Kerrmann driving scored the initial victory. Hans Kerrmann retired after the event.
The second win came at the hands of the Martini team that succeeded the Porsche Salzburg operation in 1971. Interestingly, despite the fact that Porsche had developed a special long tail version of the 917 for Le Mans with a top speed of nearly 250 miles-an-hour, the two victories were scored by short tail 917K's. That latter performance came with a magnesium-framed version, which was used as a testbed for what Porsche hoped, would be its 1972 Can-Am challenger.
As far back as 1969, Zuffenhausen had become involved in the Can-Am when, at the urging of its North American racing boss, Josef Hoppen, it created an open-topped version of its endurance coupe for the championship. Although the car was overweight and under powered, Jo Siffert drove it to fourth place in final point standings. Later four more coupes were cut down to race in the European-based Can-Am counterpart, the Interserie that would eventually become a 917 preserve.
In the spring of 1971 Piech and Porsche became seriously interested in the Can-Am, producing a revised version of the 917 Spyder dubbed the 917/10. Lighter in weight, this was intended to utilize a turbocharged 5.0-liter twelve-cylinder, but initialed appeared in Siffert's hands during 1971 with a non-boosted engine instead. Again, despite a power handicap, Siffert took fourth in the standings.
Unfortunately, the Swiss was killed before the end of the season in a Formula One accident. Originally Porsche had planned to involve Siffert in the '72 Can-Am as a back up to Mark Donohue who would spearhead Porsche's efforts in the Roger Penske L&M sponsored 917/10. In the end, Penske alone represented the factory, although numerous privateers raced non-turbo versions of the Spyder both in the Can-Am and the Interserie during the 1972 campaign.
Porsche had little trouble defeating the reigning McLaren's in North American, and equally little problem capturing the Interserie. However, Donohue would have to wait a year for the Can-Am driver's crown, having been put out of action for most of the year after a testing accident at Road Atlanta. Donohue injured his knee when the tail section came off his car, causing it to flip violently; instead substitute George Follmer garnered the honors.
Donohue would return in 1973 using a revised Spyder, the 917/30 that featured a longer wheelbase and revised aerodynamics. Powered by a 5.4-liter turbo, the Sunoco Oil company-backed entry was capable of 240 MPH in a straight line. Although the first two Can-Am rounds went to privateers using the previous year's 917/10, Donohue came back strongly, winning everything else from the third race on. At the end of the season he announced his retirement, while the SCCA forced the withdrawal of the 917 from Can-Am competition by drastically reducing its fuel supply, forcing it to race at noncompetitive boost pressures.
Still,
the saga of the 917 wasn't quite finished. While it raced on in the Interserie,
winning the 1974 crown and helping Porsche to take the 1975 championship, it
also made one more Can-Am appearance. That came at Mid Ohio in 1974 when Brian
Redman took the Penske 917/30 to a second place behind the Shafdow Chevrolet of
Jackie Oliver. In 1975, ten days before his tragic death during practice for the
Austrian Grand Prix, a now un-retired Donohue used that same car to set a new
closed course speed record of more than 221MPH at the high banked 2.5-mile
Talladega Tri-oval, and, that still wasn't it. In 1981, the Kremer brothers
entered a 917 endurance coupe copy in the Makes series, the car showing great
competitiveness in spite of its aged design.
After it put aside the Gmund coupes following the 1954 season in favor of the competition-oriented 550 Spyders, Porsche did not totally abandon the production car arena. During the latter part of the 1950's Zuffenhausen installed four cam Carrera four-cylinder powerplants in a number of different 356's specifically so that its customers would have something to run in the production categories. Included were both the open-topped Speedsters and their coupe counterparts, some of these cars remaining competitive enough to win in North American SCCA Regional and National club events up through the 1980's.
The ultimate expression of the 356 production racer was the Carrera Abarth of the early 1960's. This was a four-cam 356 mated to a lightweight Italian alloy body designed by Zagalo and built under contract for Porsche through Austrian expatriate Carlo Arbarth. These cars, about 20 in all, were not only used by Porsche's customers, but by the factory itself in both international and national events, including Le Mans where it won its class multiple times.
In 1965, the factory switched its concentration on the four-cylinder 356, to the just introduced six-cylinder 911, debuting the new coupe at that year's Monte Carlo Rally with a top five finish. Although the 911 would go on to make a name for itself in rallying - including winning at Monte Carlo on multiple occasions, and although it would do well in road course action also, development of the 911 as a race car was largely ignored by the factory until the 1970's
Even so, in private hands the 911 did well throughout the world, winning its class at Le mans as well as in the prestigious North American Trans-Am championship, and in the International Motor Sports Association's Camel GT. In 1967, Piech's engineers put together the 911R, the only attempt producing a lightweight 911, as a technical exercise. Never built in enough numbers (again there were between 20 and 25 made), the 911R, which featured a stripped interior and fiberglass fenders, doors and deck lids, was forced to run as a "prototype". Nevertheless, it created a legend of what "might have been" that would provide a foundation for later racing 911 models.
Late in 1969 the factory produced around 35 lightweight body shells. These would be used to build up both circuit racing and rally 911 through 1972. Although Porsche never gave these light weights their own designation, referring to them only as "911S's", unofficially they were dubbed "911 ST's". In their final, 1972 form, they were raced with 2.5-liter flat sixes, which used many parts from the Carrera 906 program. Perhaps, more important than their record was the fact that they served as a foundation for what came next, the Carrera RSR.
Developed under famed Porsche engineer Norbert Singer in 1972, after Piech had left the family firm, the Carrera RSR was the first true effort at creating a production 911 that could dominate the arena. Although it was lighter in weight than previous 911's, it did not go to the extreme that the 911A did, still it featured a number of fiberglass panels including bumpers and deck lids. In fact, two of the distinguishing features of the Carrera RSR when it was introduced in 1973 its ducktail rear spoiler and front bumper spoiler configuration, the latter unit having a center mounted oil cooler. In 1974, the Carrera RSR was revised slightly with a rear "whale tail" spoiler and new front bumper arrangement. The latter because of U.S. mandated changes in bumper regulations for the street beginning that year.
In terms of its fuel injected engine, the Carrera RSR was fairly standard stuff, not differing much from what had come before except for an increase in displacement. Originally raced in 2.7-liter form, its engine size rose first to 3.8 liters and then to 3.0 Liters. Regardless, the Carrera RSR dominated the production car scene from 1973 through 1975, wining the Daytona 24 Hours three times outright before ending its career in 1977. Additionally it won both the IMSA Camel GT and European FIA GT championships during that period, as well as a host of individual race triumphs, including the Targa Florio in 1973.
That latter victory came with a specially modified RSR run by the factory in Martini colors as a prototype. The following year Singer took things a step further, producing a turbocharged RSR with revised aerodynamics that included a raised rear roof and a huge rear wing. With this car, also backed by Martini, Porsche finished second at Le Mans, the highest placing ever for an RSR. The reason for the coupe's existence was the upcoming so-called "silhouette" prototype Formula that would be instituted in 1975 for the World Makes Championship,
Porsche planned to enter that series, with the much-modified 911-based 935, producing a less radical version for its customers called the 934. To gain experience the Turbo RSR was built as a "proof of concept" prototype. How well that worked can be seen In the fact that the 935 dominated the scene, winning the Manufacturers chase from 1976 through 1979, and the IMSA Camel GT up through 1972. During that same period both the 934 and the 946 won the Trans-Am crown as well as the German National championship and numerous other region series. Perhaps the high point of the 935's career came in 1979 when it won Le Mans outright, the first production-based car to do in more than two decades.
For all of its accomplishments, what the 935 will be most remembered for was its appearance. Planned to emulate the shape of the road-going 930, the appearance quickly changed when Singer found a loophole that allowed him to place the headlights in the bump, thus creating the first "slope" nose, which improved front-end downforce. Before the 935 exited the scene in 1984, it had acquired fully covered doors, a raised roar roof, sophisticated rear aerodynamics, and underneath its skin, a full tubeframe chassis structure
Moreover, what the factory had produced inspired Porsche entrants to create their own 935's using the drivetrain as well as suspension and brake parts from Zuffenhausen as their foundations. And, if the 935 was dominant, so too was the 934, which won Sebring in 1963, on its way to the Camel GTO title that season. All in all, the 935's and 934's represented the fastest and wildest 911's ever made.
But, they weren't the only modern production Porsche race entries. In 1970, Porsche introduced the competition version of its mid-engine, 914/6 roadster, the 914/6GT that won its class at Le Mans. The next year in the hands of Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood, it would claim the inaugural Camel GT championship, going on to later win several Camel GTU crowns as well. The model was also active in SCCA National competition, and in international rallying, although it never achieved the success in either venue that it did in professional, high-end international circuit competition.
In 1979, the 914's successor, the 924 was introduced into racing, running initially in North America with the SCCA, where in 1980 it won the first of several National crowns. Also that year, a turbocharged version was run at Le Mans with some success. Subsequently, turbo 924 GTR's would win in the Trans-Am and IMSA, claiming, as did the 914, multiple GTU class title for itself. Also raced with some success, was the 944 Turbo GTR, which at one point was Porsche's mainstay entry in the Trans-Am. However, a lack of development of the latter car wound up severely stunting its career.
More recently Porsche produced the turbocharged, 993-based 911 GT2 eacer~m which cleaned house on the international production scene during the mid-1990's, and latter, was nearly unbeaten in the IMSA Exxon Series production arena. In 1998, Porsche introduced the GT class 911 GT2R at Le Mans where this 996-based coupe promptly won its class. In 2000, the 911 GT3R was unstoppable winning wherever it raced, claiming both the American Le Mans Series and Grand American Racing Series GT category crowns. For 2001 Porsche has introduced an improved version, the 911 GT3RS which is expected to continue what its predecessor has started.
Porsche management worried that the FIA might change its mind and scrap the 1976-initiated "silhouette" prototype Formula before it began, ordered the development of a new sports racing prototype Spyder. This was to be run in the FIA's World Sports Car Championship, beginning that year, if it wasn't forced to represent Porsche on the Makes scene. As it turned out, the FIA did stick it its word, so the 936 saw duty mainly on the sports car tour, which it won handily. However, its real fame came at Le Mans which was running independently of any championship at the time. There the 936 would win three times, in 1975, 1977, and 1978 it would also finish second in 1978, and again in 1980. Only in 1979, when it was part of a last-minute factory effort, did it fail to finish at the Sarthe.
What
made the 936's record so remarkable was that it was a "parts bin" car that
utilized a 908-based frame, along with suspension and brake pieces from both
that car and the 917, as well as the latter's transmission. As for its engine,
that came from the turbo RSR/035, being initially set at 2.1-liters in its
boosted format. Subsequently it would gain displacement as well as water-cooled
heads, eventually producing in the neighborhood of 750 HP from 1977 onwards. The
factory only ran the 936 at Le Mans, private versions racing in the German
National Championship in the early 1980's where it won.
Perhaps the most significant of Porsche's modern day prototypes in the monocoque-chassis 956/962 FUA Group C/IMSA Camel GTP coupe. This closed topped sports racer combined a new Singer built chassis with new suspension and brakes mated to the drivetrain from the last versions of the 936 introduced in "short wheelbase" 956 form in 1982. It was successful from the start, winning the World Makes title and Le Mans through 1986. Run by the factory in Rothmans cigarette colors, the car was also winning with privateer teams starting 1983. In fact, of the four Le Mans triumphs, the last two, in 1984 and '85, were scored by the Reinhold Joest team with customer chassis.
In 1984, in order to comply with IMSA regulations, the long wheelbase 962 was debuted by Porsche. Although it would replace the 956 in FIA competition starting in 1985, using the same engine and transmission as its predecessor, in the Camel GT it was forced to utilize the all air cooled 935 flat six cylinder until late in Its career. Either way, the car was as dominant as its earlier stablemate, winning the Camel title from 1985 through 1987. Introduced to Europe by the factory in 1984, the 962 would add to North American and FIA successes with a pair of Le Mans victories in 1986 and again in 1987; nothing being posted by the factory Rothmans team.
Age
and the rule makers combined to put the 956/062 out to pasture as the 1990's
approached. However, there was one last triumph that came in 1994, when run as a
"non-ground effects" GT category car, a Jochen Dauer team 962 claimed the
victory at Le Mans. Interestingly, part of the driver team there was American
Hurley Haywood, who had first won in Le Mans in 1977 in a 936. In 1983 he won
again as part of the Rothmans 956 factory squad with fellow American Al Holbert.
Holbert himself would go on to win Le Mans again in 1986 and '87 with the
Rothmans team.
The 911 FR1 turbo grew out of Porsche's desire to win at Le Mans following its 1994 victory in the 24-Hour long distance classic. Under the complicated rules which prevailed at the Sarthe in the mid-1990's, one could build what amounted to a full prototype, if one could get it approved for the street with a governing body such as those of the countries within the European Community. It was, in effect, a license to steal, much in the same way that Porsche had been permitted to run its 962 as a "GT" car in its last successful Le Mans appearance.
Although carrying the 911 moniker, and resembling the 911 in overall shape, what Singer's team created for the 1996 24 Hours, was unique. While the front, from the cowl forward consisted of the 933 model 911's inner sheet metal structure, from there on back it was a pure competition vehicle, using technology quite similar to that of the 956/963. Even its water-cooled boxer six cylinder had its origins in that car's powerplant.
Still, some at Porsche were worried that the 911 GT was too untried to win at Le Mans its first time out, and that's where the Walkinshaw Spyder entered the picture. Built originally as a Jaguar by Walkinshaw to race in the Group C prototype arena during the early 1990's, the car in coupe form had subsequently been transformed into a Mazda by the replacement of its Cosworth-based V-8 with a Judd V-10 engine. After Porsche's 1994 Le Mans triumph, the car was sold to Zuffenhausen which cut off its roof, endowed it with a flat bottom to meet the new World Sports Car prototype regulations, and installed a 956/962 water cooled head turbocharged flat six with the intent of going back to Le Mans in 1995.
Unfortunately, those plans were shelved when race officials in North America changed their regulations to effectively bar the car from the season opening Daytona and Sebring events which Porsche had planned to use to develop it for the Sarthe. Taken back to Germany the Porsche Spyder sat under a dust cover until the spring of 1996 when Porsche decided to lease the two actual cars they had to Reinhold Joest to run at Le Mans as a back up for the 911 GT1 effort.
In an ironic twist of fate, the two factory GT1's stumbled just enough to allow one of the Joest leased machines to win the 24-Hour affair outright, the GT1 's being forced to settle for second and third overall, and first and second in their class. Although the Spyder was parked, the GT1's returned to action later that year in the BPR Global Endurance GT challenge, winning three events.
For 1997, a series of customer 911 GT1 replicas were produced and sold while the factory entered a pair of updated 911 GT1 "Evo" models both at Le Mans and in the new FIA GT championship which had replaced the BPR Global Endurance GT Challenge. Although humbled by Mercedes in the FIA title battle, the factory GT1's took charge at Le Mans until both were put out of action during the latter stages of the event with mechanical woes. That left the single Joest-enter Porsche TWR Spyder, which was brought to Le Mans strictly as a private operation, to take over for the win.
Although the much traveled prototype would again make its appearance at the Sarthe in 1998, that would be the year the 911 GT1's would shine. Totally revised, the 1998 GT1's featured an all carbon fiber chassis and much changed aerodynamics. While the new cars did little better in the FIA championship, they made up for that at Le Mans with a one-two sweep of the top two overall spots. Their mission accomplished, they were retired to Porsche's Museum, along with the TWR Spyder at the end of the 1998 season.
That wasn't quite the end of the 911 GT1 story, though. At the beginning of 1998, Porsche sold one of the "Evos" to North American-based Champion Racing. They used it to claim the United States Road Racing Championship series GT crown that year, as well as the GT division win at the prestigious Petit Le Mans event which heralded the birth of the American Le Mans Series. All this came on top of the GT class points trophy won in 1997 on the Exxon series by the Jochen Rohr team.
Today
the 911 GT1 has been invited to return to active competition by officials of the
American Road Racing Championship, which in 2000 succeeded the USRRC. In another
bit of irony, the car may also be eligible for historic and vintage competition
at the same time.
Porsche which quit open wheel competition after its less than successful experience in Formula One during the first part of the 1960-s, remained out of single seater competition until the beginning of the 1980's when its U.S. racing boss, Josef Hoppen convinced the factory to come to Indianapolis. In partnership with Ted Fields' lnterscope team, Porsche would supply a modified version of its traditional, water-cooled head, flat six-cylinder turbo. lnterscope would supply the driver in the form of Danny Ongais, the chassis, and the Panasonic sponsorship.
Announced in late 1979, the project was canceled in the spring of 1980 when the United States Auto Club, which sanctioned the Indy 500, abruptly lowered the maximum boost pressure permitted Porsche for the race. Reluctant to run what amounted to an untested engine, the factory withdrew, leaving Indianapolis a "might have been" chapter in its racing history.
Three years later, after entering into an agreement with McLaren owner Ron Dennis, Porsche found itself competing in Formula One with a brand new Mezger design, water cooled 1.5-liter V-6 turbo paid for by the TAG organization. Although showing much potential in 1983, it wasn't until it was dropped into a new chassis in 1984 that the Porsche and McLaren truly hit its stride. From then through 1987, McLaren was nearly unbeatable, winning the World Drivers and Constructors crowns three times during that period. Niki Lauda secured his last World crown in 1984 over teammate Alain Prost by a half point. Prost quickly making up for that disappointment by winning the title in 1985 and '86.
As Porsche was preparing to bow out of Formula One at the end of 1987 it was entering the Indianapolis arena once again, this time with a Mezger V-8 using much of the TAG Turbo's technology. It was not to be a happy experience, as Porsche ran an uncompetitive in-house chassis for the last two CART Indy events in 1987, before switching over to a March-built open wheeler in 1988.
For the next three years until it once more left the Indianapolis scene at the conclusion of the 1990 season, Porsche stayed with March. During that period it was able, despite employing the talents of former Indy 500 pole sitter Teo Fabi, to win just once, this coming through Fabi's efforts at Mid-Ohio in 1989. While statistically and emotionally Porsche's second excursion into the Indy scene was not what the company had hoped, when it left it could console itself with the fact that as far as engines went, its 2.6-liter was among the most powerful and reliable up to that point.
In
the early 1990's, Porsche once more involved itself in Formula One, designing
and building a 3.5-liter non-turbo V-12 for the Footwork Arrows team. While it
too showed potential, a lack of funding resulted in its being ultimately less
than competitive and the project was abandoned after less than a year
From its formative years through 1968, hill climbing was a key part of Porsche's motorsport efforts. In large measure this was due to the circumstances of the sport which emphasized lightweight and handling over brute horsepower. At first Porsche relied on unmodified Spyders to carry the workload. However, after being defeated by Ferrari in 1962, Porsche began to look elsewhere. At first it purchased a lightweight British-built Elva sports racer into which It dropped its 1962 derived Type 771 flat eight. However, after that crisis had passed it went back to using what it had in hand, which mostly meant the 904 coupe, supported by the Iast of the Spyders -the W-RS. In 1965, when Ferrari again invaded the hillclimb scene, Piech, then just arriving at Porsche hurriedly constructed a Spyder version of the 904, which was unable to stop the Ferrari advance.
That led Piech to create an all new tubeframed open topped machine, the Ollon-Villars Spyder, which today is recognized as the progenitor of all modern racing Porsches. From that car came the special lightweight versions of the 910. These were stripped to the bare minimum, weighing in at about 1100 pounds, and were good enough to help Porsche dominate the hillclimb scene through 1968. However, as the weight had been taken out, handling had suffered as the mass of the engine and transmission was no too far aft in the car. This resulted in the 909, which ran twice at they end of 1968. With this car, Porsche had moved the driving position so far forward that the driver's feet overhung the front axle line.
While the car did not affect the final outcome of the season, that being left to the venerable 910, it did affect future design thinking; most subsequent racing Porsches having similar driving positions. In any event, having now moved to the center of the sportscar stage with the 917, Porsche abandoned hillclimbing, never to return with a factory team.