Yesteryear Archives

Dick Barbour Racing at the 1980 Le Mans 24 Hours

Chassis #000 00023 gets a check out on the autobahn by the Kremer brothers prior to Le Mans. Manfred Kremer drove it Erwin Kremer and Jerry Woods followed in a 928 chase car. Le Mans in 1980 was in kind of a transition. The Porsche 935 K3 had won the...

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Retrospect: The Porsche 959

When discussing breakthroughs in sportscar technology, the Porsche 959 merits its own chapter, if not a book. Introduced in the mid-1980s, this genuine supercar emerged as a spearhead of innovation, vastly surpassing the technology Porsche had developed to date. While the standard 911 was not short on performance or prestige,...

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Porsche’s 356 SL at Le Mans

Invitation to race from Charles Faroux Charles Faroux was a car enthusiast, a racing official, a leading French motor-publication editor at La Vie Automobile and a charmer. Europe’s major automobile manufacturers entrusted their engineering secrets and newest models to him in hopes of a favorable review. Everyone respected his opinions....

Porsche History

Porsche preserves the history of the 959 Paris-Dakar

Factory recommissions the famous Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar The recommissioning has been carried out over the past few months by the Porsche Heritage and Museum team together with their colleagues from Porsche Classic. A car that can survive 8,700 miles in the deserts and savannahs of Africa can go anywhere in...

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Porsche racing in Southern Africa – Part I

A busy GK Lindsay workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa, ca.1958 Porsche used its racing exploits around the world to not only gain exposure and media coverage, but also to improve the performance and reliability of its road and race cars. Here we look into the first part of a two-part...

People & Profiles

Rolf Stommelen – a driver for all circumstances

Mont Ventoux, 18 June 1967 – Rolf Stommelen won this hillclimb driving a Porsche 910/8 Bergspyder Rolf Stommelen was one of Germany’s leading racing drivers for over a decade and if as the title (above) of his biography implies, he could drive anything anywhere, this was largely true. Although his...

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The Porsche-Lola T600 Affair

Le Mans 24 Hours, 13-14 June 1981: Team photo following a successful technical inspection A lack of testing proved to be the downfall of the Porsche-Lola T600 in the 49th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1981. But let us not get ahead of ourselves… The 1981 season...

Yesteryear

John McCullagh drives Porsche 906

Porsche 906 (chassis #906/108) takes turn 1 on its way up the Hill at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed One of the motoring highlights of my 2016 season, if not of all time, has to be driving a fabulous Porsche 906 on the Goodwood Festival of Speed Hillclimb. The...

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The story of two Felbermayr 911 GT3 RSRs

Donington Park Circuit, 11 April 2017: Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (chassis #WP0ZZZ99Z9S799918) is off-loaded It was a clear day in April, typical of those late winter/early spring days when the weather was trying to impress by showing signs of warmth, but not really succeeding. My assignment that day at Donington...

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Porsche Historic Grand Prix Zandvoort

Porsche Historic Grand Prix Zandvoort The crowds attending the Masters Historic racing weekend at Zandvoort were treated to a festival of racing in brilliant weather. To spice up the cars on the race weekend menu, five iconic Porsche racing cars were driven around the circuit which is located in the...

Porsche History

46: The Birth of Porsche Motorsport

Proven through competition Engineering, design, innovation; while the list is long for what describes the Porsche name, it can be distilled into one word; racing. Even before the days of cars that would bare his name, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche believed competition was the ultimate test for proving excellence in design...

Notable Chassis

This Martini was neither Stirred nor Shaken

ACO Museum, Le Mans 16 September 2020: As it was the 50th anniversary of Porsche’s first win at Le Mans, a special display was set up featuring several of Porsche’s winning cars In 1971 the first ever Starbucks coffee house was opened in Seattle, Washington. That same year, the fourth...

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Dick Barbour goes to Le Mans

Le Mans 24 Hour, 10/11 June 1978: The Porsche 935/78 ‘Moby Dick’ pulls away at the start of the race – this car was third fastest in qualifying Dick Barbour went to Le Mans as an entrant for the first time in 1978. He entered two Porsche 935s at the...

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How a Porsche survived at Le Mans on Coca-Cola

Le Mans 24 Hours, 10-11 June 1989: Just after the start of the race, the #15 Richard Lloyd Racing Porsche 962 GTi of Steven Andskar, David Hobbs and Damon Hill passes the pits When you were last with Richard Wiley, we were hurtling around a damp La Sarthe in 1988...

Porsche 911 Motorsport & Racing Porsche 934 Porsche 935 PRR Yesteryear Featured Content & Premium Editorials

1983 Sebring 12 Hour – David and Goliath

Bob Akin’s 935, one of the major protagonists in the 1983 Sebring 12 Hour race. It was driven by Bob Akin, John O’Steen and Dale Whittington and finished second overall. (©Brian Cleary) The 1983 Sebring 12 Hour was an epic event. Back then the race was run on the ‘old...

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Quick Nick – a Nick Faure profile

British GP meeting which Nick Faure led outright, starting from the second row, against the Falcons and BGG Escorts. But the fan belt came off due to a rag left in the engine by my mechanic! Nick Faure was one of the first to race a 911 in Britain: he...

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Porsche at Le Mans Part IV: 1972 to 1981

#5 Porsche 908/3 – Juan Fernandez/Francesco Torredemer/Eugenio Baturone – NRF The 1972 season broke, ushering in with it a new era of racing. The Porsche 917 had reigned supreme for two years, but the race authorities (read FIA) had had their fill of Porsche interpreting the rules their way, and...

Restored Porsche

Porsche 356 Pre-A has come full circle

Kim Copperthite watches the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo during its record run at the Porsche Rennsport Reunion VI, Laguna Seca, 2018 (© Mike Copperthite) It is interesting how, sometimes when you trace an old classic car or historic racer back to its roots, you end up not far from the...

Porsche 911 Porsche 935 PRR Yesteryear Featured Content & Premium Editorials

1978 Porsche 935 T-Bird Swap Shop

Kremer Porsche 935 K3 – chassis #930 890 0021 The Porsche 935 was the Stuttgart manufacturer’s answer to the FIA’s Group 5 class regulations, making it eligible for the World Championship of Makes. The first Porsche car in this so-called ‘Silhouette’ series, was introduced for the start of the 1976...

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Porsche racing in Southern Africa – Part II

Ian Fraser-Jones – ‘Out’ after a one mile push, the car having stopped due to a gearbox failure, the car’s only mechanical failure – Angola 1959 Porsche used its racing exploits around the globe not only to gain exposure and media coverage, but also to improve the performance and reliability...

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The rise of the Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Turbo

1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Turbo 2.1 (chassis #911 460 9101) photographed at the Porsche Museum, Stuttgart, Germany, May 2019 The year 1974 will be remembered for many different reasons, depending on where you were living in the world at the time and what caught your eye. For instance, Richard...

Porsche 911 Motorsport & Racing Porsche 935 PRR Yesteryear Featured Content & Premium Editorials

Porsche at Norisring 1980

The #8 Kremer K3 Porsche 935 entered by Dick Barbour and driven by John Fitzpatrick, in the pit lane ahead of the 1980 Norisring race. The author, Martin Raffauf, is at the car’s right front wheel The Race for the Pork Cutlets… The end of June 1980 was a busy...

Motorsport & Racing

Kremer Racing mixes with the big players

Le Mans 24 Hours, 9/10 June 1979: Its a tense time as the lead car, the #41 Numero Reserve Kremer Porsche 935 K3 driven by brothers Bill and Don Whittington, and Klaus Ludwig calls into the pits. Winning the Le Mans 24 Hour was without doubt the highlight of the...

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Porsche’s fabulous 968 Turbo RS

1993 Porsche 968 Turbo RS The story of the fabulous 968 Turbo RS, one of Porsche’s sweetest front-engined racers, might be full of ‘what ifs’ and ‘if only’ but it is also certainly a story of lost opportunities. The end of the 1992 motor sport season saw the curtain fall...

Porsche Yesteryear Porsche News

Check out the Oldest Surviving Car worked on by Ferdinand Porsche

The Porsche Museum has just acquired a significant addition to its permanent exhibition. It is the oldest surviving car that Ferdinand Porsche ever worked on during a lifetime spent in the automobile industry. Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany The car is the Egger-Lohner C.2 Phaeton, also known as the Porsche...

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Valentin Schäffer – Porsche’s turbo master

Valentin Schäffer (1978) Another keen young recruitee to Zuffenhausen in the early 1950s, Valentin Schäffer, would become Porsche’s racing turbo specialist and engineer the induction systems that endowed Porsche sports racers with a dominance that lasted decades. The compact figure of Valentin Schäffer trotted up the steps of the Porsche...

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Porsche’s Most Enigmatic Model — the America Roadster

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Le Mans 24 Hours Porsche History Motorsport & Racing PRR Yesteryear

Porsche at Le Mans Part II: 1964 to 1969

Le Mans 24 Hours, 20/21 June 1964: Porsche 904/8 of Edgar Barth/Herbert Linge before the start of the race The introduction of the Type 904 heralded a new direction for Porsche’s race cars. Gone were the aluminium-bodied racers, as the 904 spearheaded a generation of GRP-bodied Porsches that culminated in...

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50th Anniversary of Porsche’s first victory at Le Mans

The winning drivers from Porsche’s first Le Mans 24 Hour victory on 14 June 1970 (from L-R) Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood (2019) Today, Porsche can boast a total of 19 overall victories together with countless class successes in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s most respected and...

Porsche 911 Kremer Porsche 935 PRR Yesteryear Featured Content & Premium Editorials

Kremer’s Uber 935 – the ultra-rare K4

1981 Porsche Kremer 935 K4 – chassis #K4-01 In the mid-1970s, Porsche developed the 911 for racing, and in the process, it created the all-conquering 935. In 1978, Norbert Singer was responsible for building the ultimate factory 935, the Moby Dick 935/78, and although this race car had a very...

Motorsport & Racing

Porsche Heritage Moments

More than five decades ago, Porsche tested the exhaust turbocharger in motorsport. Shortly afterwards, the turbocharger was introduced into series production. 17 of the 19 overall Porsche victories at Le Mans were won with turbocharged engines. In 2024, the company celebrated ‘50 years of Porsche Turbo’ in series production and...

Notable Chassis

Dauer Porsche 962 LM GT (Chassis #001)

Lined up in the pit lane before the 1994 Le Mans 24-Hours, is from the left: #36 962 Dauer Le Mans GT driven by Mauri Baldi, Yannick Dalmas and Hurley Haywood; centre is the street-legal 962 Dauer with rather appropriate Boeblingen region (Weissach) registration plate ‘P 962’; on the right...

Motorsport & Racing PRR Yesteryear

Early 1980 IMSA GT Championship

John Fitzpatrick during practice for the Sebring 12-hour race in 1980

Bob Garretson in #009 00030 during practice for the 1980 Daytona 24 hours. This is the original 1979 factory configuration on this car By the time that we reached the IMSA Riverside Los Angeles Times Grand Prix in April, the Dick Barbour Racing team’s IMSA GT championship season had been...

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Working for Porsche in Stuttgart in the 1960s Part II

An early 901 prototype from the pre-production series (1964), still without its decorative strip under the door and with a round fuel cap – later this was an oval shape Between the years 1962-1964, South African André Loubser worked for Porsche in Stuttgart. In Part I of this two-part mini-series,...

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My first race as a crewman – Sebring 1978

12 Hours of Sebring, 18 March 1978: The #9 Dick Barbour Racing Porsche 935 driven by Brian Redman, Charles Mendez and Bob Garretson In the early to mid-1970’s I had been working part time (race weekends) as an IMSA tech inspector at some of the races, mainly the ones that...

Yesteryear

The Porsche Tartan

Background Tartan fabrics symbolize tradition and craftsmanship, belonging, and confidence. Exactly 50 years ago, three tartans were on the options list exclusively for the Porsche 911 Turbo. They didn’t appear in the 911 until the 1976 model year. This check pattern classic remains timeless and stylish—on the catwalk and in...

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1966 Porsche 911 2.0-litre time capsule

1966 Porsche 911 2.0-litre – GVB 911D – parked on track at Lodge Corner after practice for the Oulton Park Gold Cup on 24 August 2013 Originally a showroom demonstrator, this 911 set the market buzzing, winning the UK’s inaugural rallycross and the British Saloon Car Championship in 1967 in...

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Heinrich Klie and the 914

Obviously these two attractive models from the lingerie manufacturer Triumph (München) like this Porsche 914/6 – Rutesheim Athletics Club, Baden-Württemberg, Germany (1969) Very different from previous production Porsches, the 914 was an attempt by Zuffenhausen to introduce a lower cost model. Commercially it was only a moderate success, but it’s...

People & Profiles

George Follmer the Stand-in Champion

Follmer was born in Phoenix in 1934, though effectively he became a Californian as his family moved to Pasadena before he was two years old and it was in this northern suburb of Los Angeles that he grew up and raised his own family. He was, he says, a reasonable...

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Porsche 956/962 at Le Mans – Logistics Part II

Le Mans 24 Hours, 18-19 June 1983: By midnight, the #3 Rothmans 956 of Vern Schuppan/Al Holbert/Hurley Haywood was leading the field by a lap after a seventh place start on the grid. With just an hour to go and with Holbert behind the wheel, the lead looked secure until...

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Porsche 956/962 Engines – Group C vs IMSA

Lined up for the photo shoot following scrutineering for the 1982 Le Mans 24 Hours are the three works Group C Porsche 956s – they would finish the race in the order of their racing numbers: the #1 finished first, the #2 was second and the #3 third In the...

Motorsport & Racing

Porsche 935/84 at the Daytona 24 Hours 1985 – The Last Hurrah

Official Daytona ’85 poster By 1981 at the earliest, and for sure by the 1983 season of sports car racing, it had become clear to most that the Porsche 935 was reaching the end of its useful racing life. While it had been a great car, it just could not...

PRR Yesteryear People & Profiles

Peter Seikel – the winning Porsche privateer

The Seikel Motorsport team last raced in the 2007 Le Mans, having participated on no less than eleven occasions in the 24-hour race. The team’s highlight in la Sarthe was in 2001 when they won the GT category, finishing sixth overall. No Subscription? You’re missing out Get immediate ad-free access...

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Porsche at Teloché, Le Mans – Logistics Part I

Le Mans 24 Hours, 23-24 June 1951: In the foreground of the workshop at Teloché is the #46 Porsche 356 SL driven by Edmond Mouche and Auguste Veuillet, while in the background is the #47 Porsche 356 SL which was damaged in practice by Rudolph Sauerwein Porsche has been represented...

Porsche Life

Mark Morgan is “Driven By Dreams”

If you were lucky enough to visit Rennsport Reunion 7 in Monterey, California, then chances are you gazed at one of Mark Morgan’s illustrations without even realizing it. An illustrator based in the U.K., Mark has mixed his passion for Porsche and his artistic talents to yield some truly exciting...

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Helmuth Bott – Porsche’s Quiet Engineer

The inspired engineer behind so much of Porsche’s success, Helmuth Bott has long remained the company’s eminence grise, but little has been written about him. Now, Porsche Road & Race, looks at both the professional and private life of one of Porsche’s most devoted servants, revered by his subordinates, but...

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Jürgen Barth – A Profile

Autograph card signed by Jürgen Barth (ca. 1980) More books have been written about Porsche than any other car company so the publication in English of another tome is hardly headline news until you realise that the author, exceptionally, is a Porsche insider, but not just any insider. Jürgen Barth...

RUF

Blue Wonder: Alois Ruf and the sixth 901 ever built

Alois Ruf Porsche Newsroom: As a teenager, Alois Ruf sees an early predecessor of the Porsche 911 on the autobahn, which ultimately ignites a lifelong passion. And what sounds like fiction is, in fact, actually true: around 50 years later, he discovers the car in Enamel Blue in his own...

Motorsport & Racing

New 3.8-litre 911 GT3 RSR triumphs at Le Mans 2007

Le Mans 24 Hours, 16-17 June 2007: Busy grid just before the start of the race Porsche introduced their new 3.8-litre 911 GT3 RSR (Type 997) for the 2007 season, replacing the 3.6-litre 996 GT3 RSR. In many ways, this new model was a better all-round race car, being more...

Motorsport & Racing

Porsche at Le Mans Part V: 1980 to 1994 the Transaxle years

Le Mans 24 Hours, 10-11 June 1978: The pace car, a Porsche 928, leads the field away followed by the #5 Porsche 936/78 (Ickx, Pescarolo, Mass), #1 Alpine Renault A443 (Jabouille, Depailler) and the #43 Porsche 935/78 ‘Moby Dick’ (Schurti, Stommelen). In 1978, the Porsche 928 was voted ‘Car of...

People & Profiles

Conversations with Peter Gregg

Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood won the 24 Hours of Daytona on 3/4 February 1973 driving this 911 Carrera RSR 2.8 Peter Gregg was the IMSA driver every one strived to beat. He started in the early ‘70s with Porsches and had done very well. He won the first championship...

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1971 Daytona 24 hours – Battle of the Giants

The Martini team run by Hans-Dieter Dechent had three cars, two to race, and one T-car. The #3 was driven by the two Austrians, Helmut Marko and Rudi Lins Some say this was the best Daytona 24 hour ever. It certainly was the closest finish up to that point in time....

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Porsche Type 64 – A Star is Born

Engineering drawing of the Porsche Type 64 (16 September 1938). Note the provision for two spare wheels in the front luggage compartment Often overlooked, the Porsche Type 64 holds a significant place in the history of Porsche sports cars. Great strides were taken in motor car performance during the 1920s...

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World’s longest motor race

Marathon de la Route, Nürburgring, 22-26 August 1967: Getting ready for the 1967 Marathon de la Route outside Werk 2 in Zuffenhausen – in the centre is Vic Elford, one of the winning drivers that year The Marathon de la Route, an 84-hour epic endurance race run between 1965-1971, was...

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Dr Ulrich Bez – father of the 993

Dr. Ulrich Bez (1988) Hailing from the Bad Cannstatt district of Stuttgart, Ulrich Bez, who as Porsche Technical supremo hatched the 993, had two significant stints at Porsche. During the 1970s he worked in research and was responsible for establishing Porsche’s crash test programme; in the 1980s, he followed Porsche’s...

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Porsche Carrera RS (Type 964)

Porsche 964 Carrera RS 3.6-litre (1992), January 2017 Porsche’s popular 911 model range has evolved hugely over the years, but a few iconic models stand out head and shoulders above the rest. In 1973, the Carrera RS 2.7 lifted the bar in the sports car market, but a decade and...

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961 – Porsche’s forgotten jewel

Group shot of (from L-R): Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar rally car; 959 road car; 961 race car (1986) The Porsche 961 was a special racing car. Based on the roadgoing technical showcase, the Porsche 959, the Type 961 showed that it had the stamina to go the distance in endurance racing...

Porsche 718 Porsche 718 W-RS Spyder PRR Yesteryear Featured Content & Premium Editorials

Grossmutter 718 W-RS Spyder – one of a kind

1961 Porsche 718 W-RS Spyder ‘Grossmutter’ (chassis #047) photographed at the Porsche Museum, May 2019 The word unique is a much-overused word today, as it is applied, it seems, to just about anything that is produced in small numbers, or even just to enhance a claim about something unusual. In...

Notable Chassis

Porsche’s fabulous 904/8 – Chassis #008

Porsche 904/8 (chassis #008) photographed in the Porsche Museum, September 2020 F.A. ‘Butzi’ Porsche, the eldest son of Ferry and Dorothea Porsche, joined the family business in 1958 having shown great interest in the field of industrial design. Working under the direction of Erwin Komenda, F.A. Porsche set about learning...

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Porsche 911 GT1 – The Grand Touring Meister

1997 Porsche 911 GT1-109 photographed in June 2016 Porsche 993 GT1 chassis #109 was one of just nine customer racing Porsche 911 GT1s built between 1996 and 1998. The 911 GT1 became the Grand Touring Meister when it triumphed in the 1998 Le Mans 24 Hours, but its route to...

Porsche History

We Are Porsche exhibit opens at the Petersen Museum

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People & Profiles

Ernst Fuhrmann – the inspiration behind the 911 Turbo

Ernst Fuhrmann at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 12 June 1977 Porsche’s first CEO is frequently maligned as the man who tried to kill off the 911. There is far more to his Porsche career than this misconception as he was the inspiration behind the 911 Turbo. This Porsche...

Porsche History

Dr. Wolfgang Porsche reflects on 75 years of Porsche

9:11 Podcast In the current episode of the 9:11 Porsche Podcast, Dr. Wolfgang Porsche talks about the company’s history, the current anniversary year, and his 80th birthday. Dr. Wolfgang Porsche embodies ‘75 years of Porsche sports cars in a very special way. He has witnessed the entire history of the...

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Jägermeister 934 – the Professional Hunter

Jägermeister Porsche 934 chassis #930 670 0167 The Jägermeister 934 is one of the most recognisable liveries in the world of motor racing. It adorned the bodies of some of the great race cars in the 1970s and 1980s, and irrespective of whether the car won a race or not,...

Porsche 911 Kremer Porsche 935 PRR Yesteryear Featured Content & Premium Editorials Notable Chassis

The many lives of the 935 K3/80 Red Baron

Kremer Porsche 935 K3/80 (chassis #0013) In the mid-70s, Porsche developed the 935 model, a race car homologated on the 930 road car and aimed at the Group 5 ‘silhouette’ series created by the FIA for the 1976 season. As the records will show, the 935 was a formidable race...

Porsche 911 Motorsport & Racing Porsche 935 PRR Yesteryear Featured Content & Premium Editorials

Batting .750 (3 for 4) – Le Mans 1979

All four of the Dick Barbour Racing Porsche 935s line up in the pits ahead of the 1979 Le Mans race, each with the Stars and Stripes draped over the rear wing. From left to right: #73 935/77 (934½) – John Hotchkiss, Bob Kirby and Bob Harmon; #72 935/77 –...

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Barn finds: 8 Interesting Porsche Classics That Slipped Through the Cracks.

The world of barn finds is an intriguing one, filled with hidden gems. It is a space littered with forgotten classics, each with its own unique story and just waiting to be discovered. Porsche has had its own fair share of this automotive ‘diamonds in the rough.’ From rust-covered racecars...

Porsche Life Yesteryear Porsche News Homepage Feature

Live stream event: 75 Years of Porsche sports cars

75 years of challenges and success Porsche is celebrating a success story that is characterized by a pioneering spirit, engineering acumen, and courage. 75 years ago, Ferry Porsche realized his dream of a sports car. With the Porsche 356 No.1 Roadster, he and his team laid the foundation for the...

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Roland Kussmaul

Rallye Paris-Dakar 1984: Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 4×4 (Type 953) – driven by (from L-R) #175 Jacky Ickx, #176 René Metge, #177 Roland Kussmaul For many years, the éminence grise of Porsche’s competition department, but now in retirement, Roland Kussmaul seems busier than ever. He left Porsche officially at the...

Porsche 911 Motorsport & Racing Porsche 935 PRR Yesteryear Featured Content & Premium Editorials

1981 Daytona 24 Hours – Preparation and Planning

Porsche’s 1981 Daytona 24-Hour winning poster A lot of people have asked me over the years, what is it like to plan, prepare for and run a 24-hour sports car race. It has changed somewhat over the years from the days of the Porsche 935 at the 1981 Daytona 24...

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Peter Falk – Porsche’s enduring engineer

Peter Falk sits on the sill of the famous #23 Porsche 917 KH Coupé, winner of the 1970 Le Mans 24 Hours. On this occasion it is located in the Porsche Museum Workshop on 28 June 2010 In a 34-year career at Porsche, the influence of Peter Falk – Porsche’s...

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Turbo vision: a revolution in engine construction

Incredibly successful in Le Mans Porsche was incredibly successful with the 917 in Le Mans and in the World Championship for Makes in 1970 and 1971. However, the governing body’s decision to only accept engines with a maximum displacement of three liters meant Porsche could not compete in the following...

Porsche History

Austro-Daimler ADS-R “Sascha“

Over a hundred years ago, Ferdinand Porsche designed an extraordinary race car, the Austro-Daimler ADS-R, in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. Today, Christophorus and 9:11 Magazine brings the former Targa Florio class champion, whose nickname is Sascha, back home. Following a vigorous turn of the crank, the gas pedal is applied ever...

Engines

Porsche twin-cam 6-cylinder engine

Corsica Rally, 1967: Vic Elford and David Stone driving a Porsche 911 2.0 R Not a company to stand still for long, Porsche was constantly looking for ways to improve its engines in the ‘60s. Somehow the Type 916 twin-cam 6-cylinder engine always seemed to miss the limelight…not anymore! The...

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2023 RADwood Los Angeles

If you think post-war sports cars or muscle cars from the late 1960s are the staple of the collector car industry, it’s time to broaden your horizons. 80s and 90s enthusiast cars have recently forged their own niche in the collector car world, and appreciation of the period’s shining stars...

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Hairy monsters – the Porsche 917/10 Can-Am Spyder

1973 Vasek Polak Porsche 917/10-018 Cam-Am Spyder driven by Jody Scheckter Jody Scheckter was born in East London on the east coast of South Africa, a sleepy seaside town that actually carried the honour of being the country’s motorsport centre up until the early 1960s. In 1973, Scheckter, by then...

Notable Chassis

Martini Porsche 917-042 – Le Mans record breaker

#21 Martini Porsche 917 LH (chassis #042) was driven by Gerard Larrousse and Vic Elford in the 1971 Le Mans 24 Hour race – DNF, lost engine cooling fan From 1964 through to 1969, Porsche lifted its game from being a class winner to setting international lap speed and endurance...

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Hippie Porsche power launches a Le Mans legacy

Simeone Foundation Museum – 1970 Porsche 917-043 While diplomats and cartographers may technically show the roads around Le Mans as French soil, Porsche has laid claim to the winding bit of pavement that comprises the race track and especially victory lane. Since 1951, when a silver Porsche 356 clocked up...

Porsche 911 Motorsport & Racing Porsche 935 PRR Yesteryear Featured Content & Premium Editorials Notable Chassis

Porsche 935/2.0 ‘Baby’

The 1977 #40 Martini Porsche 935/2.0 Baby (chassis #935 2 001) photographed at the Porsche Museum, Stuttgart, Germany in May 2017 Ernst Fuhrmann’s requirement to develop a significantly updated GT race car in 1977, would present a number of challenges for the Porsche race department. Just to make things interesting,...

Porsche LMP2000

Porsche brings LMP 2000 back to life

A journey back in time to 1999 begins with a roll-out on the Weissach Development Centre test track. The LMP 2000 was originally designed to take victory at the Le Mans 24. However, midway through the development, the company decided, for budgetary reasons, to discontinue the project after the car...

Porsche History

Porsche Celebrates 75 Years Of Chasing Goals And Fulfilling Dreams

Porsche Celebrates 75 Years It’s a big year for Porsche as the famed manufacturer celebrates 75 years of engineering excellence and constantly pushing boundaries. To kick off the celebrations, the marque has released a short video to highlight what makes the brand so successful – the desire to follow dreams...

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Finding the ‘Ratt’

Le Mans 24 Hours, 14-15 June 1975: Porsche 9083 in the paddock ahead of the race (copyright Yves Ronga) When I’m not helping to sell the occasional old race car, or visiting old race car meetings, I’ve usually got my head down, researching various projects for clients, usually to do...

Motorsport & Racing

Jean Behra – Porschiste

Jean Behra following his accident at Caracas 3 November 1957 Staring out of period black and white photographs, Jean Behra’s handsome, but battered face tells its own story: a combative soul who seemed to thrive only when living on the ragged edge and for whom an exploit was either going...

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A Sting in the Tale

Le Mans 24 Hours, 31 May-1 June 1986: Start of the race – Porsches dominate the lead group In Part 1, Stories from Le Mans – with a Porsche flavour, our intrepid scribbler who hails from that beautiful part of South Africa, the Western Cape, shares with us some hilarious...

Motorsport & Racing

The Old Men’s Return: Porsche 944 in the Firehawk Series

Launching the Firehawk Series For the 1985 Sports Car Racing scene in the USA, IMSA had decided to start a new series. This would be a “Showroom Stock” series, basically running stock dealer road cars with roll cages and basic safety equipment. The series was called the Firestone Firehawk Series,...

Motorsport & Racing

Pulling the Rabbit out of the hat – 1980 IMSA Portland

The cars come around for the start – Fitzpatrick (left) and Moretti (right) lead the pack By the time the Dick Barbour Racing team arrived in Portland for the Rose Cup IMSA race in August of 1980, we were in good spirits. The week before at the Sears Point IMSA...

People & Profiles

Arno Bohn – The Porsche Outsider

Arno Bohn at Weissach with the 968 Cabriolet (1991) Arno Bohn was managing director of Porsche from 1990-92. An outsider who came from the computer industry, he arrived at a company seared by falling sales and riven by internal division about future direction. He left a Porsche which though still...

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Doing things right – Le Mans 1990

The 962 C in the 1990 Le Mans driven by David Sears, Tiff Needell and Anthony Reid. It finished third overall Le Mans 1990 was a whole new ballgame. The circuit had changed drastically. The famous Mulsanne straight was now going to have two chicanes in the middle of it....

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1973 Daytona 24 Hour – An auspicious debut for the Porsche Carrera RSR

Daytona 24 Hours, 3-4 February 1973: The start 1973 Daytona 24 hours led by John Watson in the Mirage on pole 1973 saw a return to normality for the Daytona 24-hour race. The distance was set back at 24 hours, after running only a 6-hour length in 1972. Ferrari in...

Motorsport & Racing PRR Yesteryear

Porsche at Le Mans Part III: 1969 to 1971

‘Production line racer’ – in their quest to produce 25 running cars in time for the inspection by the FIA, Porsche pulled out all the stops as evidenced by the activity in this image The name Porsche is synonymous with the world’s toughest endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le...

Motorsport & Racing

Porsche and the Triple Crown of endurance racing

Le Mans 24 Hours, 13-14 June 1970: A jubilant Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood are given a ride on the back of a truck as they celebrate Porsche’s first victory in the French endurance race There are three Sports Car endurance races that have been run over the past sixty-plus...

Motorsport & Racing

What is your favourite Porsche Le Mans livery?

Le Mans 24 Hour, 13-14 June 2015: Lined up prior to the formation lap are (from L-R) – the #18 Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Marc Lieb/Romain Dumas/Neel Jani (finished 5th); #17 Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Timo Bernhard/Brendon Hartley/Mark Webber (finished 2nd); #19 Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Earl...

PRR

The Spyder spins its web

Autosport 1000 km, Silverstone, 14 September 2008: In the fifth and final round of the 2008 Le Mans Series season, the #34 Porsche RS Spyder was driven by Peter Van Merksteijn and Jos Verstappen and finished first in the LMP2 class and fifth overall, ahead of a brace of LMP1...

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Winning Kreepy Krauly March-Porsche 83G GTP

Daytona 24 Hours, 4-5 February 1984: Sarel van der Merwe, Graham Duxbury and Tony Martin drove a fine race to bring the #00 Kreepy Krauly March-Porsche 83G/04 home in first place overall, nine laps ahead of the second-placed car Although it is not widely known, one of the most successful...

People & Profiles

Never a dull moment – the career of Toine Hezemans

Toine Hezemans in his Brussels home, 2015 One of the Netherlands’ most successful racers, Toine Hezemans is part of a motorsport dynasty that began with his father who raced Porsches in the 1950s. This family tradition continued with Toine who began racing 911s in the late ‘60s, but after his...

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Mike de ‘Udy and the Carrera Six

The formidable Carrera 6 outside the Porsche headquarters, Stuttgart Zuffenhausen, 1966 The Carrera Six, as Porsche officially called the 906, was a radically different car from its predecessor, the 904 GTS. The 904 was a sleek glass fibre bodied racer penned by Butzi Porsche, and it took over as Porsche’s...

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Porsche congratulates motorsport legend Hans Herrmann

Hans Herrmann at the Retro Classics in Stuttgart, Germany 2010 Hans Herrmann, one of the most successful and popular racing drivers to join the Porsche AG works team, celebrates his 90th birthday this year on February 23. The endurance and Monoposto specialist, born in Stuttgart in 1928, is regarded as...

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Tilman Brodbeck remembers

Tilman Brodbeck poses with a 1973 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Coupé (left) and a 911 Sport Classic (right) – 21 September 2009 To be able to write on your résumé that you worked for one of Porsche’s CEOs would be quite an achievement. Tilman Brodbeck can however do a little...

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The Sonderwunsch Man – Rolf Sprenger

A huge banner adorns the side of this high bay warehouse in Werk 2, announcing the 25th anniversary exhibition of Exclusive from 1st March to 1st May 2011 Rolf Sprenger was a versatile engineer whose Porsche career was founded almost entirely on customer service. “If I want a trailer (caravan)...

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Group C Reunited in Leipzig After 40 Years

After 40 years, the most successful Porsche race car – the Porsche 956 – ever was reunited with its drivers in Leipzig. Now 81 years old, British Derek Bell is still the elegant gentleman he was decades ago. 40 years after the fact, Bell finally admits that he and the...

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