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Porsche 956 Guide

To correspond with Group C racing first introduced by the FIA, Porsche launched the 956 as its top race car. In 1983 FIA had announced a new rule for the coming 1984 season – maximum allowed average fuel consumption of 51 L/100 km instead of earlier 60 L/100 km. As a result Porsche upgraded the 956, creating the 956 B with Bosch electronic fuel injection.

The Porsche 956 was a Group C sports-prototype racing car designed by Norbert Singer and built by Porsche in 1982 for the FIA World Sportscar Championship. It was later upgraded to the 956B in 1984. In 1983, driven by Stefan Bellof, this car established a record that would stand for 35 years, lapping the famed 20.832 km (12.93 mi) Nürburgring Nordschleife in 6:11.13 during qualifying for the 1000 km Sports Car race.
In 1984 Porsche offered a full works-specification car known as the 956B. This provided the New-Man Joest Racing team with a winning formula and they dominated the 1985 24 Hours of Le Mans with a resounding victory. One of the main differences between the customer 956 and the 956B was the Bosch Motronic engine management. This allowed more precise ignition and injection which in turn provided better economy and more power.

Notable Porsche 956 Cars & Chassis #s

There were ten 956 'Works Rothmans' factory chassis numbers. The factory still owns chassis #002. Both chassis #004 and #010 were used as crash test mules. Chassis #005 was broken up for spares, while #00' was a wind tunnel and development car that never raced. Chassis #007 was crashed at the Nurburgring in 1983 and now restored. Chassis #003 won Le Mans in 1983. Chassis #009 is the 1984 championship winning car. There we also many Porsche 956 Customer cars with over a dozen being built in total. Numbers start at 956-101 and this comprised of the Fitzpatrick, Kremer, Lloyd and Joest teams, plus a car for the German Obermaeir team. Of a total batch of 8 examples initially constructed, chassis #101 went to Kremer, #102 to Fitzpatrick, #103 to the American Preston Henn team - to go on to race in Japan. Chassis #104 and #105 went to the Joest team, Chassis #106 to Richard Lloyd, chassis #107 was kept by the works as a test bed for their TAG formula 1 engine. Chassis #108 went directly to the TRUST team to race purely in Japan and chassis #9 went to Obermaier. Fitzpatrick ordered a second car to compete at Le Mans that year, team Brun joined 956 owners in July and the final car went straight in to the Japan based Matsuda collection.

Porsche 956B-115
​Porsche 956B-115 (1984) Mechanically the same as 956/114 it was bought and run by Porsche Kremer. It’s big claim to fame was leading Le...
​Porsche 956-008 Works
​Porsche 956-008 Works (1983) A Rothmans factory 956 newly built for the 1983 Le Mans. Driven by the stellar German pairing of Stefan Bellof...
​Porsche 956-110 (1983)
​Porsche 956-110 (1983) One of just two privateer 956’s to beat the Works Rothmans 956, 956-110 is a super original, highly successful car and...
​Porsche 956B-114
​Porsche 956-110 (1983) A rare bird, even by 956 standards, this is one of just four chassis built for the world championship to what...

Porsche 956 Data & Research

We dig into some of the data surrounding the Porsche 956, including production numbers, specifications, chassis numbers and much more.

Porsche 956 Pictures, Galleries & Wallpapers

The Porsche 956 is all about technology and performance but at the same time it is still one sexy looking race car. Enjoy the design and all the little details in these Porsche 956 picture galleries.

Porsche 956 News & Updates

Recent auctions, awesome review videos and all the latest news and posts regarding anything to do with the Porsche 956.

Having just experienced the seventh Rennsport Reunion at Weathertech Raceway, Laguna Seca, it’s clear absolutely nothing would get in the...
​Porsche 956B-114
​Porsche 956-110 (1983) A rare bird, even by 956 standards, this is one of just four chassis built for the...
​Porsche 956-110 (1983)
​Porsche 956-110 (1983) One of just two privateer 956’s to beat the Works Rothmans 956, 956-110 is a super original,...
Porsche 956B-115
​Porsche 956B-115 (1984) Mechanically the same as 956/114 it was bought and run by Porsche Kremer. It’s big claim to...

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