- Anniversaries
- Mar, 05 – 8th birthday of the 991 GT3 (2013)
- Mar, 05 – 18th birthday of the Carrera GT (2003)
- Mar, 06 – 9th birthday of the Boxster 981 (2012)
- Mar, 12 – 52nd birthday of the 917 (1969)
- Mar, 13 – 60th birthday of Ferdinand Oliver Porsche (1961)
Porsche 961 (1986)
Premiere: May 9, 1986 Le Mans test day
The Porsche 961 was the racing version of the 959 supercar. While the 959 rallye car was also internally called 961, publically only the circuit racer was called 961. Only one 961 was built. It had 959 prototype chassis number which in turn was from the 1985 911 Turbo chassis number sequence: WP0ZZZ93ZFS010016.




The 961 was entered at the 1986 Le Mans 24 hour race. Uncommonly, the 24 hour race was scheduled for May 31-June 1 that year, two weeks earlier of the typical Le Mans weekend in the middle of June.


The 961 was the first 4WD car to race at Le Mans. In reality, most of the engine power was sent to the rear axle. The 961 did well and finished 7th driven by Claude Ballot-Léna and René Metge (Metge had won the Paris-Dakar rallye with the 959 in the beginning of the year). Six cars in front of the 961 were all Group C Porsches, so the 961 took the maximum out of the race. The 961 had the 936/956/962 Group C racer engine with 24 valves and water-cooled heads.

The 961 was raced only one more time in 1986, at the Daytona 3 hour race, but without success.

For 1987 Le Mans, the power of the 961 was raised from 471 kW (640 DIN hp) to around 500 kW (680 DIN hp).






With the enormous power and 1150 kg (2535 lb), the 961 should have been fast, but it didn't get a solid qualification time and in the race the drive shafts broke more than once. Thanks to 4WD, the car could return to the pits for repairs. In the morning, the car was crashed. Visually it wasn't damaged too badly and looked repairable, but fire started in the engine room, ending the Le Mans for it.

The 961 was restored and given to Porsche Museum collection.

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