Le Mans 24 Hours Featured Archives

World’s most famous 917?

Le Mans, the movie This Porsche 917K was immortalized as the race winner in Steve McQueen’s 1971 film Le Mans, and was the Gulf-Porsche works entry for Mike Hailwood and David Hobbs in the 1970 Le Mans 24 Hours. An icon among icons, this 917K is an incomparable example of...

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Turbos, batteries, and the French countryside

Much of what Porsche learns in motor racing benefits the production models and thus the customers. The story of the sports car manufacturer is full of notable examples – clearly illustrated with turbo technology and the 24 Hours of Le Mans through to the new 911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid. The...

Porsche 718 RSK Spyder

1959 Porsche 718 RSK Spyder “Lucybelle III”

Regarding 1950s Porsche Spyders, the sheer number of podium finishes reveal a tale of one the greatest sports cars ever built. Considered by many to be the most beautiful of all the Spyder variants, the Type 718 RSK won its class at the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours...

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1979 Le Mans winning Porsche 935

In a garage full of legendary vehicles, one in particular stands out: the Porsche 935. The Porsche 935 was the first rear-engine race car to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. On the occasion of the classic car’s centennial, we visited the 1979 winning vehicle in its current owner’s...

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The Dauer Deception

One of the most colorful episodes in the history of Porsche was their 13th Le Mans victory in 1994 with the racing version of a road car derived from a racing car. This hubris served the car company well and less so a participant. This was the car that Porsche...

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1973 3-litre Martini Porsche Carrera RSR

Background In the early 1970s, a new European Grand Touring Championship gave the competition 911s a fresh lease of life. This model almost completely filled race grids. By the Autumn of 1972, Porsche launched its new 911 ‘Carrera’ with engine capacity raised from 2.4 to 2.7-litres, and a batch of...

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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....

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Carrera 924 – A Flawed Excellence

We have partnered with Sports Car Digest to bring amazing Porsche content from the SCD archives to Stuttcars. This piece was originally published on February 2, 2015 and is here for Stuttcars members to enjoy! The first efforts with the 924 rally car involved a non-turbo version, the Monte Carlo...

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1977 Porsche 936—Against All Odds

In 1977, Porsche’s “improvised” Type 936/77 took on the full-court press of four Renaults at Le Mans. Retirements and technical troubles suggested that winning was out of the question. But neither its drivers nor Porsche number 4 believed that. Against strong opposition from Alpine-Renault and Alfa Romeo, Porsche took the...

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A Win That Counted: 1998 Le Mans 24

With Stuttgart neighbor Mercedes on the rampage, Porsche had trouble on the track in the late 1990s GT1 era. But when it was essential to pull out a win at Le Mans to celebrate Porsche’s 50 years of making cars, the GT1/98 had what it took. Planning for Le Mans...

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...

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Sebring Climber – 1967 Porsche 910-04

The terms Porsche and racing have now become virtually synonymous. In no small part, this is due to the German manufacturer’s stunning 19 overall victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans—more than any other manufacturer. However, the keen enthusiast will know that it took Porsche almost 20 years to...

Motorsport & Racing

Unlikely Le Mans Winner…Twice—1995 Porsche WSC-95 Spyder

Accused of sandbagging at Daytona, two WSC-95 spyders were in storage until called to duty by Team Joest. Porsches by adoption, they took two straight victories at Le Mans in 1996 and ’97 in some of the company’s most improbable successes. “Buoyed by our success at the 1994 Le Mans,”...

Motorsport & Racing

Porsche: The Legends of Le Mans

#19 Porsche 919 LMP1-Hybrid, winner of the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 24 Hours of Le Mans. Even just the name evokes memories of classic races, unbelievable tragedy, and some of the fiercest battles ever fought over an 8.5 mile (13.6 KM) stretch of road known as “le Circuit de la Sarthe.” These hallowed grounds are where Porsche ultimately proved their...

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Porsche 356 SL at Le Mans

Porsche 356 SL bodies lined up in the Reutter workshop (Werk 2) in 1951. This facility was used as the Porsche race department in the early days The date was 23 June 1951, and sixty race cars lined up at 16h00 for the start of the nineteenth running of the...

Le Mans 24 Hours Motorsport & Racing PRR Featured Content & Premium Editorials

The Day of Reckoning: 2021 Le Mans 24 Hours

The start of the 89th Le Mans 24 Hours gets underway in the wet, with Derek Bell leading the field in the Porsche 911 pace car. The weather had been warm all week, but on race day, the heavens opened just in time for the start, which meant the formation...

Le Mans 24 Hours

The Le Mans Film

Movie star and racing driver Steve McQueen had an idea to make a film based on the Le Mans 24H racing. He had a personal Porsche 908 K Flunder Spyder (chassis 908-022) in which he had scored second in 1970 Sebring 12H. For the Le Mans the car was converted...

Porsche History

Porsche at Le Mans

Porsche at Le Mans – The Ultimate Guide to Every Year & Every Result Circuit de la Sarthe is situated 130 miles/209 km west of Paris beside the city of Le Mans in the Sarthe county. The circuit is mostly a combination of country roads closed for the race, but...

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...

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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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...

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

Porsche Le Mans 24 hours winner: 1970-2017

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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...

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...

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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 News

50 Years of the Porsche 917 – Colours of Speed

The Porsche 917-001 will be shown in the Porsche Museum for the first time in its original condition My 2019 European Expedition had been organised for some months, which was to take in the WEC Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours (1-4 May) followed by almost a week in Stuttgart (5-10 May). It...

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Porsche 911 ST 2.5

Porsche 911 ST 2.5: Thomas Imhof, Jürgen Barth and Michael Keyser © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale It landed on my desk one day, unannounced and unexpected. The package was large and covered in stickers and labels, suggesting that there was something important contained within. Indeed, a frantic exercise followed to open...

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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 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...

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...

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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 962 Porsche History Porsche 956 PRR

Porsche 956/962 remembered

The ‘white, red and blue’ 956 LHs line up at Weissach ready for their onslaught at the Le Mans 24-Hour 1982 The decline of Group 6 and the growth of Group C saw the emergence of what is today widely regarded as the most entertaining and successful era in modern...

The Story

The 911 GT1 – White Lightning!

This angle shows the sweeping lines of the 911 GT1/98 Strassenversion The origins of the 1998 Porsche 911 GT1 Le Mans winner can be traced back to a roadgoing version of the Group C 962 launched five years earlier. In order to homologate the 911 GT1/98, the FIA required a...

Porsche 911 Porsche 935 PRR Yesteryear Featured Content & Premium Editorials

Porsche 935/78 Moby Dick – A Legend in its own Time

Porsche 935-78 Moby Dick (chassis 935/78.006 ), photographed at the Porsche Warehouse in May 2017 Group 5 rules offered manufacturers a great deal of freedom to modify their cars in the Silhouette class. At Porsche, Norbert Singer pushed the rules to the limit, and gave us the Porsche 935/78 Moby...

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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...

Notable Chassis

Works Porsche (Chassis #962-006)

Rothmans Porsche 962C (chassis #006) 1987 Le Mans 24 Hour winner photographed at Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, May 2017 The Porsche 956 and its successor the 962, are widely and justifiably regarded as the most successful sports racing prototypes of their era, and quite possibly ever. Over a period of...

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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...

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...

Notable Chassis

Porsche 935 009 00030 – The Old Warhorse

Porsche 935 chassis no. 009 00030, the Old Warhorse speeds up the hill at the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed with Brian Redman at the helm This is a story of the incredible career of Porsche 935 009 00030, one of the most amazing race cars ever, or as someone...

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...

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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....

Porsche 911 Motorsport & Racing Porsche 911 (991)WEC 991 RSR

Porsche’s road to Le Mans

Sixty-six years ago, on 24 June 1951, the first Porsche was pushed tentatively onto the starting grid of the 1951 Le Mans 24 Hour race. The lone, diminutive 356 SL would finish in a remarkable twentieth place overall. Fifty-one years ago, on 19 June 1966, the first Porsche 911 would...

Le Mans 24 Hours Porsche 911 Motorsport & Racing Porsche 935 PRR Yesteryear Featured Content & Premium Editorials

Not very “Aerodynameek” and a few too many – Le Mans 1982

Porsche 935 at Mulsanne corner at Le Mans

Martin Raffauf and Chris Hill look under the car with the ACO inspectors. Mechanic Jeff Lateer looks on with the camera. Tech inspection went very well for the 935 as we had Annie Verney with us to “discuss” any issues with the ACO as we proceeded. The Garretson Developments Sports...

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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...

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...

Yesteryear

Porsche at Le Mans Part I: 1951 to 1963

The name Porsche is synonymous with the world’s toughest endurance race, the 24-Hours of Le Mans, boasting an unbroken run of 65 years. During this time, they have amassed 18 victories. This is Part I of their story… The Veuillet/Mouche 356 SL proved reliable on its Le Mans debut in...

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