Story by Glen Smale. All images courtesy of © Porter Press Int. Porsche’s Type 956, 962 and 962C is the world’s most successful prototype race car ever produced. Developed specifically for the Group C class that ran between 1982 and 1992, and the IMSA series in the USA, these three versions...
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...
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...
Bob Wollek and Darren Brassfield drive the rebuilt chassis 108 to 14th overall at West Pam Beachin 1987. Mauro Baldi in the B.F. Goodrich 962 during the Daytona 24 Hour race of 1988.Photo: Lee Self The Porsche 962, which first saw the track in 1984, is one of the all-time...
Edited by Rex McAfee, Photos © Canepa A Legend is Born: When something great comes along, people scramble at every opportunity to be a part of it, and the Porsche 962 in IMSA was no exception. With approximately 16 total Porsche factory-built IMSA-spec customer cars delivered, it’s easy to say...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Daytona 24 Hours, 4-5 February 1989: The #86 Porsche 962 of Klaus Ludwig, James Weaver and Sarel van der Merwe, makes its way along the Daytona banking I was really looking forward to the 1989 Daytona 24 Hour race. I had been working as a weekend warrior for Bruce Leven’s...
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 Porsche 928 was launched in 1978 – this is a 1980 model The Porsche company, now 30 years old in 1978, had moved from being the small-scale manufacturing company to being a significant player, albeit in a niche market. The front-engined transaxle 924 model, introduced in 1976, was now...
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....
Hans Stuck at the wheel on the way to winning Sebring in 1986. His co-drivers were Jo Gartner and Bob Akin. (Porsche 962 chassis #962-113) The 2.6-litre Porsche 956 which raced in the 1982/1983 seasons in Europe, was not accepted for racing in the USA, and so the 962 was...