Targa Florio Archives

From Test Hack to Cinderella: the Porsche 911 Carrera RSR at the 1973 Targa Florio

Having spent its early days as a test and development hack, this 911 Carrera RSR rose to the occasion when pressed into action in the final Targa Florio. 1973 was significant for a couple of reasons. The first is that on 3 April that year, the first mobile call was made by...

Germany’s Quart and a Half Brigade

Porsche’s Spyders stole the limelight, but in the 1950s they had serious rivals in both BMW and EMW, who produced serious 1½-liter machinery. Their battles on both sides of the Iron Curtain were the stuff of legend. A liter and a half—more or less a quart and a half—isn’t much...

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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...

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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...

Model In Depth

Porsche 356 B Carrera GS/GT ‘Dreikantschaber’ (1963)

One of the most confused of all Porsche is this DKS or Dreikantschaber. It might appear like a mid-engine RS61 Coupe, but it is a rebodied 356B with a rear-mounted engine. Unlike the earlier 356s, this one featured fared-in driving lights and cut-off greenhouse reminiscent of of the RS61 coupe. Porsche didn't give this new a car a name since it was homologated and considered a Carrera 2 by the FIA. It was nicknamed Dreikantschaber.

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...

Rescue – The Story of How the Safety Car Came to Motor Sport

Motor racing has always involved risk for the drivers, and sometimes for spectators too, as was seen to horrific effect The chaotic scene just after the #88 car of Huhn/Schwarz crashed at the Nürburgring in 1970. Photo: Porsche Werk in the disaster that occurred at the 1955 Le Mans 24...

People & Profiles

Richard Attwood – eight decades young and still going strong

Richard Attwood relaxing between stints in the Drivers’ Paddock during the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed On 4 April this year, Richard Attwood will celebrate his 80th birthday, but speaking to him just a few months back about his win at Kyalami in ’69, you would not have thought as...

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...

Book Reviews

SportErfolge

SportErfolge: by Tony Adriaensens – page photographs by © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale Simply titled, SportErfolge (English: Success in Sport), this book came my way quite by surprise. It is not a book I knew anything about until I spotted it on the internet, and decided to look for a copy....

PRR Book Reviews

Sports Car Racing in Camera 1960-69

Sports Car Racing in Camera 1960-1969 © Behemoth Publishing There will be few who would argue that the decade of the 1960s was one of the most innovative and exciting periods in modern motor racing. It was a time that was both brutal and evocative at the same time, as...

PRR Book Reviews

Targa Florio – 20th Century Epic

Targa Florio – 20th Century Epic: Pino Fondi & Gianni Cancellieri © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale Mention the words ‘Targa Florio’ and any motorsport enthusiast’s thoughts will drift off to those tortuous roads, tight bends, sheer drops, villages crowded with eager spectators standing on pavements with race cars rushing by just...

911 Carrera RSR 2.8

Targa Florio retraced

The life of Jonkheer Gijsbert “Gijs” van Lennep is by no means short of special moments. In 1971, he won the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche 917, repeating the feat in 1976 in the Porsche 936. He drove in Formula 1 and won the sports car...

Vintage Racecar Articles

Vic Elford, Part 2

Last month, European Editor Ed McDonough spoke with Vic Elford about his first Formula One encounters, and his Ford and Porsche days in rallying. This month the story continues, and Elford talks about the legendary Porsche 917 which he drove at Le Mans and Sebring, where he won in 1971....

Porsche Video PRR

Video: Targa Florio 1959

Video: Targa Florio 1959 – This is original historical Porsche Archive footage, 5 minutes long, full of atmosphere, real racing with real cars. Enjoy! No Subscription? You’re missing out Get immediate ad-free access to all our premium content. Get Started Already a Member? Sign in to your account here....

996 Turbo: Champion of a New Era

Le Mans 2025: Ferrari Wins, But Porsche Made Them Work for It

Porsche 993 Mid-Engine ‘Fabcar’: Fueled By Innovation

Targa Florio