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 revered endurance motor race. Porsche’s first year of participation at Le Mans was back in 1951 when the company was just three years old, but it would have to wait nineteen years before it could claim its first overall … [Read more...]
Dauer Porsche 962 LM GT #001
As the Dauer Porsche 962 LM GT celebrates its 25th anniversary (1994-2019), PORSCHE ROAD & RACE looks back at how this car came to exist at all. It wasn’t built in the spirit of the regulations ACO race director Alain Bertaut argued, as they tried everything in their power to get the car outlawed. But the Dauer Porsche 962 LM GT was built to the letter of the law. … [Read more...]
Porsche 956 & 962 Owners’ Workshop Manual
It is a well-known fact that the Porsche 956 & 962 derivatives were together the most successful sports prototypes that have ever turned a wheel. So totally dominant were these cars during the Group C era (1982-1992), that a driver needed to ask himself a simple question – do I want to win or not? If the answer was ‘yes’ then he needed to get himself behind the wheel of a … [Read more...]
The Hillsborough (California) Concours d’ Elegance
The Hillsborough (California) Concours d’ Elegance, on 21 July 2019, has been held for 63 years. It started in 1956 and is reportedly the longest running consecutive (in years) Concours in existence. It is held in Hillsborough California, a well-to-do suburb south of San Francisco. It’s well supported by local companies and organisations, in fact it is put on to support local … [Read more...]
Porsche 956/962 engines – Group C vs IMSA
In the early 1980’s there was a divergence in the rules for sports car racing world-wide. IMSA (International Motor Sports Association) in the USA proceeded with the GTP concept. The GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) was a prototype car using street car based engines. By 1982, the FIA was moving to a fuel based formula for sports cars. Porsche knew the 935 was no longer competitive … [Read more...]
From a 356 to the latest 991.2 GT3 Clubsport
They were all there, from a Pre-A 356 to the latest 991.2 GT3 Clubsport, by way of the most mouth-watering collection of 911s, 956 and 962s, including the indomitable 917. The occasion was the first Rennsport Collective display, open to the public, with quite simply the most sensational and compelling presentation of Porsches you could hope to see. The setting was the 230-year … [Read more...]
What is your favourite Porsche Le Mans livery?
In the week leading up to the Le Mans Test Day, Porsche announced their new liveries for the 24-hour race on 15-16 June. In response to this announcement, we ask you, the reader, what your favourite Porsche Le Mans livery is. It might be the current crop of cars, or it might be one from the ‘70s, it doesn’t matter, just let us know which is your favourite. In the early … [Read more...]
Air-Cooled Magic in a Land of Make Believe
There was an obvious irony to Luftgekühlt 6. Somehow an event devoted to the gravitas and authenticity of the air-cooled Porsche era took the spotlight among the Universal Studios back lots in Hollywood which is made up of facades cleverly designed to reflect almost any time and place. Essentially, a land of make believe, ideal for a bit of air-cooled magic… At every … [Read more...]
It’s been a long journey – the Norbert Singer interview
Norbert Singer must rank as one of the most successful race engineers in Porsche’s long and glittering motorsport history. Porsche Road & Race spoke to him about his four-decade career with Porsche, the race cars he helped develop and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “It’s been a long journey,” Norbert Singer said with a smile, and how right he was. Growing up in the 1950s and … [Read more...]
A Sting in the Tale
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 and revealing stories from his many trips to Le Mans. Richard Wiley, a lifelong motoring journalist, has always loved Le Mans, Group C and especially the Porsches of that era. A sting in the tale, … [Read more...]
