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You are here: Home / Featured / What is your favourite Porsche Le Mans livery?

What is your favourite Porsche Le Mans livery?

31st May 2019 by: Glen Smale | 3 Comments

Lined up prior to the formation lap are (from L-R) – the #18, #17 and #19 Porsche 919 Hybrid
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 Bamber/Nick Tandy/Nico Hülkenberg (winners)

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.

The green-nosed #41 907 LH of Jo Siffert and Hans Herrmann #40 907 LH of Gerhard Mitter and Jochen Rindt lines up before the start
Le Mans 24 Hour, 10-11 June 1967: The green-nosed #41 907 LH of Jo Siffert and Hans Herrmann lines up before the start of the race (finished 5th). The purple-nosed #40 907 LH of Gerhard Mitter and Jochen Rindt can be seen just behind

In the early years, Porsche race cars were mostly bare aluminium (silver), this was done to reduce manufacturing time and also weight (no paint). This trend continued with Porsche right up until 1966 when the 906s (many were white) began to wear a coloured panel in the front with matching rocker panels, to help with vehicle identification when they came into the pits. The 907s the following year were given green, purple, blue yellow or red front panels, and this colour trend continued through 1968 and 1969 with the 908s and 917s.

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In the workshop in Teloché before the race is the #23 917 KH and #3 ‘Hippie’ Martini 917 LH
Le Mans 24 Hour, 13-14 June 1970: In the workshop in Teloché before the race is the eventual race winner, the #23 917 KH and the #3 ‘Hippie’ Martini 917 LH which finished second

Then in 1970, something happened! More colours and crazy, psychedelic patterns burst onto the scene, and the racing world has not been the same since. Although sponsorships had been a part of motor racing for many years, the 1970s saw an explosion of advertising on race cars, some just in the form of stickers but some cars took on a total expression of colour that had not been seen before. Take for example the well-known ‘Hippie’ Martini Porsche 917 of 1970, this car is still spoken about today and referred to in innumerable books and magazine articles.

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The #3 ‘Hippie’ Martini 917 LH driven by Gérard Larrousse/Willi Kauhsen finished second
Le Mans 24 Hour, 13-14 June 1970: The #3 ‘Hippie’ Martini 917 LH driven by Gérard Larrousse/Willi Kauhsen finished second

This colourful development is the subject of our feature today where we are asking what your favourite Porsche Le Mans livery is. Referring again to the ‘Hippie’ Porsche 917 from 1970, the fact that we are still talking about this car and so many other memorable colour schemes almost five decades on, speaks for itself. Similarly, we can talk about the Martini Porsche 935 ‘Moby Dick’ which also carried one of Porsche’s most loved liveries. With this in mind, do you think you will remember the corporate colours of the current 911 RSR in a few years’ time, and talk about these cars in the same way that you talk about the 1971 Porsche 917 ‘Sau’, or the Martini 911 Carrera RSR Turbo from 1974, or the Boss 956, Marlboro 956, Hawaiian Tropic 956, the Shell/Dunlop 962, Leyton House, and Kenwood? More recently, the Flying Lizard 911 GT3 RSR comes to mind as one of the more creative liveries…and so the list goes on.

Le Mans 24 Hour, 12-13 June 1971: The Porsche 917/20 ‘Sau’ driven by Willi Kauhsen/Reinhold Joest retired after 180 laps following an accident. Here the car forms part of an exhibition in the Porsche Museum, Stuttgart (15 February 2010)
Le Mans 24 Hour, 11-12 June 1977: The race winner this year was the #4 936/77 driven by Jürgen Barth/Hurley Haywood/Jacky Ickx. Here the car is photographed in the Porsche Museum Workshop, Stuttgart
One of the favourite liveries for Porsche lovers is the #43 935/78 Moby Dick
Le Mans 24 Hour, 10-11 June 1978: One of the favourite liveries for Porsche lovers is the #43 935/78 Moby Dick, which finished eighth in the hands of Manfred Schurti/Rolf Stommelen. It is photographed here in Porsche’s ‘secret’ warehouse (May 2017)

Porsche followers will recall how last year at Le Mans, the Stuttgart manufacturer revived two of its older but still very familiar liveries for two of the 911 RSRs, the pink ‘Sau’ livery from the 1971 Porsche 917/20 and the Rothmans Racing livery from the Group C days. In the USA the famous white, red and blue livery of the Brumos Racing team, has adorned the 911s currently racing in the IMSA series. This year, two of the 911s racing at Le Mans will be decked out in the same Brumos colours. You could ask the question, “Why” is Porsche (and now Ford too) leveraging the liveries of old, when the technology exists to create millions of colours on computers? Possibly, the answer lies somewhere in between the emotions of familiarity and appeal.

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Le Mans 24 Hours, 16-17 June 2018: The class winning #92 Porsche 911 RSR was driven by Michael Christensen, Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor, serving as a colourful reminder of the 1971 917/20 ‘Sau’
Le Mans 24 Hours, 16-17 June 2018: Finishing in second place in the GTE Pro class was the #91 Porsche 911 RSR of Richard Lietz, Gianmaria Bruni and Fred Makowiecki, reminding Porsche enthusiasts of the hugely successful Porsche Group C racing days

With the 2019 Le Mans 24 Hour race just around the corner, we have compiled a gallery of some of the more memorable Porsche liveries to compete in this great race, in the hope that you will be inspired to recall some of your favourites. We would to ask that you simply post your response where it says “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page. We hope that you enjoy our selection:

Driven by Vic Elford and Gérard Larrousse, the #21 Martini Porsche 917 LH (chassis #042) retired after just 74 laps
Le Mans 24 Hour, 12-13 June 1971: Driven by Vic Elford and Gérard Larrousse, the #21 Martini Porsche 917 LH (chassis #042) retired after just 74 laps with an overheating problem. Here the race car is photographed in the Porsche Museum, Stuttgart (May 2017)
The race winning #17 Rothmans Porsche 962 C was driven by Hans Stuck/Derek Bell/Al Holbert
Le Mans 24 Hour, 13-14 June 1987: The race winning #17 Rothmans Porsche 962 C was driven by Hans Stuck/Derek Bell/Al Holbert. It is photographed here in Porsche’s ‘secret’ warehouse (May 2017)
Allan McNish, Laurent Aiello and Stéphane Ortelli were the winners in this #26 Mobil Porsche 911 GT1/98
Le Mans 24 Hour, 6-7 June 1998: Allan McNish, Laurent Aiello and Stéphane Ortelli brought the #26 Mobil Porsche 911 GT1/98 across the finish line first on the eve of the company’s 50th anniversary. The car is photographed here in Porsche’s ‘secret’ warehouse (May 2017)
Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2007: The #80 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 997 GT3 RSR was driven by Johannes van Overbeek, Seth Neiman and Jörg Bergmeister. The car retired after ten hours of racing
Le Mans 24 Hour, 12-13 June 2010: Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz and Wolf Henzler were the top Porsche finishers this year in the #80 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 (997) GT3 RSR, finishing in eleventh place overall
Le Mans 24 Hour, 12-13 June 2011: Jörg Bergmeister, Lucas Luhr and Patrick Long piloted the #80 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 RSR (997) sixth place in the LMGTE Pro class
Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2012: The #79 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 997 GT3 RSR was driven by Seth Neiman, Spencer Pumpelly and Patrick Pilet, rides the curbs at the Ford Chicane on its way to a fourth place finish in the GTE Am class
The #92 Porsche 911 RSR was driven by Romain Dumas, Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz
Le Mans 24 Hour, 22-23 June 2013: This was the first year of competition for the new Porsche 911 RSR. Here the Team Manthey run #92 911 RSR driven by Romain Dumas, Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz calls into the pits during the night hours. They would finish first in the GTE Pro class on debut
Le Mans 24 Hour, 14-15 June 2014: François Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Markus Palttala were forced to retire after 194 laps when their #75 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR lost a wheel
Le Mans 24 Hour, 14-15 June 2014: Patrick Pilet, Nick Tandy and Jörg Bergmeister finished seventh in class in their #91 Team Manthey Porsche 911 RSR
The #20 Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber was ‘Not Classified’
Le Mans 24 Hour, 14-15 June 2014: The #20 Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber posted a ‘Not Classified’ on its debut at Le Mans
The race winning #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb sits on the starting grid
Le Mans 24 Hour, 18-19 June 2016: The race winning #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb sits on the starting grid prior to the race. Note the rain tyres, this was the first time in the race’s history that they started behind the safety car
The #92 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Frédéric Makowiecki, Jörg Bergmeister and Earl Bamber retired after 140 laps
Le Mans 24 Hour, 18-19 June 2016: The #92 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Frédéric Makowiecki, Jörg Bergmeister and Earl Bamber retired after 140 laps with a broken suspension
The #86 Gulf Racing UK Porsche 911 RSR driven by Michael Wainwright, Adam Carroll and Benjamin Barker finished fifth
Le Mans 24 Hour, 18-19 June 2016: The famous Gulf-liveried #86 Gulf Racing UK Porsche 911 RSR driven by Michael Wainwright, Adam Carroll and Benjamin Barker finished fifth in the GTE Am class
The factory #91 and #92 Porsche 911 RSR crew and team pose for the Scrutineering photograph
Le Mans 24 Hour, 17-18 June 2017: One for the family album – the factory #91 and #92 Porsche 911 RSR crew and team pose for the Scrutineering photograph on 12th June in the Place de la République
Christian Ried, Matteo Cairoli and Marvin Dienst finished sixth in the GTE Am class in the #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR
Le Mans 24 Hour, 17-18 June 2017: Christian Ried, Matteo Cairoli and Marvin Dienst finished sixth in the GTE Am class in the #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR
Michael Christensen, Kévin Estre and Dirk Werner did not have a happy race, as the #92 Porsche 911 RSR retired
Le Mans 24 Hour, 17-18 June 2017: Michael Christensen, Kévin Estre and Dirk Werner did not have a happy race, as the #92 Porsche 911 RSR retired after 179 laps
The #99 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR was driven by Patrick Long, Timothy Pappas and Spencer Pumpelly
Le Mans 24 Hour, 16-17 June 2018: The ultra-shiny green #99 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR was driven by Patrick Long, Timothy Pappas and Spencer Pumpelly to fourth place in the GTE Am class

This selection of images serves just to spark your imagination as to which your favourite Porsche Le Mans liveries are. You may not like any of the above, but that is not the point of this feature, just let us know which are your favourites in a comment below. Thanks and enjoy!!

Written by: Glen Smale
Images by: Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale & Porsche Werkfoto

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Categories: Featured, Motorsport, Yesteryear Tags: 907, 911, 917, 919, 935, 936, 962, Carrera, GT1, Le Mans 24 Hours, Porsche, RSR

Comments

  1. Mark Smedley says

    31st May 2019 at 9:53 pm

    Can’t recall the specific year, but the Shell livery on the 956s. I believe it was the year the Andrettis drove one of the cars.

    Reply
    • Porsche Road & Race says

      3rd June 2019 at 11:26 am

      Mario & Michael Andretti drove the blue Kenwood 956 in 1983 at Le Mans, and in 1988 Mario, Michael & John Andretti drove the Shell/Dunlop 962C to 6th overall at Le Mans. 1988 was the last year that Porsche competed with the 962 with a factory team.

      Reply
  2. Reynard says

    10th June 2019 at 4:34 pm

    Has to be the 1971 Martini 917…saw this on my first visit to Le Mans. Glorious colours and what a noise!

    Reply

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