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| The modified Porsche that won its class at the 1951 Le Mans stands next to the Porsche that won the Le Mans 24 hours in 1970 and the 919 Hybrid that won in 2015. |
My choices will undoubtedly be very personal and perhaps controversial with a few. I didn't want to miss any of my favourites so took the option of grouping some cars together if I regarded one as an evolution of another. So here goes, my Top Ten Sports Racing Porsches, in chronological order and with one of my photos and some personal memories accompanying each entry.
No.1 Porsche 550 / 718
Produced from 1953, the 550 was the first real racing car that Porsche produced, previously they had competed with modified 356s. Two things brought fame to the Porsche 550. First was the death of Hollywood icon James Dean in one he nicknamed "Little Bastard" in September 1955. The second was victory in the Targa Florio in 1956 by a Porsche RS Spyder driven by Umberto Maglioli and Huschke von Hanstein. It was not a round of the World Championship that year as it had been dropped following the 1955 Le Mans accident, but it was still a major race. The 550 also had many class victories including in the 1953 Carrera Panamericana which gave the Carrera name to many future Porsches. In 1957 the works team introduced the 718 which had improved suspension and a sleeker body compared to the 550. The 718 gave many more class victories to Porsche and also three overall Targa Florio victories, these being in 1959, 1960 and 1963. The 718 was often referred to as a RSK because of it short wheelbase. Like the 550 it had a 1.5 litre engine, except for the W-RS that had a 2 litre engine. Most 718s were spyders but the GTR was a coupé. Definitely the first Porsches to really capture the imagination.
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| 1959 Porsche 718 RSK, Laguna Seca 2015 |
This is such a beautiful car that I could not let it escape my ten. It initially had a flat 4 engine but evolutions included the 904/6 and the 904/8 which had flat 6 and flat 8 engines respectively. All were two litre cars and thus mainly competed for class victories rather than overall wins. However, it did win outright at the 1964 Targa Florio driven by Colin Davis and Antonio Pucci. It had an enviable finishing record at Le Mans in the 24 hours dominating the 2 litre class in 1964 and 1965. To top it all, it even scored wins in rallies and won its class and finished second overall in the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally. I fell in love with this car when Scalextric released a 1/32nd version in 1966/67 and still love seeing the real car on the Tour Auto each year.
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| A Porsche 904 GTS on the first stage of the 2016 Tour Auto. |
The successor to the 904 was the lighter and more sleek 906 which was normally known as the Carrera 6 and eventually evolved into the 910. It normally had a flat 6 two litre engine but the works sometime raced with 8 cylinder versions. Like the 904, it scored an outright victory on the Targa Florio, winning in 1966 with Willy Mairesse and Herbert Mullar. In 1967 Paul Hawkins and Rolf Stommelen repeated this victory in a 910, which was shorter and lighter than the 906. The 910 also won the Nurburgring 100kms in 1967, the first Porsche victory in their home endurance event. I remember seeing privateers race these cars in 1968 so they form some of my early motor racing memories.
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| The Porsche Carrera 6 was designed to be street legal as well as a racing car and thus could compete in rallies such as the Tour Auto. This is a Carrera 6 on the 2014 Tour Auto. |
The 907 and 908 are probably my real favourite amongst Porsches but were not as successful or as iconic as most of the other cars in the top ten. The 907 was the first racing Porsche to have a chance to win major races other than the Targa Florio. It was introduced in 1967 at the Le Mans 24 hours where it finished fifth and beat this with a fourth place at Brands Hatch later in the year. In 1968 however, it took the top three places in the Daytona 24 hours, took a 1-2 at the Sebring 12 hours and a win in the Targa Florio but Ford took Le Mans and the World Championship with the venerable Ford GT40. The 908 coupé with full 3 litre engine was introduced mid-season 1968 and won at the Nurburgring 1000kms and Zeltweg but failed elsewhere. For 1969 the 908/2 was introduced and it went on to win the World Championship with wins at Brands Hatch, Targa Florio, Nurburgring and Watkins Glen. However, again Le Mans fell to an old Ford GT40. For 1970 and 1971 Porsche used a 908/3 to win twice at the Nurburgring and once at the Targa Florio as these circuits did not suit the 917. It should also be noted that a 908/2 took Porsche's first Can-Am win with Tony Dean winning at Road Atlanta in 1970.
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| Porsche 908 LH, Laguna Seca 2015 |
The 917 was introduced in 1969 but initially proved a real handful. It's debut was at the Spa 1,000kms but it did not take a win until the last race of the year at the Osterreichring. During the winter the JW team improved the aerodynamics and with a short tail it became the 917K and a very successful endurance racer. In 1970 and 1971 it took the Porsche's first two Le Mans 24 hour wins plus the World Championship in each year beating off the Ferrari challenge and scoring 14 victories driven by drivers such as Jo Siffert, Pedro Rodriguez and Vic Elford. In 1972 the car became obsolete for endurance racing but became dominant in Can Am with an open version of the car with a more powerful engine. The 917 is definitely one of the most iconic racing Porsche's ever.
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| Porsche 917, Le Mans Classic 2016 |
The Porsche 911 was introduced in 1963 and spawned many successful race and rally cars. The Carrera RSR and the 935 were particularly successful in major endurance races in the mid seventies to the early eighties. The RSR won the last World Championship Targa Florio in 1973 and also took three Sebring 12 hour victories and three Daytona 24 hour victories. The 935 K3 won the Le Mans 24 hours outright in 1979 driven by Klaus Ludwig and the Whittingtons. Various versions of the 935 won the Daytona 24 hours five years in succession from 1978 to 1983. At Sebring the 935 was even more successful winning from 1978 to 1984. For me the 935 with flames coming out of its exhaust on the over-run is one of my favourite motor racing memories. I was at Brands Hatch at the very wet 1977 endurance race when Jacky Ickx was masterful in the appalling conditions.
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| 1982 Porsche 935, Laguna Seca 2015 |
The 936 was designed to win the 1976 World Championship of Makes and Le Mans. A 2.1 litre turbocharged group 6 prototype using parts from the 917 it was successful in doing both. As well as winning at Le Mans in took 5 other victories. It won the 24 hours again in 1977. It failed to win at Le Mans in both 1978 and 1979 but came back in 1981 with another victory. The first two Le Mans victories were in the iconic Martini livery and the last one in Jules livery. I never saw these car in period but enjoyed seeing one win at the Le Mans Classic in 2016.
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| Porsche 936, Laguna Seca 2015 |
The most successful sports racing Porsches are perhaps the eighties Group C cars. The 956 first raced in 1982 and won at Le Mans in its first year and took the World Championship. The 956 was to repeat this, winning Le Mans four times in a row 1982 to 1985 and taking the manufacturers title from 1982 to 1984 and the team title in 1985 . In 1986 and 1987, the replacement 962C was to take a further two wins. Meanwhile in America the IMSA variant 962 and 962C won the Daytona 24 hours five times and the Sebring 12 hours 4 times. An amazingly successful car in the mid eighties winning many championships and races in the hands of the works and privateer teams. I saw them at Brands Hatch in the eighties and really enjoyed seeing them again at Laguna Seca in 2015.
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| Rothmans liveried Porsche 962, Laguna Seca 2015 |
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| Jeroen Bleekemolen,Porsche RS Spyder, Laguna Seca 2015 |
2014 marked Porsche's return to the big time with the 919, having not had a car win at Le Mans since 1998. To date the 919 has had two Le Mans 24 hour victories and two World Championships. This in an era where there has been tough competition from Audi and Toyota but with eleven wins in 21 races it has been the top car. It was great to be at Le Mans in 2015 to see Porsche win Le Mans after so many years of Audi domination. Definitely a car still contributing to the brand.
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| The Porsche 919 Hybrid winning Le Mans in 2016 |
John Etherton asserts his copyright to all of the photos on this blogpost. However, you may post the photos elsewhere on the web as long as you credit the photographer, John Etherton, and this blog post, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com and provide a link to this page.
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