Porsche 959

Porsche 959 at Laguna Seca for the Porsche Rennsport Reunion VI.  The 1985 Paris-Dakar Rally car driven by René Metge.

Pour plus de photos de la Rennsport Reunion VI, suivez ce lien.

For more photos from the Rennsport Reunion VI, click here.

Porsche AG, Stuttgart, Germany.   The 959 is probably my favourite Porsche road car.  Nearly 300 were made to meet the requirements of Group B.  It was the first Porsche Supercar and took the 911 concept to another level.  It had a 450bhp 2,849cc twin turbocharged flat six engine that was derived from the Porsche Indy Car power plant,  It took the 959 to over 190mph in road trim and thus was the fastest road car at the time it was introduced in 1986.

The rear of the road going 959 defined its good looks.

It had success in motorsport.  In 1986 Porsche scored a 1-2 in the Paris-Dakar Rally with René Metge winning from Jacky Ickx.   In the same year the racing version of the 959, the 961 won its class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and came seventh overall driven by René Metge and Claude Ballot-Lena.

The Porsche 953 that was a modified 911 that included 959 components and took pat in the 1984-Paris-Daker.  Here it travels across a gravel trap at Laguna Seca!

1981 Kremer-Porsche 917K/81

Kremer built Porsche 917/81, Retromobile 2017.

Pour plus de photos du Salon RetroMobile 2017, suivez ce lien.

For more pictures from RetroMobile in Paris 2017, click on this link.

Kremer Racing, Cologne, Germany.  The years 1970 and 1971 were the heyday of the Porsche 917 before these Group 4 sports cars were banned.  Ten years after the 917 had won its second Le Mans 24 hours, it returned as a Group 6 sports car built by the Kremer brothers using a loophole in the transitional regulations between Group 6 and Group C.  The Kremer brothers had become the top specialists in racing, modifying and tuning Porsches during the 935 era and obtained Porsche’s help in this project.  Using the original blueprints, a car was built from scratch in the Kremer workshops and incorporated a number of modifications to the suspension and a strengthened chassis to cope with the newer tyre technology.  However, the strengthening added weight.  The body was also altered to improve downforce with a large rear wing and lower and straightened sides to the car.  Unchanged was the 4.9 litre flat 12 engine that Porsche provided.  Sponsorship was obtained from Malardeau and BP and the drivers included Bob Wollek.  First event was the 1981 Le Mans 24 hours.  Practice did not go well and the car proved much slower than the original 917s down the straight.  However, in the race it ran in the top ten before retiring after seven hours following an off course excursion.   The second and final race was the 1,000kms at Brands Hatch later that year.  For this the original sponsors were gone and the car had big Kremer wording along the sides and on the rear wing with some support from Shell and Dunlop.  This time the car qualified third and early on in the race ran second to the new Ford C100.  Later in the race it took the lead and proved fast around the curves of Brands Hatch with Bob Wollek driving.  Unfortunately the suspension eventually collapsed and led to another retirement.  This was the last major race for a 917.  This unique car is now owned by a private collector and is back in its beautiful Malardeau colours.

1988 GKW-Porsche 862 Group C2

Massimo Guerra, GKW 862, Le Mans Classic 2016.

Pour plus de photos du Mans Classic 2016, suivez ce lien.

For more photos of the Group C cars at Le Mans in 2016, click on the link above.

GKW, Monza, Italy.  This vehicle was conceived by Italian Gabriele Gottifredi in 1985 in his Olgiate Molgora workshops and built over the next few years.  Only one example exists.  It was designed to be a very light, relatively low cost Group C2 car which could accept various Porsche flat 6 engines. It has a simple aluminium alloy monocoque.  During the late eighties it appeared and tested at various circuits but never actually raced during the Group C époque, probably as it failed to get adequate financing.  We are now lucky to see it race in historic Group C racing and it finished eleventh at the Group C race supporting the 2016 Le Mans Classic.  It races with a 3.3 litre Porsche flat 6 engine from a 956.  Other 956 parts were also utilised.

2008 Riley Porsche Grand Am Daytona Prototype

2008 Riley Porsche Dayton, Laguna Seca 2015, Porsche Rennsport Reunion V.

Pour plus de photos de Laguna Seca 2015, suivez ce lien.

For more photos of the 2015 Porsche Rennsport Reunion V at Laguna Seca, click on the link above.

Riley Technologies, Mooresville, NC, USA.  Riley produced Daytona Prototype class cars for the Rolex Grand Am series.  Some such as this one were powered by Porsche engines. The sponsor, Ruby Tuesday, is an American restaurant group.  More to come....

1953 Porsche 550 Coupé

1953 Porsche 550 Coupé, Laguna Seca 2015, Porsche Rennsport Reunion V.

Pour plus de photos de Laguna Seca 2015, suivez ce lien.

For more photos of Porsche Rennsport Reunion V at laguna Seca in 2015, click on the link above.

Porsche, Stuttgart, Germany.  The car picture above was the very first Porsche 550 and was a pure racing prototype rather than a modified road car.  It had a 1.5 litre flat 4 engine and was capable of over 120 mph at circuits like Le Mans.  The car was initially an open roadster and won its class at the 1953 Nurburgring 1000kms.  After this it was converted to a coupé and finished second in class at Le Mans to its sister car.  In the colours it is pictured here it competed in the Carrera Pamericana but did not finish.  it finished the season by winning its class in the Buenos Aires 1000kms.  Beautiful, stunning car!   Drivers of this particular car included Hans Herrmann, Helm Glockler and Jaroslav Juhan.

2014 Porsche 918 Spyder

Porsche 918 Spyder, Porsche Rennsport Reunion, Laguna Seca 2015

Pour plus de photos de Laguna Seca 2015, suivez ce lien.

For more photos of Porsches at laguna Seca, click on the link above.

Porsche, Stuttgart, Germany.  The Porsche 918 is a hyper car of which just 918 examples will be built.   A mid-engined two seater with electrical hybrid technology linked to a 4.6 litre V8 engine, it has a top speed of over 200mph and a 0-60mph time of under 3 seconds plus handling to match. There is one electric motor on each axle as the 918 is 4 wheel drive.  It can lap the 14 mile old Nurburgring circuit in under 7 minutes.  The one above copies the 1970 psychedelic hippy livery of one the Martini 917s.

1971 Porsche 914-4

Trevor Frank, 1971 Porsche 914-4, Porsche Rennsport Reunion, Laguna Seca 2015.

Pour plus de photos de Laguna Seca 2015, suivez ce lien.

For more Porsche photos from the 2015 Porsche Rennsport Reunion at Laguna Seca, click on the link above.

VW Karmann, Germany.   The 914-4 had a Volkswagen 4 cylinder engine and in Europe was

marketed as a VW Porsche.  Thus in Europe was never really regarded as a proper Porsche.  There appears less prejudice against it in the USA as it was marketed as a Porsche.   However, it was still a targa top mid-engined sports car and over 100,000 were sold so it wasn't that unpopular.  A collaboration between Volkswagen and Porsche, it can be looked upon as a replacement for the VW Karmann Ghia or an entry level Porsche.  In fact it was both. Their were three different VW engines used over the years, a 1.7, a 1.8 and 2.0 litre.  The fastest of these was capable of 190kph and 0-60mph in under 11 seconds.  The VW 4 cylinders were raced and one driven by Wayne Baker won the 1981 Sears Point IMSA GTU race - this actual car is shown inset right, also at Laguna Seca in 2015.  It is a 1972 car that was heavily modified in 1980 for IMSA racing.  In the Porsche Rennsport Reuion it was driven by Ronald Mistak.

  

Porsche 936 / 81

The 1981 Le Mans 24 Hours winner, a Porsche 936 at Laguna Seca for the Porsche Rennsport Reunion V in 2015.

Pour plus de photos de Laguna Seca 2015, suivez ce lien.

For more photos of the 2015 Porsche Rennsport Reunion V, click on the link above.

Porsche, Stuttgart, Germany.  The works Porsche 936 won le Mans three times, 1976, 1977 and 1981, the car effectively replacing the famous Porsche 917.  The 1981 victory was with Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell driving and they won by a large margin from the Rondeaus.  The 1981 winner had a new engine, a turbo charged 2.6 litre flat 6 which was derived from an Indianapolis project, whereas the previous 936 had run 2.1 litre turbos. Top speed was of the order of 220mph!  The car also featured slightly revised aerodynamics.

1960 Porsche 356B Carrera Abarth GTL

1960 Porsche 356B Carrera Abarth GTL, Laguna Seca 2015, Porsche Rennsport Reunion 5.

Pour plus de photos de Laguna Seca et des Porsches, suivez ce lien.

For more photos of Porsche Rennsport Reunion V, click on the link above.

Porsche, Stuttgart, Germany.  In 1959 Porsche sought help from Abarth to keep its ageing 356 GT cars competitive in GT racing.  Abarth commissioned Bertone to design a very light aluminium body that was also small and aerodynamic. Abarth outsourced the 20 production bodies to be made by Motto.  It retained the original steel chassis and the flat 4 1.6 litre engine which in this version produced 165bhp.  The car had a top speed of 144mph and a 0-60mph time of around 9 seconds.  20 of these special 356B Abarth GTLs were built.  The one above is very original and won the Swedish GT Championship in 1961 and 1962 driven by Carl-Gunnar Hammarlund.  The prototype finished 6th overall and won its class in the 1960 Targa Florio.  At Le Mans the Carrera Abarth again won its class and finish tenth overall.  A beautiful and successful car that continued to win the 1,600cc GT class at many events in 1961 and 1962.

2003 FABCAR-Porsche FDSC/03 Daytona Prototype Grand Am

Ron Thomas, 2003 FABCAR-PorschebFDSC/03, Porsche Rennsport Renion V, Laguna Seca 2015. 

Pour plus de photos de Laguna Seca 2015, suivez ce lien.

For more photos of the 2015 Porsche Rennsport Reunion V, click on the link above.

FABCAR Engineering, Carmel, Indiana, USA.  FABCAR was started by Dave Klym in 1977.  For history of FABCAR click here.   In 2001 they were approached by Jim and Bill France Jnr's Grand American Road Racing Association to produce prototypes for their series of races that included the Daytona 24 hours.  This series was in effect NASCAR's alternative to IMSA's ALMS series.  The Grand Am cars were lower tech than those running in the rival series and were not eligible for events such as Le Mans.  Eight of these cars were built. In 2003 they were raced by Brumos Racing and won the Rolex Sports Car Daytona Prototype Manufacturers championship for FABCAR.  They won a number of races including those at Fontana, Watkins Glen and Mont Tremblant.  The car finished fifth in that years Daytona 24 hours.  Drivers included David Donohue, Hurley Haywood, JC France and Scott Goodyear.   The car had a 3.6 litre 6 cylinder Porsche engine derived from the 911 GT3 road car and produced 475bhp.

1949 Porsche 356 SL Gmünd Coupé

1949 Porsche 356 SL, Porsche Rennsport Reunion V, Laguna Seca 2015

Pour plus de photos de Laguna Seca 2015, suivez ce lien.

For more photos of the Porsche Rennsport Reunion V at Laguna Seca, click on the link abov.

Porsche, Gmünd, Austria.  After the war Porsche moved to Gmünd in Austria to design his own cars. They were rear engined roadsters and coupés built around Volkswagen components.  With an aluminium body and an air-cooled boxer 4 cylinder engine these cars started the Porsche tradition. The aluminium bodies later became steel and Porsche moved back to Germany but Porsche kept some aluminium bodies as super light works competition cars.  In 1951 they entered the Le Mans 24 hours and the car pictured won the 1,100cc class beating the French DB Panhard and also the 1,500cc class winning Jowett Jupiter.   This was Porsche's first entry into the Le Mans 24 hours, a race they would eventually win for the first time in 1970. In 1952 one of these cars won the Liege-Rome-Liege rally.

1970 Porsche 914/6

Ranson Webster, 1970 Porsche 914/6, Porsche Rennsport Reunion V, Laguna Seca 2015.

Pour plus de photos de Laguna Seca, suivez ce lien.

For more photos of the Porsche Rennsport Reunion V at Laguna Seca, click on the link above.

Porsche, Stuttgart, Germany.  The Porsche 914/6 was a 2 litre 6 cylinder version of the Porsche 914 and was produced from 1970 to 1972.  The 914 was a collaborative effort between Porsche and Volkswagen which in 4 cylinder form had a VW engine.  The 6 cylinder version featured a Porsche flat 6 engine and in road going form could top 120mph and do 0-60mph in just over 8 seconds.  It was mid-engined and rear wheel drive. A car that suffered from being tainted with the Volkswagen brand but perhaps becoming appreciated now.  In 1970 one finished sixth overall at Le Mans and won its class.  Peter Gregg, Elliott Forbes-Robinson and others won in them in US SCCA races.

2006 Porsche RS Spyder

Jeroen Bleekemolen Porsche RS Spyder, Porsche Rennsport Reunion V, Laguna Seca 2015.

Pour plus de photos de la Porsche Rennsport Reunion V, suivez ce lien.

For more photos of the 2015 Porsche Rennsport Reunion V, click on the link above.

Porsche, Stuttgart, Germany.  This was a car designed by Porsche in conjunction with Roger Penske to take part in LMP2 endurance racing.  It competed from 2005 to 2010. It won its class on its debut at Laguna Seca in 2005, In 2006 it won outright at Mid Ohio and scored six other class victories.  In 2007 The RS Spyder won eight races outright and then in 2008 scored its most famous victory by winning the Sebring 12 hours.  The cars continued to take class victories in 2009 and won outright at Lime Rock and Mosport in 2010.  The car won 3 Constructors and 3 drivers titles in the American Le Mans Series from 2006 to 2008 plus the Le Mans Series in 2008.

Porsche 908/3

Porsche 908/3, Dijon-Prenois, GP de l'Age d'Or, June 2015.

Porsche, Stuttgart, Germany.  The 908/3 was a development of the successful 908/2 of 1969 and the Porsche 909 bergspyder and ran in races in 1970 and 1971 on circuits which were less suitable for the ultra powerful 917.  It scored victories in the 1970 Targa Florio and the 1970 & 1971 Nurburgring 1000kms.   It had a 3 litre flat eight engine, very short wheelbase and was very light.  After 1971 the cars were sold to privateers such as Reinhold Joest and they continued to race successfully for many years. Top speed was over 170 mph.  Drivers during 1970 and 1971 included some of the sport's greats including Vic Elford, Jo Siffert, Brian Redman, Pedro Rodriguez, Leo Kinnunen, Gerard Larrousse, Richard Attwood, Bjorn Waldegaard, Hans Herrmann and Kurt Ahrens.

2007 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup

Thomas Winkler, 2007 Porsche 997 Cup, ROSCAR race, Magny Cours March 2016.

Pour plus de photos de la course ROSCAR à Magny Cours Mars 2016, suivez ce lien.

For more photos of the ROSCAR race at Magny Cours in March 2016, click on the link above.

Porsche, Stuttgart, Germany.  The Porsche 997 Cup is based on a road going 911 GT3 modified for racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup and other racing series.  It was produced from 2006 to 2009 and is one of the best selling racing cars of all time. Compared to the road car it has a bigger wing, racing wheels and tyres and other modifications for racing.  It has a 3.6 litre flat 6 engine and is to GT3 spec. This car won its class in the ROSCAR race at Magny Cours in 2016.

1973 Porsche 917/30

Peter Harburg, Pprsche 917/30, Laguna Seca, 2015 Porsche Rennsport Reunion V

Pour plus de photos du Porsche Rennsport Reunion V à Laguna Seca, suivez ce lien.

For more photos of the 2015 Porsche Reunion V at Laguna Seca, click on the link above.

Porsche, Stuttgart, Germany.  The 917/30 followed on from the 917/10 which had broken McLaren's domination of the Can-Am series by winning with George Follmer driving in 1972.  The 917/30 entered by Penske Racing and driven by Mark Donohue dominated the 1973 Can Am championship. It had a 5.3 litre twin turbocharged V12 engine generating a massive 1,100 to 1,500+ bhp.  The domination of this car killed the Can-Am series and it disappeared in its original form after 1974. This car owned by Australian Peter Harburg was built as a spare for the 1974 season.  it never actually raced in the Can-Am series at the time as Penske and Porsche withdrew.  This car was capable of a 0-60mph time of under 2 seconds and had a top speed of over 260mph.  In 1975 at the Talledega Superspeedway Mark Donohue set a lap in the 917/30 of 221.16mph!

1964 Porsche 904 GTS

Porsche 904 GTS, Tour Auto 2015

Pour plus de photos de la Tour Auto 2015, suivez ce lien.

For more photos of the 2015 Tour Auto, follow the link above.

Porsche, Stuttgart, Germany. The Porsche 904 GTS or Carrera GTS was a sports racing car produced in 1964 and 1965 to compete in the GT class at major endurance events.  It had a 2 litre flat 4 Porsche engine. The car featured Porsche's first ever plastic body. The top speed was 160mph and it had a 0-60mph time of around 6 seconds.  In its first season it took overall victory in the Targa Florio and class wins in many other endurance events including Le Mans.  It also won many The Alpine and Tulip rallys and took a class win in the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally

1969 Porsche 908/2 Langheck

Porsche Rennsport Reunion V, Laguna Seca 2015, Porsche 908 Langheck

Pour plus de photos de la Porsche Rennsport Reunion V 2015 à Laguna Seca, suivez ce lien.

For more photos of the 2015 Porsche Rennsport Reunion V at Laguna Seca, follow the link above.

The 1969 Porsche 908/2 LH was second in the famous close finish at the Le Mans 24 hours that year driven by Hans Herrmann.  At the Porsche Rennsport Reunion V it was driven by Gunnar Jeannette and he led three Porsche 917s early in the race.

Porsche 919 Hybrid LM P1

Le Mans 24hrs 2015 - Porsche 919 Hybrid - Bamber, Tandy, Hulkenberg

Pour plus de photos du Mans 24 heures 2015, suivez ce lien.

For more photos of the 2015 Le Mans 24 hours follow the link above.

Porsche won the 2015 Le Mans 24 hours on the second year of their comeback.  The drivers included Nico Hulkenberg who was the first current Grand Prix to compete and win at Le Mans this century. Earl Bamber and Nick Tandy were the other drivers in the winning car.  Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley took the World Endurance Drivers' Championship and Porsche the World Endurance Manufacturers' Championship.

1966 Porsche 906

Porsche 906, Porsche Rennsport Reunion V, laguna Seca 2015

Pour plus de photos de la Porsche Rennsport Reunion V à Laguna Seca 2015, suivez ce lien.

For more pictures of the Porsche Rennsport Reunion V at Laguna Seca in 2015, follow the link above.

Mon astuce pour faire des belles photos.
Recherchez des points de vue différents pour obtenir différents photos de tout le monde.

Top photo tip.
Look out for different vantage points to get different shots to everyone else.