5 Most Important Porsche Racing Milestones
These are the five greatest moments in Porsche's motorsports history - as chosen by Porsche themselves.
1. 1984-86 Paris-Dakar
Back in 1984, Porsche was developing an advance 4-wheel drive 911 with an eye toward using Group B racing as a developmental tool, dubbed the 959. The cars were not ready for FIA competition, but Porsche converted a total of three 911 models to 959 specs for the 1984 Paris-Dakar Rally, and won their class. Porsche persisted, and used fully developed 959 rally cars in 1985, and despite all three cars failing to finish, they didn't give up. In 1986, the three 959s finished first, second, and sixth, respectively - quite the crowning achievement for a road going sports car. Ironically, but the time the car was legal and fully developed, Group B rally had ceased to exist.
2. 1982 LeMans Triple Victory
Amid new rules in FIA Group C racing for 1982, Porsche brought a completely new car to the legendary 24 Hours of LeMans race - the 956. LeMans would be this model's very first endurance test, yet despite that obstacle, the 956 dominated the race for a historic 1-2-3 finish, amazingly enough. Even more impressive? The very next year, Porsche took 9 out of the 10 top spots at LeMans.
3. 1973 Can-Am Cup
Porsche's 917 race car made its American debut in the 1973 Can-Am series, and boy what a car it was. The 917' turbo flat-12 motor is still one of the most powerful race car engines of all time with a whopping 1,230 horsepower, and it propelled the car to a 236 mph top speed. The 917 was so fast, in fact, that rule changes had to be implemented in this "unlimited" series to even the playing field for the competition.
4. 1983 Nürburgring Lap Record
After its incredible run at LeMans in 1982, Porsche wasn't done resetting the record books with its 956 race car. The next year the car and driver Stephan Beloff went out and set the record for the fastest lap ever around Germany's famed Nürburgring - 6 minutes and 11 seconds. That record still stands today, and many doubt it will ever be broken.
5. 2013 Nürburgring production Car Lap Record
When Porsche built the 918 Spyder, they knew they had something extra special on their hands. When they took the hybrid super car to the Nürburgring in 2013, it exceeded even their wildest expectations. The 918 became the first street legal car ever to break the seven second barrier at the famed track, completing a lap in just 6 minutes and 57 seconds.
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