Porsche Honors Late Legend Vic Elford

Paying Respect

Victor Henry Elford - one of the more successful and versatile works racing drivers in Porsche history - recently passed away at the age of 86 at his home in Florida. The Englishman, who dominated rally and circuit racing around the world for years, particularly in the late 1960s, holds a special place in Porsche's illustrious motorsports history, prompting the automaker to pay proper respect to Elford after his passing.

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Quick Success

Elford was born in Peckham, London back in 1935, but didn't get his first taste of the racing world until 1964, when he earned a technical qualification for the World Sportscar Championship. In 1966, Elford took third place in the Tour de Corse driving a Porsche 911, and a year later won the Stuttgart-Lyon-Charbonnières rally. In 1967, he also won the first rallycross event in history at the Lydden Hill Race Circuit in Kent with a Porsche 911 R supplied by the British importer, AFN, before winning the European Rally Champion that same year.

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Instant Success

Porsche promptly offered him a contract as a works driver, and the rest, as they say, is history. Elford proceeded to win the Monte Carlo Rally in January, the 24 Hours of Daytona in February, and both the Targa Florio and the 1,000-kilometer race at the Nürburgring in May. He piloted a 911 S in his early days, followed by a 911 T.

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Humble Opinion

Just as he never gave up smoking, Elford was fully committed to the qualities of the Porsche 911 for his whole life. "It's the only car that's adaptable enough to use in all possible circumstances," he said. "Snow, ice, tarmac, uphill, downhill, fast, or slow - the 911 can do anything. Could a Porsche 911 have won the Monte Carlo Rally without me? Yes - but not in 1968. I don't think anybody else could have driven a 911 like I did at the time."

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Other Cars

Elford was exceptionally fast in other types of Porsches, too. Just a month after Monte Carlo, he won the 24 Hours of Daytona in a Porsche 907 LH. Elford and Porsche had another reason to celebrate at the beginning of that May - the Brit pulled off an incredible victory at the Targa Florio in the Porsche 907 KH. "The Targa Florio was always my favorite race," Elford said on many occasions. Between 1967 and 1972, he competed six times in a row. Although he only won in 1968, he achieved the fastest lap in all of the succeeding races.

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Life After Retirement

Elford retired from professional racing in 1974 and in 1975 embarked on a new path, working with the racing car project Inaltera before going on to manage the ATS F1 team. After moving to the U.S. in 1984, he managed the Porsche Owners Driving School and the Porsche Driving Experience. Even in his later years, Elford was happy to get back behind the wheel, like when he drove a 911 in the Tour de Corse Historique in 2017, or when he and other Porsche legends, such as Herbert Linge, Gérard Larrousse and Jean-Pierre Nicolas, took a trip down memory lane and had another go at the special tests of the Monte Carlo circuit in 2018.

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Sad Loss

"The news of his death represents a very sad loss for us. Our thoughts are with his family," said Michael Steiner, Member of Porsche's Executive Board, Research and Development. "We thank Vic Elford for his passion and extraordinary dedication. He was one of the most multi-talented and successful racing drivers to have competed for and with Porsche."

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