Speedi

Speedi Wings & Wheels - August / September 2012 - Page 81
THE PORSCHE 911 is
an iconic
marque. Ahead of
its time when
introduced in 1964, the
rear-engine 911 has
evolved over three
decades to when
Porsche introduced a
completely new 911
Carrera for 1999. The
lineage includes 911 S
(1967), the 911 Turbo
(1974 [1976 in the
U.S.]), the first 911
Cabriolet (1983) and
the first all-wheel drive
911 Carrera 4 (1990).
Of course Porsche will
be remembered for its
string of outright wins
at the classic 24 hr
race at Le Mans,
France. These started
with the 917K, and
went through the 935,
936, 956 and 962
models.
Finally it was the turn,
in 1998, of the 911 GT1-
98 which, despite being
slower than the Toyota
or the Mercedes,
fulfilled Porsche's slim
hopes of winning,
taking both first and
second place overall.
Thanks to reliability,
this gave
Porsche its
recordbreaking
16th overall
win at Le
Mans, more
than any other
manufacturer in history.
Not that the 911 GT1-98
had much to do with
the regular 911 range.
It was very much a
specialist racer. Only
the headlamps had any
resemblance to the
stock 911 of the time.
After this, perhaps
unexpected, 16th win
at Le Mans Porsche
withdrew from factory
racing at Le Mans.
In
we are looking at the
latest 911 range, and
more specifically the
latest racing 911’s,
including the hybrid
version - the 911 GT3-R
Hybrid.
Of course, the Porsche
racing tradition started
back in 1951 with the
model 356 Light Metal
Coupé. But the Porsche
brand goes back even
further, to 1948 when
on 8th June 1948, a
two-seater sports car
based on VW parts, the
Porsche Nr. 1, the 356
Roadster was
introduced to the world.
It was first automobile
bearing the Porsche
name.
But we are not looking
at the racing history,
we are looking at the
present.
We have some
spectacular 911 racing
photos direct from
Porsche for your
viewing pleasure. So sit
back, relax and enjoy
the high speed ride: