Five sportscars not to miss at #76MM

Whether you’re here in person or watching on one of the many live steams we’ll be providing, be sure not to miss these sportscars when they’re out strutting their stuff.

Porsche 935/78 'Moby Dick'

Moby Dick requires no introduction, really. It’s probably THE Group 5 Special Production car, given that it’s the ultimate version of the 935 – the car that exercised an industrial-scale domination of the genre in period. Ultimately the car wasn’t the success that Porsche intended but the extremes to which they pushed what was ultimately a tarted-up 911 make this car stand-out. The story of its naming after the famous whale is legend, with mechanics exclaiming “It’s Moby Dick!” upon first sight of the newly be-winged and lengthened machine in its all-white unsponsored form. Owners the Porsche Museum don’t let this car off the leash for the average village fair, that’s for sure, so don’t miss the opportunity to get up close at #76MM.

Ferrari 275 GTB/C

It wouldn’t be the “Ronnie Hoare Trophy” or indeed a valid tribute to the Maranello Concessionaires squad without the presence of a 275 GTB/C – arguably his legendary team's bread and butter car – the star of their class winning effort at Le Mans in ’66. Significance aside, any screaming V12 Ferrari is worth not missing for the sheer aural feast that’s a given with any Maranello-born 12-banger. It’s unique on the Ronnie Hoare grid, too, facing a fleet of Porsche 904s, Triumph TR4s, Morgan Plus 4s and the next entry in our #76MM sportscar quintet.

Alfa Giulia TZ1

The Alfa Giulia TZ1 looks as gorgeous as the Ferrari sounds, no arguments. In a battle of aesthetics, the two examples of the Alfa win the Ronnie Hoare hands down. They’re proven to be quick, too, with examples of the Autodelta-built Zagato-bodied beauty scooping up class honours at Sebring, the Targa Florio, Nürburgring 1,000km and Le Mans in 1964. How the Alfa twin-cam screamers will fare in the company of the big prancing V12 remains to be seen.

Porsche 906

What’s (arguably) better than a screaming flat-six in the most famous sportscar shape of all time? A screaming flat-six in an (arguably) prettier and more exotic prototype shape. The Porsche 906 has you covered if your tastes reflect these sentiments and there will be examples going toe-to-toe with GT40s, Lotus-Fords and indeed the 910s that succeeded them in the Gurney Cup sports racer thrash. As for their period provenance, no one ever remembers who trailed behind the legendary GT40 trio of 1966’s Le Mans running. Besides Ford’s podium lockout, 906s kept fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh for themselves, so these two sportscar titans having at each other once again should be quite the spectacle. 

BMW-March M1 

Time for the wild card. The BMW-March M1 is not a success story from the Group 5 classification – are there any that don’t involve a 935? That makes this particular car no less interesting. Had development of the March M1 gone to plan, this might be running with the original planned turbo M1 six-cylinder. Had the original owner not got fed up with the relative impotence and unreliability of the Procar lump that all would eventually be shipped with, this might have remained a six-cylinder and therefore, would (in the pantheon of March M1s) remain uninteresting. That the owner in fact embarked on a project to shoehorn Chevy muscle under the clam of this monster makes it very interesting indeed. How does a howling 6.0-litre 700bhp+ V8 sound in an M1? Incongruous… and very, very good. Find out for yourself during the Group 5 Special Production high-speed demo at 76MM.

Not got tickets to #76MM? Set yourself a reminder to watch the whole thing in full on our awesome live stream right here!