[Gallery] Sensational Porsche 956 and 962 demo | GRR
The Group C era of sports car racing was one of the most hotly contested categories in the sport’s history. With many constructors in the fray, including Jaguar, Aston Martin, Ford, Toyota and Lancia, there were several big names in contention for honours. Despite fierce competition, one name dominated: Porsche.
This marks the 40th anniversary of the 956, at the time the team’s first all-new racing car in a decade. It made its debut at Le Mans where it claimed all three podium places. One year later, the 956 took nine of the ten first places (for the record, ninth was bagged by a Sauber C7). Just in case that didn’t cement the 956’s place in history, Stefan Bellof set the lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleiffe that stands today.
Key to its success were a combination of class-leading ground effect aerodynamics (it had three times the downforce of its 917 predecessor) and the super-stiff aluminium monocoque chassis. It was also the first time Porsche System engineers in Zuffenhausen began to experiment with the Porsche Doppelkupplung gearbox. Today, the PDK is a popular showroom option.
Continuous development means there are plenty of differences to spot between different eras of 956. To add to this spotters’ delight, the fact that so many private teams such as Kramer and Joest ran Porsches means that there’s a wide variety of liveries on display, too. There were 16 private cars built in addition to ten factory cars. The 962 successor, brought about by regulation changes to the pedalbox, adds further differences.
No fewer than 20 cars took the Goodwood Motor Circuit as the sun went down on the first day of the 79th Members’ Meeting, evoking the sights, sounds and atmosphere of the round-the-clock races at Le Mans in 1980s.
Photography by Pete Summers.