Fifty years of the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 – ‘Germany’s fastest sports car’
The first racing successes Following the change in regulations for sports prototypes, which prevented further development due to the new three-litre displacement limit, Porsche ended a very successful era. After the racing debut of a 911 Carrera RSR (racing-sport-racing) with a significantly widened body at the Tour de Corse in November 1972, Porsche decided to begin a new chapter in the success story of the 911 in 1973. In early February of that year, an RSR piloted by Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood crossed the finish line at the 24 Hours of Daytona with a 22-lap lead. It was a brilliant start to the new sea-son. Herbert Müller and Gijs van Lennep won at the Targa Florio in May 1973. “The victory was important for us because it showed that the RSR with the larger rear wing was very fast on circuits and rally stages,” recalls Falk. In its first season, the 911 Carrera RSR won three international and seven national championships – providing the foundations for the success of the 911 for decades to come. At the International Race of Champions (IROC) held in October 1973, Roger Penske from the US fielded 12 identical 911 Carrera RSR 3.0 cars in which drivers from different racing classes competed against each other.

With the 911 Carrera RS 2.7, however, Porsche was not only developing a sports car for the racetrack, but a car that customers could use both as a daily driver as well as for racing. It took the grand touring car to the racetrack. Contemporary advertising described it thus: “Its repertoire: by road to the race and home again. Monday to the office. Tuesday to Geneva. Back in the evening. Wednesday shopping. City. Traffic jam. Creeping traffic, but no soot on the plugs, no complaint from the clutch. Thursday country roads, motorway, switchbacks, dirt roads, construction sites, Friday only a short distance and repeated cold starts. Saturday with holiday luggage to Finland. Carrera RS – full of inexhaustible reserves in sprints and marathons.”
Porsche celebrates 40 years of Group C at Goodwood
Porsche's debut at Le Mans in 1982 ended in a magnificent triumph. Ickx and Bell claimed a convincing victory after 359 laps with the Group C racer presented at Goodwood with chassis number 956.001. The other two 956 cars – driven by Jochen Mass and Vern Schuppan as well as Hurley Haywood, Al Holbert and Jürgen Barth – followed in second and third place. The three 956 racers crossed the finish line in the exact order as they had started – 1, 2 and 3.

The Porsche 956 also won at Le Mans in 1983, 1984 and 1985, and dominated the World Sportscar Championship from its appearance until 1984. It showcased the Porsche brand values at the World Endurance Championship as well as the Drivers' World Championship.
From the 956 to the 962 C – non-stop victories and titles In 1984, the Porsche 962 and 962 C were created as further developments of the 956. The 962 also had to comply with the regulations of the North American IMSA racing series. There were two particular points that Porsche had to modify on the 956 in order to comply with the American rules. Porsche had to extend the wheelbase by 12 cm, as the IMSA regulations required the pedals to be located behind the front axle for safety reasons, and the aluminium monocoque had to be fitted with a roll cage made of steel, instead of aluminium. Due to the IMSA cost limitation, the four-valve-per-cylinder biturbo engine of the 956 had to be replaced by the tried-and-tested air-cooled, 2.86-litre, two-valve-per-cylinder, single-turbo engine that came from the Porsche 935. For the 1985 season, this engine's displacement was increased to 3.16 litres by installing a crankshaft with a four-millimetre-longer stroke.

The 962 C was specially developed for the World Sportscar Championship and, in particular, for Le Mans. Initially equipped with a 2.65-litre, four-valve-per-cylinder biturbo engine, during practice at Le Mans in 1985 the 962 C was powered for the first time by a fully water-cooled, three-litre, four-valve-per-cylinder biturbo engine with up to 515 kW (700 PS) of power. Until this point, only the cylinder heads of the 956 had been water-cooled, while the cylinders were cooled by a fan. The 956 was unbeaten at Le Mans from 1982 to 1985, and this success was seamlessly continued in this series by its successor, the 962 C, as it won the 24-hour race at the Circuit de la Sarthe in 1986 and 1987.

Between 1982 and 1986, Porsche celebrated victories with the 956 and 962 C at a total of five Drivers' World Championships and three World Endurance Championships. On 13 and 14 June 1987, Stuck, Bell and Holbert drove the 962 C with the chassis number 962.006 and bearing the starting number 17 – which will be driven this weekend at Goodwood – to victory at the famous French 24-hour race. The following year, this car served as a training car for Mario, Michael, and John Andretti at Le Mans before being taken into the Porsche Museum.
The 962 C in the Supercup – the testing ground for the Porsche dual-clutch transmission (PDK) The Supercup racing series, which ran from 1986 to 1989, was heralded as the successor to the German Racing Championship (DRM) for Group C sports car prototypes. In its first season in 1986, the championship – named after its sponsor, the automotive magazine ‘sport auto’ – was initially held as the ADAC sport auto Supercup. The sponsor then changed and in 1987 and 1988, the race series was known as the ADAC Würth Supercup. Finally, in 1989, the Supercup was named the ADAC SAT1 Supercup after the TV station Sat.1, which broadcast the races live.

Porsche was involved with the 962 C right from the start. In 1986 and 1987, the Supercup races covered a distance of 180 km, and from 1988 onwards, this rose to 220 km. From 1986 to 1988, the races were held exclusively in Germany. The season opener and finale were held at the Nürburgring, and in 1986 there are also races at Hockenheim and the Norisring. Originally, the AVUS in Berlin was also on the racing calendar, but for safety reasons the high-speed circuit was cancelled, only later being replaced by Diepholz from 1987 onwards. In 1989, the final Supercup year, Silverstone in England replaced Hockenheim.
Staring from the second race in 1987, the Norisring 200 Miles near Nuremberg, the 962 C was painted in the colours of the sponsor, Shell. Dunlop was also on board as a sponsor. After the end of the season, the 1987 winning car began its second life as a test car in the aerodynamics department in Weissach, and later served as a reference vehicle for the sports car manufacturer's corporate collection. Finally, in 2021, the Porsche Museum restored it to its original condition as the title-winning car in the 1987 Supercup.

“My time with Porsche was the most successful time of my entire career,” says Stuck. “I’m a huge fan of the Porsche dual-clutch transmission (PDK) and proud that I was allowed to test it in the 962 C back then. Being able to keep my hands on the steering wheel when changing gears at full throttle felt great right from the start.” However, it’s not only the successful restoration of his former winning car to its original condition that Stuck is happy about – he’s also thrilled that his red racing suit from the time still fits. At the 79th Members' Meeting at Goodwood, he will wear it once again. And, of course, Stuck will pair it with his trademark blue helmet with white stars.
Eveningtour We also open our exhibition exclusively for you after 6 p.m. Whether you have an event already in mind or you are looking for ideas, our event team is happy to advise you on your options for visiting the museum after the opening hours. For example, start with a champagne reception for your guests as a prelude to a special evening.
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