Nowadays one cannot think about Porsche without thinking about its footprint on motorsport history. No brand has ever gathered more success at major races like the Le Mans 24 Hours or Daytona 24 Hours. 46: The Birth of Porsche Motorsport gives you the opportunity to learn how this all started.
46: The Birth of Porsche Motorsport tells the story of how Porsche rose from the ashes of World War II and overcame multiple trials and near disasters to compete with Porsche 356 Gmünd SL 063 at Le Mans, the Liege-Rome-Liege Rally and record-setting at Montlhéry and set the company on its way to becoming the juggernaut that is Porsche Motorsport.
After the successes in Europe, Max Hoffman bought the car together with some siblings and Porsche’s American adventure began. Gmund SL 063 had its roof removed by John von Neumann and the car became a west coast race winner. In the lifespan of SL 063, it changed hands a number of times before it had a rebirth as a mainstay at the 1982 Monterey Historic races.
Cameron Healy and the provenance of SL 063
The current owner Cameron Healy bought the car in 2009. Details uncovered during the restoration of the car made clear that this was not just an ordinary Gmund SL. Together with some brand experts and with the help of the Porsche Museum, the team could confirm that Gmünd SL 063 was the car that surprised the motorsports world in 1951 when it achieved class victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Over several years, Rod Emory and his team restored the car to the moment it sat on the starting grid in 1951 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Conclusion
The Porsche 356 Gmünd SL Chassis 063 belongs to the most important cars in the history of Porsche. You cannot deny it deserved a biography on its own. All the authors ( among them renowned men like Randy Leffingwell, Doug Nye, Sean Cridland, Jeff Zwart, and Rod Emory) cooperated in a sublime way to deliver the end result 46: The Birth of Porsche Motorsport is nothing but an absolute masterpiece. The never-before-seen photographs and documentation shed a light on the birth of Porsche Motorsport, the start of a huge success story. 46: The Birth of Porsche Motorsport will have your attention from the first page to the last and you won’t regret spending 150€ to have it in your library. This is an amazing book and should be in the library of any Porsche and motorsports fan.
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Cars
Dalton Watson
February 2 2023
Hardcover
336
500
English
9-781956-309010
