Once again Porsche takes a prominent place in the Zandvoort Historic GP. Just as the previous years, Porsche is an important sponsor. With the help of the Porsche Museum, some extra ordinary cars are brought to Zandvoort. Personalities with both a strong connection to Zandvoort and the Netherlands have the opportunity to drive these cars.
This car the Porsche Museum brought a Porsche 908/03 , a Porsche 906 Carrera 6, a Porsche 911 RSR 2.1 Turbo, the one and only Porsche 961 and there is a Porsche 356 Gmund SL that was not on the track during the Friday demo. Let’s hope it will be seen in action on Saturday or Sunday.
Porsche 908/03
The Porsche 908/03 is a car, developed by Porsche but only 1 goal : being competitive in the Targa Florio and on the Nordschleife. With this goal in mind, they build an extremely light car, based on the Porsche 909 hillclimber. The secret to the “mark three” was positioning the differential behind the transmission, as in the 909, forcing the gearbox, engine and driver’s seat further forwards. The front seat position was the reason it was nicknamed the VW bus by the Porsche drivers. But the goals of Porsche were achieved : May 3rd 1970, Jo Siffert and Brian Redmann win the Targa Florio in a Porsche 908/03. Just a few weeks later, May 31 1970, Kurt Ahrens and Vic Elford win the Nurburging 1000 KMs in a Porsche 908/03
Porsche 906 Carrera 6
The Porsche 906 or Carrera 6 is a street-legal racing car from Porsche. It was announced in January 1966 as the successor to the Porsche 904 Carrera GTS. The type would also compete in modified form in the Group 6 Sports Prototype class. Using materials never used before in motorsports, the Porsche 906 could be seen as a driving racing laboratory. However, a fast one.
Porsche 911 RSR 2.1 Turbo
To help the development of the new Porsche 911 Turbo ahead of its launch for the 1975 model year though, Porsche wanted to prove the abilities of a turbocharged 911 in competition. To do so, they created this: the Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Turbo 2.1. The car was designed according to the FIA Group 5 rules. The first turbocharged Porsche 911, and the first turbo-powered race car at Le Mans. In 1972/73, Porsche had pioneered turbocharged race engines with the 917, and now successfully applies the acquired knowledge. For a low vehicle weight, the roll cage is made of aluminium, the doors and all add-on body parts are plastic. For consistent handling, the 120-litre fuel tank is positioned in the rear of the cockpit. Gijs van Lennep and Herbert Müller score third at the Monza 1,000 kilometres in a Porsche 911 RSR 2.1 Turbo.
Porsche 961
The Porsche 961 is based on the first Porsche supercar ever built : the Porsche 959. Where the Porsche 959 was used in rallies like the Paris – Dakar, Porsche had no 4-wheel drive race car suitable for the track. Group B regulations however allowed that, and that led to the development of the Porsche 961, a 4 wheel drive race car for the track. The Porsche 961 was the 1st 4-wheel powered car in Le Mans and finished 7th.
Pictures by Vintage Race Photography
