Versatility - The Porsche 961
What if you took a supercar and made it do everything? Would it be heavily compromised or not as good as it could be? Or would it simply be this.
This is the Porsche 961. The racing iteration of the legendary 959. It did the Dakar, it did Le Mans and if it wanted to, could have done everything else.
The 961 designation was given to the racing 959’s, although publicly only the circuit racer was called the 961. The Dakar car was called the 959 Dakar, makes sense. Anyway, in the 1980s Porsche was pushing the game forward. The revolutionary 959 had set the benchmark for what a road car could do, so it fell to the 961 to prove itself in motorsport.
Only a single 961 was ever built. Chassis 10016.
Porsche had a very successful thing going on in Group C with the 956’s. But, they want the grand slam. Group B and Group C. So, the 961 was destined to give them that double crown. However, by the time it actually got to racing, the FIA announced Group B would change.
Porsche continued to develop the car though. Plans for a run of customer cars were discussed and ditched along the way.
961 would be closer to the road car than you might think. 10016 kept its four-wheel drive system (allowed under Group B regulations) but was tweaked to send more power out back. The cleve electronic suspension was removed though. After testing, they found the manual adjustables suited the car better on track.
The engine for 961 was an absolute monster. Based on the fabled 935 architecture, the twin-turbo Flat-Six could be found at the heart of the Group C 956’s and 962’s. A change to the boost setting set the power at just shy of 700BHP… and for that, they took the brakes off the Group C cars so it didn’t find the nearest wall after a straight and headbutt it. The body was reworked for better aero and a downforce package moulded into the design.
When the car raced in 1986, it had to race in the GTX category. Not enough 959’s had been built to qualify.
At Le Mans in ‘86, the 961 showed the world what it could do. A 7th place overall with Rene Metge at the wheel ahead of several Group C cars.
In ‘87, it came back. In full Rothmans livery.
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