Marked by legends.
Throughout the past decades, many Porsche Motorsport vehicles have gone down in racing history: from the iconic 'Pig' down to the legendary Porsche RS Spyder. All of them have left their mark on Porsche and motorsport, just like the 24 Hours of Le Mans has done since its inception. This year, the 75 years of Porsche are the occasion to bring all these legends back to the very place where they made history.
On the eve of the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, motorsport fans could get a first glimpse at the exclusive design of the Porsche 963 vehicles on the occasion of the 100 years of Le Mans. What's even more: Porsche is celebrating its 75th brand anniversary and the motorsport team is close to going down in WEC history as a team. When Porsche achieves victories in multiple vehicle classes of the WEC during the historic endurance race by the Sarthe river, the brand will reach the milestone of 20 overall victories in France – a previously unprecendented record in the history of the World Endurance Championship.
The colour scheme of the three works race cars connects both anniversaries. Every colour on the Porsche 963s has its own Le Mans history. And we are very proud of every single one of them.
Detlev von PlatenMember of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing
Orange: The Gulf Porsche 917.
Pink: The 'Pink Pig' Porsche 917/20 Coupé.
Green: The Hippie Porsche 917.
Blue: The Martini Porsche 917.
Dark blue: The Rothmans Porsche 956.
Red: The Salzburg Porsche 917.
Yellow: The Porsche RS Spyder.
Orange: The Gulf Porsche 917.
The former test vehicle became an icon the day the tracks of bugs revealed, where the aerodynamics of the vehicle can be optimized. After the according changes were made, the vehicle became the Porsche 917 KH – Kurzheck, the German word for short rear. The vehicle then participated during the test weekend in Le Mans and could keep up so well with the competition, that it effortlessly drove all the way onto third spot before getting in an accident in the Dunlop Curve.
Pink: The 'Pink Pig' Porsche 917/20 Coupé.
The development of the iconic race vehicle originates from the idea to combine the advantages of the Porsche 917 KH and the 917 LH, meaning 'Kurzheck' and 'Langheck, so short rear and long rear accordingly. The result was the body work of the Porsche 917/20, but what made this vehicle so distinctive was its paint: the pink body work combined with the labeling of butcher-style cuts made the vehicle unforgettable.
Green: The Hippie Porsche 917.
During the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970, Porsche reached the podium for the first time with two vehicles: #23 and #3. The latter won the second place of the prestigious race and conquered the hearts of the audience with its unique livery. The combination of purple, green and white was even so popular, that other race organizers begged for the 'Hippie' to enter.
Blue: The Martini Porsche 917.
In the 70ies, Porsche worked together with Martini Racing for the first time to participate at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Already in 1971, this cooperation managed to reach the podium of the endurance race. Along for the ride: the unique Porsche 917 in a majorly white livery along with red and blue stripes. In the years 1976 and 1977, another vehicle in the iconic look – at this point the Porsche 936 – reached the podium.
Dark blue: The Rothmans Porsche 956.
The 80ies saw the rise of the Group C sport car prototypes – a time that still calls forth nostalgic feelings amongst motorsport fans. The Porsche 956 in Rothmans livery rolled onto the international motorsport stage in 1982, and continued to participate in endurance races in the following year. What was particularly memorable from that time: This Porsche reached the podium beside two other Porsche 956 during its debut in Le Mans.
Red: The Salzburg Porsche 917.
While the Hippie Porsche raced onto the second spot on the podium in Le Mans, the Salzburg Porsche with the #23 directly reached the first spot. The race itself was rainy and the driver team consisted of only two drivers – Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwod. Still, they proved what their red Porsche 917 can do.
Yellow: The Porsche RS Spyder.
Introduced in 2005, the Porsche RS Spyder was proof of the close-knit cooperation between Penske Motorsport and Porsche. At first, the LMP2 vehicle was only available to Team Penske in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), and the team reached multiple podium spots and even the overall victory together with the yellow RS Spyder.
The seven colour schemes allow an immediately recognisable look into Porsche’s long and illustrious history and the special Le Mans liveries.
Stephane LenglinDesigner Exterieur Style Porsche
The Porsche Penske Motorsport Team will be participating with three vehicles in the 24 Hours of Le Mans: in addition to the previously utilized vehicles with the numbers #5 and #6, the #75 will be included – befitting the 75th anniversary of Porsche.
