A new era  

The man who orchestrated the advent of this car, considered to be the first Porsche of the modern era, was none other than Ferdinand Piëch, Ferry Porsche's nephew, who appointed him Director of Research and Development. In this capacity, he was also responsible for the racing activities of the Zuffenhausen-based company. Among his many projects, hill-climbing was particularly close to his heart, as hill-climbing enjoyed great international prestige at the time. In the meantime, the Fédération Internationale Automobile had issued new regulations for 1966. 

In the Grand Touring category, which Porsche had won four times in a row, it was now mandatory to produce 2,500 examples of a car in order to obtain homologation. This made it financially unaffordable for a small manufacturer like Porsche, and with renewed energy Porsche entered the new Sport class, which was relaunched that same year. This category, in which only 50 cars are produced, makes it possible to produce, on a less expensive budget, racing models that are closer to Prototypes than to GTs. So after the recent setbacks in the European Hill Climb Championship, Porsche turned with great ambition to the Sport category of the World Sports Car Championship.