PORSCHE 961 - 1987

Cette collection est une adaptation de Porsche Racing collection - Éditeur : Centauria Editore s.r.l.

The success of the 959 Dakar made Porsche decide to create a track version, the 961, which performed well at Le Mans in 1986

If the Porsche 959 is remembered as one of the company's successes, it is certainly not because of its sporting career. Designed to race in Group B rallies, which gives engineers greater freedom, it evolves into a supercar for the road for which competition is only a secondary goal.

The unexpected abolition of Group B, after the dramatic accidents of 1986, put a premature end to the sporting career of the model that could only boast victories in the Dakar. It is not much better for the derivative track version called 961. Quickly prepared, it has good potential, but it is expensive and teething problems block its development after only three races, including two at Le Mans

The 961's first appearance came at Le Mans (considered by Porsche to be its finest showcase), during testing in May, almost a month prior to the 1986 24 Hours race. Production of the 959 road car had not yet started and therefore there were no units available to gain Group B approval (a minimum of 200 units are required for this).

Porsche therefore placed the car in the IMSA GTX category, which refers to the regulations of the old FIA Group 5 by being more tolerant in terms of modifications (including four-wheel drive). Driven by René Metge, who had won the Dakar race a few months earlier with the 959, the 961 achieved the tenth fastest time, while in the subsequent sprint event the French driver and Claude Ballot-Léna suffered transmission problems. A month later, the same team competed in the 24 Hours where, after being classified 26th in qualifying, they surprisingly finished seventh overall by taking first place in the GTX category (of which he is the sole representative), but above all by being the only one to break the monopoly of Group C cars (almost all Porsches) in the top ten places.

Photo taken shortly after the start of the 1987 24 Hours of Le Mans dominated by Porsche, which took the first two places overall with two 962Cs (here in the lead). In this edition, the 961 withdraw due to an accident after a great comeback. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés.

This car, which appeared on the market too quickly and had no sponsor, aroused the curiosity of the consumer, the production costs were quite high and therefore the car was expensive to buy: just like the 959 road car, which was supposed to cost 150,000 DM but eventually cost 400,000 DM (the 959 vintage from 1987 was worth about 1.8 million francs in France, the equivalent of 36 standard Renault 5s), but also a racing model was very expensive. In order to ‘promote’ it even better, Porsche entered it in the last event of the IMSA championship, the 3 Hours of Daytona scheduled for October, with drivers Günther Steckkönig and Kees Nierop. This time, the technical commission admitted it to the GTP category, that of the prototypes, but after a good start, the team had a bad surprise. Indeed, the inclination of the parabolic turns of the circuit led to accelerated wear of the tires, while numerous breakdowns relegated the car to an anonymous 24th place.

THE LAST CHANCE

While the other models, the 962 and the 956, all derived from the 911, continued to score victories almost everywhere, Porsche gave the 961 one last chance in 1987 by bringing it back to Le Mans under the official colours of Rothmans. The car performed relatively well during the tests in May, placing sixteenth among the prototypes, while during the race, after starting from number thirty-one, it managed to climb back to eleventh place. But the comeback ended too soon: Kees Nierop, who joined the team of Metge and the Swiss Claude Haldi after his 962C was damaged during qualifying, made a mistake that led to an accident in the 17th hour and caused his car to catch fire. From that moment on, Porsche abandoned all hope for a sporting career for the 959, which, a few months later, with the cancellation of Group B, lost all hope of participating in rallies. To compensate, the German brand is recovering and restoring the 961 from Le Mans, one of the most precious unique pieces in the Porsche Museum.

The 961 from the Porsche Museum parades during the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Its livery and racing number are the last it wore at the 1987 24 Hours of Le Mans © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés.

RENé METGE, CLAUDE HALDI AND KEES NIEROP

The driver seen most often at the wheel of the 961 is Frenchman René Metge, considered the model's specialist for having been the leading driver of the crew that led the 959 "cousin" and the 911 4x4 to victory in two Dakars in three years. Metge's specialty is the African rally, in which he took part more than ten times between 1979 and 2007 (as a driver or navigator), winning, before Porsche, in 1981 with a Range Rover. During the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1987, the year in which Metge ended by winning the first French edition of the Carrera Cup, he was assisted by the Swiss Claude Haldi, a veteran of Le Mans with 22 starts between 1968 and 1993 and winner of the GTX category in 1975. The third man, the Canadian of Dutch origin Kees Nierop, can boast a victory during the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1983 in a Porsche 934.

René Metge is seen here in the 1987 Paris-Dakar. The French driver participated in the Dakar race 14 times, from 1979 to 2007, and 6 times in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, between 1977 and 1987 . © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés.

DATASHEET - PORSCHE 961

ENGINE 6 cylinder boxer, rear
DISPLACEMENT 2849 cm3
POWER 680 hp at 7800 rpm
TORQUE 656 Nm at 7400 rpm
DISTRIBUTION 2 ACT per bank, 4 valves per cylinder
FUEL SUPPLY electronic injection Bosch Motronic
SUPERCHARGER 2 turbochargers KKK
GEARBOX 6 speeds
MAXIMUM SPEED 340 km/h
ACCELERATION 0-100 inc.
CHASSIS monocoque steel
FRONT SUSPENSION quadrilateral, double combined springs/shock absorbers
REAR SUSPENSION quadrilateral, double shock absorbers and single springs
BRAKES ventilated and perforated discs
FRONT / REAR WHEELS 17”
BODYWORK aluminum and plastics
LENGTH 4380 mm
WIDTH 1890 mm
HEIGHT 1260 mm
WHEELBASE 2300 mm
TRACKS 1522 / 1580 mm

As the data concerning this car has never been officially published, the characteristics indicated here have been taken from the most reliable sources