24h Le Mans
| 1969 |
 Stuttgart, 20th of April 1969 : Lined-up at the factory, the twenty five Porsche 917 awaiting inspection by scrutineers. |
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| Following the frightening speeds attained in the 1967 race, the capacity of engines was limited to 3 litres. The old 5 litre cars were allowed so long as they had a production of 25 vehicles. The regulators thought that no manufacturer would be able to make, let alone sell, 25 prototypes... and yet on the 20th of April 1969 at the Porsche factory there stood the designated number of cars neatly parked. On the 14th of June, three 917 with 4.5 litre flat 12 power were at the start line. Although it was Ford with an 'old' GT 40 that took victory, the Germans took revenge in 1970 and '71. | ||
| 1994 |
 It is difficult to see it as Grand Touring car. Yet the Dauer Porsche 962 slipped through the net of the GT regs. |
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| Just one street legal example was enough to be eligible for GT1, a class with particularly generous regulations in many areas. Porsche did not hesitate to homologate its 962, Group C prototype that had won in 1986 and 1987. Although somewhat less efficient than the "real" prototype, the two cars entered benefits from reliability and finished first and third overall. In the months that followed, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest revised the regulations to prevent a similar tactic happening again. And yet, it will not be long ... | ||
| 1996 |
 Unlike its rivals McLaren, Ferrari and Chrysler, the Porsche 911 GT1 was originally conceived as a race car before being converted for road use. |
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| Henceforth, to be admitted in GT1 each car had to demonstrate a minimum production of 25, the same as in 1968. Porsche set out the repeat the feat of the '60s and set out to design a race car and then tame it to produce a road version. The flaw is found, many will rush there. The authorities were not particularly demanding with regard to the time scale of the manufacture of the 25 road legal models. Thus, it was not until 1997 to see the 911 GT1 “straßenversion” of which only 20 copies would ultimately be built. The car would be saved thanks to TWR Porsche engine that won in 1996 and 1997! The 911 GT1 finally won in 1998, but at that time, the regulations only required only one road going example … |
Today, to homologate a GTE there needs to be a production of 100 road cars (25 for a "small manufacturer"), 300 for a carbon fibre chassis) and the race version should retain the outline of the road version.
