LUDVIGSEN LIBRARY
Porsche has many great racing cars to its credit, from the 550 to the 917. Its successes on all the world's circuits are legion. None, however, surpasses the exploits of the 956 and 962, considered as one because they differed only in details of wheelbase and engine. To their credit are an amazing six Le Mans victories in succession and three 24-hour wins at Daytona. Between 1982 and 1986 the 956 won 27 world and driver championship races, to which the 962C added 14 world championship triumphs from 1985 through 1987. In America the 962 cut a swathe through IMSA, winning 48 of its contests. Powered by a turbocharged flat six, the 956/962 had Porsche's first full monocoque structure and was the first car its engineers designed to produce aerodynamic downforce. Raced both by the factory and by private teams, these were turn key cars: just turn the key and win. Up to 1991, Porsche calculated, 148 962s and 962-like cars had been built. These, plus 28 956s, are among the world's most respected racing cars. In these pages an expert on Porsche, Karl Ludvigsen, shares rare images from his personal archive and describes the highs and more highs of these great Porsches.
