Porsche 936
Encyclopedia
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
as a delayed successor to the Porsche 908
Porsche 908
The Porsche 908 was a racing car from Porsche, introduced in 1968 to continue the Porsche 906/Porsche 910/Porsche 907 series of models designed under Ferdinand Piech....
, a three litre sportscar prototype which was retired by the factory after 1971. Its name came from using a variant of the Porsche 930
Porsche 930
The 930 was a sports car built by Porsche, 930 actually being the "type number" for the pre-964 generation 911 Turbo produced between 1975 and 1989...
's turbocharged engine, as well as competing in Group 6 racing.
It was built to compete in the World Sportscar Championship
World Sportscar Championship
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance and road racing events in Europe and North America with dozens of gentleman drivers at the grid,...
as well as at 1976 24 Hours of Le Mans
1976 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1976 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 44th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 12 and 13 1976.-Race:The regulations for Le Mans were changed again, with the fuel limitations removed and Group 5 cars were allowed to compete with Group 6 cars. Porsche entered two 936s and one 935, while...
under the Group 6 formula, which it won both of. Chassis 002 with #20 won with Jacky Ickx
Jacky Ickx
Jacques Bernard "Jacky" Ickx is a Belgian former racing driver who achieved 25 podium finishes in Formula One and six wins in the 24 hours of Le Mans.- Racing career :...
and Gijs van Lennep
Gijs van Lennep
Jonkheer Gijsbert van Lennep is a Dutch esquire and former racing driver who gave a good account for himself in his eight Formula One drives.- Career :...
won Le Mans, while the #18 chassis 001 of Reinhold Joest
Reinhold Joest
Reinhold Joest is a former German race car driver and current team owner. During the last 25 years, Joest Racing has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans nine times.-Driving career:...
and Jürgen Barth
Jürgen Barth
Jürgen Barth is a German engineer and a former racecar driver. He is the son of Formula One driver and sports car racer Edgar Barth....
had engine failure. It shared these victories with its production-based sibling, the Porsche 935
Porsche 935
The Porsche 935 was introduced in 1976, as the factory racing version of the Porsche 911 turbo prepared for FIA-Group 5 rules. It was an evolution of the Porsche Carrera RSR 2.1 turbo prototype which had scored 2nd overall in the 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans....
which won in Group 5
Group 5 (racing)
Group 5 was an FIA motor racing classification which was applied to four distinct categories during the years 1966 to 1982. Initially Group 5 regulations defined a Special Touring Car category and from 1970 to 1971 the classification was applied to limited production Sports Cars restricted to 5...
. The open top, two seater spyder was powered by an air-cooled, two-valve 540 hp single-turbocharger flat-6 engine with 2140 cc, or the equivalent of 3000 cc including the 1.4 handicap factor. The spaceframe chassis was based on the 917, with many of the parts also coming from the car. In the first outings, the Martini Racing
Martini Racing
Martini Racing is the name under which various motor racing teams raced when sponsored by the Martini & Rossi distillery that produces Martini vermouth. Martini's sponsorship program began in 1968...
car was still black, and the engine cover behind the roll bar was flat. The large hump and the air box above the engine was fitted onto the car later in the season. It is not for the air intake of the turbocharged engine, nor for cooling of the air-cooled engine itself, but instead mainly used for the intercooler.
From 1976 to 1981, the factory entered Porsche 936 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
three times with Jacky Ickx
Jacky Ickx
Jacques Bernard "Jacky" Ickx is a Belgian former racing driver who achieved 25 podium finishes in Formula One and six wins in the 24 hours of Le Mans.- Racing career :...
('76
1976 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1976 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 44th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 12 and 13 1976.-Race:The regulations for Le Mans were changed again, with the fuel limitations removed and Group 5 cars were allowed to compete with Group 6 cars. Porsche entered two 936s and one 935, while...
, '77
1977 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 45th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 11 and 12 1977.-Race:The Porsche 936 turbo won again in 1977 against the Renault and Mirage Renault, with extraordinary driving efforts by Jacky Ickx...
, '81
1981 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 49th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 13 and 14 1981. It was also the eighth round of the World Championship for Makes.-Pre-race:...
), thus each of the three original chassis won once. In 1978
1978 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 46th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 10 and 11 1978.-Race:In 1978, the Renault V6 turbo, which had lost in 1976 and 1977 to the Porsche 936, finally managed to beat the German cars. Each company had brought no less than four cars, which after...
, the two previously winning chassis, which had been updated for 1977, came second and third behind the Renault, while the pole-setting new chassis 003 crashed out. Porsche did not intend to sell the 936 to customers, wanting them instead to use the 935 (which occupied the first four places at Le Mans in 1979), and the old 908 which were still around, updated to turbo engines and new 936-like aerodynamics. In 1979, a half-hearted Essex-sponsored Le Mans entry with two 936 was a failure, and the car also crashed at Silverstone
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...
. Porsche engineers provided some unofficial support to very good customers, though, and Joest managed to get a spare chassis (004) and parts to assemble a car which was in 1980 designated as Porsche 908
Porsche 908
The Porsche 908 was a racing car from Porsche, introduced in 1968 to continue the Porsche 906/Porsche 910/Porsche 907 series of models designed under Ferdinand Piech....
/80 and entered privately by Joest Racing
Joest Racing
Joest Racing is a racing team that was established in 1978 by former Porsche works racer Reinhold Joest...
. The Martini Racing
Martini Racing
Martini Racing is the name under which various motor racing teams raced when sponsored by the Martini & Rossi distillery that produces Martini vermouth. Martini's sponsorship program began in 1968...
Liqui Moly backed car took second at Le Mans in 1980
1980 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1980 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 48th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 14 and 15 1980. It was the seventh round of the 1980 World Championship for Makes.-Pre-race:...
. Kremer received blueprints to recreate a modified '81-spec car dubbed chassis 005 for 1982.
The successor Porsche 956
Porsche 956
The Porsche 956 was a Group C sports-prototype racing car designed by Norbert Singer and built by Porsche in 1982 for the FIA World Sportscar Championship...
was introduced in 1982 after the new 2650 cc engine designed for Indycar was tested in the 1981 winning chassis 003 which was sponsored by Jules. At the inaugural year of the new Group C
Group C
Group C was a category of motorsport, introduced by the FIA in 1982 for sports car racing, along with Group A for touring cars and Group B for GTs....
formula which the 956 was built for, privateer teams such as Kremer Racing
Kremer Racing
Kremer Racing is a motorsports team based in Cologne, Germany, founded by racing driver Erwin Kremer and his brother Manfred. They have competed internationally with Porsches for nearly all of their existence, and were even one of the factory-backed squads for many years...
and Joest Racing had to wait until 1983 for their 956. Thus, in an attempt to conform to the new Group C regulations, both teams built new bodyshapes that incorporated a roof onto their 936-replicas. Joest's car was designated as 936C JR005 while Kremer's car became known as the CK5 01.
Literature
- Lothar Boschen/Jürgen Barth: Das große Buch der Porschetypen, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-613-01284-7
- Schneider, Peter: Typenkompass Porsche. Renn- und Rennsportwagen seit 1948, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-613-02300-8
External links
- Porsche: 1976 - Porsche 936 Spyder
- Porsche: 1981 - Porsche 936/81 Spyder
- http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/424/Porsche-936.html