Capturing the spirit of Porsche

Atlanta. At Rennsport Reunion, we celebrate the stories and accomplishments of legendary drivers that gave their all for Porsche. Each week leading up to the event, we will showcase drivers and share their stories. These are the heroes of Rennsport Reunion 7 for the week of July 28: Jörg Bergmeister, Kevin Buckler, Jim Busby, Andrew Davis, David Donohue, Romain Dumas.

From the outset, the poster has marked Porsche Rennsport Reunion through the machines that have brought the German sports car manufacturer over 30,000 worldwide race victories. In 2023, Porsche Rennsport Reunion 7 – to be held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, September 28 - October 1, 2023 – will celebrate three true icons of Porsche: the Porsche 550 Spyder, Porsche 917/30 and Porsche 963. The three poster cars, which will be spotlighted on their own stage at the event as well as on the highly sought after collectible poster, recognize three eras of innovative prototype race cars.

Porsche 550 Spyder.

One of the most iconic machines in the history of Porsche, the 550 Spyder was the first car the German marque built with the intention of racing. In fact, it was designed with the solitary focus of carrying the brand to Le Mans, to challenge for a class victory in the 1953 edition of the classic French endurance race. That first year, the elegant lines of the mid-engine car were accented with a hard roof creating a coupe, which was mandated by the rules of the time. The classic Spyder shape would have to wait until 1954 when open cockpit cars were allowed to race at la Sarthe. When they did, they would leave a distinct mark on Le Mans history that would grow with each ensuing year.

The small, sleek, mid-engine marvel was readily recognized by its silver aluminum skin at major motorsport events around the globe. While still a relatively small player in the post war era, Porsche approached bespoke race car production with its founding principle of form follows function. Without high horsepower engines – the car ran a small 1.5-liter flat-four powerplant – the focus was on the circuit’s corners and fuel efficiency more than terminal velocity on the Mulsanne Straight. The approach paid off with one class win and one second place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 1953 also added a class victory at the prestigious Carrera Panamericana. The quintessential mid-engine sports car would be the foundational design of Porsche prototype race cars through today’s 963.

Engine. 1.5-liter, air-cooled flat-4.   HP. 78

Best Result. 24 Hours of Le Mans, Win and second place in class, 15th – 16th overall.

Porsche 917/30.

50 years ago, Porsche continued the evolution of one of the world’s most enduring endurance racers, the Porsche 917 with the 917/30. Focusing away from the long races of Daytona and Le Mans, this machine was built with a singular focus: the Canadian-American Challenge Cup, more commonly known as Can-Am. The North American sprint style format placed the large displacement engines in purpose built race machines for two-hour races on the greatest circuits of North America in the early 1970s. One year after Penske Racing and Donohue combined to win the team’s first Indianapolis 500 in 1972, the significance of Penske and Donohue was enough for Porsche to develop an exclusive upgrade of the 917/10 to create the now legendary 917/30.

With a daunting 5.4-liter, flat-12 engine boosted with twin turbochargers generating a reported horsepower rating of 1600 HP in qualifying trim, this 1800 lbs. lightweight grew a reputation for invincibility. In fact, the car was so dominate in the hands of sports car legend Mark Donohue it became not only the final 917 iteration in 1973, but it also effectively ended the Can-Am category as it was known.

The 917/30 and Donohue won all but the first two races of the final season with the Sunoco Penske Porsche. The first two rounds were also won by Porsche but with the 917/10 of the 1972 season in the hands of George Follmer and Charlie Kemp as prepared by Rinzler Racing. Donohue won the championship with more than twice the points of Follmer in second place. Hurley Haywood was in third with the Brumos Racing 917/10 while Kemp finished the Porsche sweep of the top four.

In 1975, following its retirement from wheel-to-wheel competition, Porsche, Penske and Donohue brought the car to Talladega Superspeedway to challenge the then standing closed course speed world record. With minor modifications – and a unique one-off livery – this car set the standard for circuit lap times at 221 mph. The record would stand until 1987 when a purpose-built car bettered the mark.

Engine. 5.4-liter, flat-12 turbocharged     HP. 1600 (qualifying)

Best Result. Six wins in eight races.

A Visual History of Rennsport Reunion Posters

Porsche 963.

The first Porsche prototype produced since 2017, the 963 made its competition debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January 2023. While the spine of the car is derived from a Multimatic chassis sourced from the LMP2 category of international sports car racing, the heart of the car is pure Porsche. The 4.6-liter twin-turbo, V8 is derived from the Porsche RS Spyder – also and LMP2 car of its generation – which, itself, drew from the 918 Spyder hybrid super sports car. The bespoke Porsche internal combustion engine (ICE) is matted to a class common hybrid, battery system and gearbox optimized by Porsche engineers for performance and efficiency. 

Weighing approximately 2,200 lbs. (1,000 kg), the race car has a total power output of 671 HP (500 kW). The engine's maximum speed is 10,000 rpm. The powerful engine is designed to run on renewable fuels enabling a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions.

As the only manufacturer offering customer race cars in the category’s inaugural season, Porsche currently has four machines racing in each of the two primary international endurance motorsports championships. The Porsche Penske Motorsport “works” team competes with a pair of 963 prototypes simultaneously in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTP class and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Hypercar class. Customer operations began midseason with JDC-Miller MotorSports focusing on IMSA and JOTA targeting the WEC while Proton Competition races in the top class of both championships.

Earning is the first international victory in the Grand Prix of Long Beach and its first pole position at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in this year’s IMSA GTP season, the naming successor of the Porsche 962 is truly at home in California.

Engine. 4.6-liter twin-turbo, V8 with hybrid system       HP. 671

Best Result. Grand Prix of Long Beach, Overall victory

Porsche Cars to be Featured on Rennsport Reunion 7 Poster