24h Le Mans
First front-engine car designed by Porsche, the road 924 was transformed by Norbert Singer's men into a racing beast so as to take the start at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1980. The three models entered crossed the finish line and one among them will be restored by the Porsche Classic centers.
The No. 2 Porsche 924 Carrera GT driven by the driver line-up composed of Tony Dron and Andy Rouse was removed from the inventory of the Stuttgart Porsche Museum in which it had figured since its retirement from competition in order to be restored by the four British Porsche Classic centers. A just reward for the car that passed under the checkered flag in 12th place at the 1980 24 Hours of Le Mans boasting the British flag.
Though the road version of the Porsche 924, equipped with a 4-cylinder engine, made its first appearance in 1976, it wasn't until 1980 that the race model debuted at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for development purposes. The decision was made to enter three cars with driver-lineups of three different nationalities: American, German and British. However, the American Peter Gregg, victim of a road accident, was unavailable and replaced by British driver Derek Bell, victorious at Le Mans in 1975.
Certainly less powerful than many of its rivals, the 924 benefitted from rainy weather conditions to figure well and it was in sixth place that the German pair, Manfred Schurti-Jürgen Barth (winner in 1977) sporting the No. 4 crossed the finish line, while the Brits finished 12th in the No. 2 car, just ahead of the Anglo-American duo Derek Bell-Al Holbert (No. 3). Following the success of the three cars at Le Mans, a special 924 Le Mans road series was produced in July and August of 1980.
In proper celebration of the 40th anniversary of the road model's release, the Brits' Porsche 924 will be restored in order to participate in classic events. The work has been entrusted to the Porsche Classic center (in charge of supplying spare parts and technical support for all Porsches from the beginning) located in the U.K., scene of the first round of the 2016 World Endurance Championship (WEC) season at Silverstone on April 16th, where Porsche, World Endurance Champion and winner of a one-two at last year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, will attempt to score the win this time from Audi who won in 2015.
Cécile Bonardel / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
PHOTO: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, JUNE 14-15, 1980. The British driver line-up's No. 2 Porsche finished 12th.
