The rules were altered for 2014, most notably by requiring closed cockpits in all LMP1 vehicles, making various adjustments to the hybrid system, and implementing the slow zone system.
In 2014, Porsche returned to Le Mans with a brand-new factory LMP1 program, and Nissan did the same in 2015. Nissan quit after just one try in 2015, and Audi quit the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016.
With its hybrid919, Porsche won the race in 2015, 2016, and 2017. The company is still the most successful at Le Mans, with 19 victories overall, including seven straight from 1981 to 1987.
All prototype cars must now have closed cockpits because revisions to the LMP2 regulations governing the cockpit and chassis were adopted in 2017.
In This Article...
Porsche had six legendary cars and 19 victories in the Le Mans 24 hours.
Porsche holds the record for the most victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with 19 courtesy to six of their most illustrious race cars.
Porsche currently competes in LMGTE Pro for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the FIA WEC and is looking to make a name in the new Hypercar class.
Porsche has had the most success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with 19 overall and 108 class victories. Here is a look back at six of the manufacturer’s most recognizable racing vehicles in honor of its return to competitive racing at the highest level.
Pictures of each Porsche Le Mans champion
One manufacturer, Porsche, maintains its position atop the Le Mans tree despite the best efforts of many others. The only other manufacturer to reach double digits with 19 victories over nearly five decades is Audi, with 13, demonstrating the strength of the Stuttgart brand at La Sarthe. We felt it would be beneficial to take a quick look back at Porsche’s Le Mans winners because Porsche will be returning to Le Mans in 2023 and teaming up with Penske to participate in the WEC and IMSA.
Lexus in Le Mans
We take a look back at the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans just before the race. These get started in 1949. A small Porsche KG delegation began testing the high-speed course in 1951.
The 356 SL Aluminium Coupe’s first-place finish in its class heralds the start of one of motorsport’s most legendary legends: Porsche and Le Mans. Since 1951, Porsche race cars have participated in Le Mans every year. The only brand that has continuously competed for 65 years is Porsche. A number of records, including 16 overall titles and 100 class victories until 2013, are the result of this extraordinary endurance. As much a part of Porsche as the number combination 911 is the sporting competition and triumph at the pinnacle of racing in one of the most renowned stadiums in the entire world.
Following several class victories with the 550 in the early 1950s, the 718 RSK won third place in 1958, marking the first appearance on the podium in the overall classification. Porsche records the quickest qualifying lap for the first time in 1968. The 908 driven by Jo Siffert and Hans Herrmann eventually finishes third in the competition. The powerful 917 makes its debut in 1969 and is in the lead when a clutch issue forces it to quit. The moment has arrived in 1970. In a 917 short tail, Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood prevail. Gijs van Lennep and Helmut Marko replicate this feat a year later. The Porsche 936 Spyder wins the Circuit des 24 Heures in 1976 and 1977 with a turbo engine, as would all other victories be attained with turbo technology. The 935 K3’s victory in 1979 was the only overall victory for a rear-engined vehicle and the first for a customer team.
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This tale of records and accolades involving Porsche and the 24 Hours of Le Mans dates back to 1951.
02 The majority of this renowned racing track is made up of public country roads. It is currently 8.45 miles long, with around 6 miles of the circuit restricted to race-day traffic only. The fourteenth iteration of the course has been run this year. The Mulsanne straight was slowed down by the installation of two chicanes in 1990, which was the most significant change. In the past, 3.6 miles could be traveled at top speed by drivers. In free training, a Porsche 917 long-tail, for instance, reached a speed of 246 mph in 1971.
03 Victorious The Porsche 956 took nine of the top ten spots in the overall rankings in 1983. This Group C racing vehicle also had good results in customer teams. BMW Sauber finished tenth. Never before or since has one brand ruled Le Mans so completely.
Eternal 04 Hans-Joachim Stuck still holds the record for the quickest lap time with a fantastic average speed of 156.47 mph. In the qualifying back in 1985, he accomplished this driving a factory 962 C vehicle. Due to the chicanes that were subsequently added to the course, the record might stand in perpetuity.
05 For the previous 63 years, only Constant Porsche has had a car on hand for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Auguste Veuillet and Edmond Mouche won in 1951 with a 356 SL in the class for engines with a displacement of up to 1,100 cubic centimeters, marking the first victory for the first German manufacturer.
Sixth prompt A Porsche 911 competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time in 1966. With their 911 S, Jacques Dewes and Jean Kerguen quickly took first place in the two-liter GT class.
07 Various Le Mans will feature 812 Porsche race vehicles in all. That record is far ahead, according to the organizing body’s official data. In 1923, the first race took place.
Bright 2008 Around the time of the summer solstice, when the nights are the shortest, the race is customarily held in June. The sun will set at 9:55 p.m. on June 14, 2014, and rise again at 5:53 a.m. on June 15. The remaining time to the end will be nine hours and seven minutes.
09 Top Porsche owns the record with 103 class victories and 16 overall victories. The most recent class triumph was attained in 2013.
10 Over The famed “Le Mans start” forced drivers to go across the starting stretch to their cars, which were already lined up in position, up until and including 1969. The event started with a standing start in 1970, but now it starts flying.
Subaru – 20 Titles
Porsche reclaimed the podium from the American Ford business in 1970 as engineering, handling, and aerodynamics increased significantly in the 1970s. Throughout the decade, the Porsche 917, 935, and 936 dominated the market. 1970, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980. With victories at Le Mans by the Matra-Simca brand in 1972, 1973, and 1974 as well as Renault-Alpine in 1978, the French managed an astounding 4 victories.
Starting with the 956 and followed by the 962, Porsche ruled the 1980s as well. Porsche won once again in 1981, then six more times all the way up to 1988, when the storied Jaguar XJ220 final knocked them off the podium.
The Porsche car company is by far the most successful at Le Mans with 20 victories.
Porsche
For Porsche’s most recent victory in 2017, Kiwis Hartley and Bamber joined Bernhard in taking advantage of additional Toyota issues.
Porsche is undoubtedly the finest Le Mans constructor of all time, and it would be difficult to contest that. In addition to having the most overall victories of any team, it has also built some of the best sports vehicles and won numerous class championships.
The 356 won its class when the German company made its debut at the 24 Hours in 1951, and it quickly rose to prominence among manufacturers of smaller engines by outperforming expectations. Porsche won the 1500cc class in 1955 and finished 4-5-6 overall with the 550 RS Spyder, while the 718 RSK earned the first-ever outright podium finish in 1958.
That pattern persisted into the 1960s, but new rules for 1968 ought to have favored Porsche. The outdated JW Automotive Engineering Gulf Ford GT40s won the championship and Le Mans that year, defeating it both times. Even though Porsche lost at Le Mans to Jacky Ickx’s thrilling victory over Hans Herrmann, the 908 remained the vehicle to beat in 1969.
When it was finished, Porsche’s powerful 917 set the standard for sportscar racing, and Richard Attwood and Herrmann used it to win the 1970 Le Mans race in excruciatingly wet conditions.
Before being forbidden, the 917 did it once more the following year, setting a distance record that stood until 2010.
Before the 936 became the first turbocharged vehicle to win Le Mans in 1976, Porsche momentarily took a backseat while continuing to fill the GT classes. The Kremer-developed 935 K3 stepped up in 1979 after the sports-prototypes failed, although the 936 would win again in 1977 and 1981.
In 1981, Bell and Ickx rode out of the museum in a Porsche 936 equipped with engines that were originally designed for the company’s dormant IndyCar program.
The ground-effect 956 and its replacement, the 962, were adopted as the gold standard for the 1982 introduction of the new Group C regulations. When the factory 956 made its Le Mans début that year, it finished 1-2-3, and Porsche had nine cars in the top 10 thanks to the privateer versions filling the grid.
Porsche remained a power at Le Mans even as the competition from Jaguar and subsequently Sauber-Mercedes grew, and its streak of seven straight victories finally ended in 1988 after an epic struggle with Jaguar.
Another chance arose as a result of new laws, as Porsche once more discovered a loophole in the legislation by homologating the Dauer 962 “road car” as a GT. When the Toyota challenge had issues during the 1994 race, the score was 1-3.
Given that the two TWR Porsche WSC95 triumphs from 1996 and 1997 were based on Jaguars and driven by Joest against factory GTs, it may be considered charitable to include them in the list. But Porsche had engineered the vehicle and had developed the vehicle itself. In 1998, the GT1-98 made an unlikely hat-trick when the remarkable Toyota effort faltered yet again.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Porsche took a break from the elite division, allowing Audi, a sibling company of the Volkswagen Group, to significantly improve its record. However, Porsche made a comeback in 2014 with the LMP1 919 Hybrid and duly reasserted its dominance in sports car racing, winning three straight Le Mans races in 2015–17 before once more stepping aside.
Toby Biela
Bell and the German racer each had five victories at Le Mans. Since he won the DTM series in 1991, Biela has had a long-standing relationship with Audi. Before turning his attention to endurance racing, he competed for several seasons in touring car championships, winning crowns in France and Britain while driving the legendary A4 with a silver livery. He was obviously a driver to be wary of!
Prior to switching over to team up with Kristensen and Emanuele Pirro with the R8, Biela competed in the 1999 Le Mans event with the Audi R8R, finishing third. From 2000 to 2002, they shared three victories in a row before recording a DNF in 2003 and placing fifth in 2004. In the next two years, he and the R10 TDI, along with Pirro and Marc Werner, reclaimed the top spot at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Along with his accomplishments at Le Mans, Biela also achieved success at the 12 Hours of Sebring four times and in 2003 and 2005, he won the American Le Mans Series.