In the illustrious history of Le Mans, no manufacturer has enjoyed such success as Porsche. 50 years ago, on 14 June 1970, the sports car manufacturer from Stuttgart enjoyed their first of 19 overall victories in the 24 hour endurance race.
To mark such a historic anniversary and accomplishment, the Porsche Museum brought the Salzburg liveried 917 back to the Circuit de la Sarthe along with five protagonists who all conquered the high speed straights and corners of Le Mans.
1970 – Herrmann (D) / Attwood (GB) – Porsche 917 KH
1971 – Marko (A) / Van Lennep (NL) – Porsche 917 KH
1981 – Ickx (B) / Bell (GB) – Porsche 936
1987 – Bell (GB) / Stuck (D) / Holbert (USA) – Porsche 962C
1998 – Aiello (F) / McNish (GB) / Ortelli (F) – Porsche 911 GT1
2017 – Bernhard (D) / Hartley (NZ) / Bamber (NZ) – Porsche 919 Hybrid
In recent years race fans have enjoyed retro-inspired liveries from the Porsche factory entries, starting with the “Pink Pig” and Rothmans designs from 2018, which also commemorated the 70th anniversary of Porsche. Last year, the legendary Brumos colours made famous by Hurley Haywood were re-imagined and this year, as revealed yesterday, the 2020 factory colours will pay tribute to the first overall victory.