Porsche has made memories at Le Mans, which are sure to last an eternity, and in the upcoming months, the Porsche Museum will dedicate itself extensively to this leading heritage theme through the launch of their exhibit: “The Porsche success story in Le Mans”. It will commence in 1951, the year in which Porsche first drove to a class victory with the 356 SL, followed by a further 107 class wins, and 19 overall victories with the light alloy Coupé.
Fast forward 70 years and Porsche is launching Porsche Moments, a new series that devotes six episodes to this famous chapter, hosted by Le Mans winner and endurance champion Timo Bernhard. The team pays tribute to the many historically significant moments in Le Mans through the media, internationally and at the headquarters in Zuffenhausen.
Head of Porsche Heritage and Museum, Achim Stejskal: “In the new Porsche Moments format, we will be highlighting special moments in our past during which we – from today’s point of view – have made corporate, product or racing history. We reconstruct these moments as authentically as possible by means of contemporary witnesses and invite our fans to again experience these special Porsche Moments via our social media channels.”
For the first episode of Porsche Moments, Timo Bernhard invited Fritz Enzinger, Vice President Motorsport at Porsche, whom he had not seen for two years. Enzinger, who had led the brand to three overall victories in Le Mans, reunited with his old friend Bernhard in front of the historical brick building of Werk 1. “Trust and friendship are important for success in racing,” explained Enzinger as he climbed out of the 356 SL.
Thanks to its aluminium body, the Coupé weighs only 680 kilograms, almost 120 kilograms less than the steel-bodied 356 Coupés produced by Reutter in Stuttgart from November 1949. “Wilhelm Hild from the Porsche works team gave the 356 SL the nickname of ‘aluminium can’," Enzinger reveals and laughs. In-house, the car bears the name “Type 514 Porsche Sport for Le Mans 1951”.
From 1948, Porsche built 44 Type 356/2 Coupés in Gmünd, in Austria’s Carinthia region. Eleven other body shells came to Stuttgart and some were later further developed here. The car featured in the first episode of Porsche Moments is the historical godfather of the class winner and was made in 1952 – one year later than the original No. 46 winning car. “Just imagine – a car with less than 50 PS drives 2,840.65 kilometres in Le Mans at an average speed of 118.36 km/h. And that in 1951! It had travelled to the race by road – and then drove back to Zuffenhausen on country roads,” said Enzinger. The winning car was driven by French importer Auguste Veuillet and his compatriot Edmond Mouche, two drivers for a 24-hour race – nothing unusual at the time.
The meeting of Bernhard and Enzinger in front of Werk 1 is symbolic for the journey of the Porsche from Zuffenhausen to the first-class victory in Le Mans. Originally, the team had started at the Reutter building. “These days it is inconceivable to drive competition cars by road to Le Mans,” said Bernhard, commenting on the risky eleven-hour trip arriving on 16 June 1951. “Departure was at 7:15 in the morning, Ferry Porsche sent off the team,” said Enzinger, showing historical photos and entries from this moment in the journal of the then chief designer, Karl Rabe. Racing driver, Veuillet and race director of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Charles Faroux, had managed to convince Ferdinand and Ferry Porsche to participate in Le Mans at the Paris Motor Show the year before.
The path to the first-class victory on 24 June 1951 proved to be long – two out of three competition and training cars had already been in accidents by the time the race started. All hopes were pinned on the remaining lightweight and the 46 PS four-cylinder boxer engine with increased displacement. “If you win in Le Mans with a Porsche that reverberates throughout the whole company,” remarked Enzinger. “That must have been the same then with the first-class victory. Le Mans is simply a magical place”. Enzinger’s best Porsche Moment in France was the win in 2015: “We dominated from the first free practice, an indescribable feeling. The suspense peaked at the finish line.” Timo Bernhard’s personal Porsche Moment is the overall victory in 2017. “Winning three years in succession is only possible with the best team. We came from 21 nations – and we all had the same goal”.
Talking about “same”, Fritz Enzinger always had the same hotel room from 2014, no. 424, a tradition, which calmed his nerves. Another tradition for Porsche, which still remains the case today, is the transfer of technology from motorsport to production. “Racetracks are development laboratories for the brand’s technologies. At Porsche, innovative solutions must be proven under the most arduous of conditions. Only then can they be put into road vehicles,” says Bernhard. “By the time the car returned home, when the engine of the 356 SL had been run in, the Porsche had some 4 PS more, according to anecdotes,” said the 40-year-old.
To honour the Porsche success story in Le Mans worldwide, the sports car manufacturer will also be holding a roadshow, which began in June 2021 and will continue through to January 2022, in addition to the “Porsche Moments”. The plan is to stop at 14 stations in 10 countries, including France, the Netherlands, the UK, the USA, China, the United Arab Emirates and Germany. Porsche enthusiasts can look forward to static and dynamic appearances of more than 20 original winning cars from the historical collection. In all Porsche Experience Centres globally, so-called Heritage Corners – in keeping with the roadshow – will be dedicated to exploring the history in greater depth. In addition, various classic car events are being planned, such as at the Monterey Car Week in California. Depending on the pandemic situation, the use of drivers from that time may be possible either live or virtually to give an insight into their exciting experiences.
Interested fans can also follow “The Porsche success story in Le Mans” from behind the glass partition that provides a view of the workshop in the Porsche Museum. The roadshow makes a stop there and six Le Mans class and overall winners will be on show.