Porsche 961
 |
|||||||||
| Category | Group B sports prototype | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Porsche | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbone | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Double wishbone | ||||||||
| Engine | Porsche Type-935 2,847 cc (173.7 cu in) Flat-6, turbocharged, rear-mounted | ||||||||
| Transmission | 6-speed manual | ||||||||
| Tyres | Dunlop | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants |
 Porsche AG
|
||||||||
| Notable drivers |
 René Metge Claude Ballot-Léna Kees Nierop Günter Steckkönig Claude Haldi |
||||||||
| Debut | 1986 24 Hours of Le Mans | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
The Porsche 961 was a racing car built by Porsche and based on their 959 sports car. It was intended for Group B sports car racing, complementing the purpose-built 956 and 962C which ran Group C in the World Sports-Prototype Championship. The 961 project was short lived, running only three races and seeing the construction of only one car. Plans to sell the car to customers were scrapped when the Group B class was canceled.
In the early 1980s, the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) reorganized their classification structure for motorsports. Two new categories, known as Group B and Group C, were designated for use in the World Sports-Prototype Championship. Porsche had developed the 956 for the Group C rules, and following the 956's debut, began work on developing a Group B car. An initial prototype concept, named the Porsche Gruppe B, debuted in 1983, after which plans were made to build the car for production and provide racing versions for customers as had been done with the 956.
By time the Gruppe B had been launched as the production 959 in 1985, Group B rules had been altered by FISA to better suit the class' use in the World Rally Championship rather than the Sports-Prototype Championship. Plans to develop multiple customer cars for sports car racing were therefore scrapped by Porsche, but development continued on the production of car which could be factory run in order to put the car's development to use. This lone racing car, built on 959 chassis No. 10016, became known as the 961.
The new 961 retained much from the 959 road car, including most notably the four-wheel drive system that was uncommon in sports car racing at the time but allowable under the Group B regulations. The system was modified to distribute power more to the rear wheels rather than the balanced distribution of the 959. The driver adjustable damper and suspension systems were removed and replaced by a racing unit that could only be adjusted from by the pit crew, but was more reliable for endurance racing.
...
Wikipedia