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Porsche 962

The Ultimate Model Guide

When the Porsche 956 was developed in late 1981, the intention of Porsche was to run the car in both the World Sportscar Championship and the North American IMSA GTP Championship. However IMSA GTP regulations differed from Group C and subsequently the 956 was banned in the US series on safety grounds as the driver's feet were ahead of the front axle center line. The Porsche 962 (also known as the 962C in its Group C form) was built by Porsche as a replacement for the 956 and designed mainly to comply with these IMSA's GTP regulations (it would later compete in the European Group C formula as the 956 had). The 962 was introduced at the end of 1984, from which it quickly became successful through private owners while having a remarkably long-lived career, with some examples still proving competitive into the mid-1990s. Due to the sheer numbers of 962s, some teams took it upon themselves to adapt the car to better suit their needs or to remain competitive. Beyond minor modification, some private teams reengineered the entire car. 

Porsche 962 Basics

Manufacturer: Porsche / Production Years: 1984 - 1991 / Designer: Norbet Singer / Chassis: Aluminum monocoque / Layout: Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout / Engines: Several Turbo-charged Flat 6 engines / Transmission: 5-speed manual or dual clutch semi-automatic / Predecessor: Porsche 956 / Successor: Porsche WSC-95

Porsche 962 Guide

The Porsche 962 arrived on scene in 1984 as essentially a Porsche 956 for the IMSA/US market. IMSA mandated that the driver's feet had to be behind the front wheel centerline.  Therefore Porsche needed to change the 956 to accommodate this difference and ultimately that meant redesigning the monocoque and giving the car a new designation.  The 962's monocoque was basically a stretched 956 tub with one primary difference. The result was that the 962's front overhang was shorter (in order to stay within the maximum regulated length) with the added bonus being that the car was less pitch sensitive compared to the 956. The IMSA Porsche 962 was known simply as the Porsche 962, while in FISA Group C1 format, the 962 was known at the Porsche 962C. There is a lot of overlap so we decided to simply combine these into one guide below.

Porsche 962 (1984 – 1991)

The Porsche 962 arrived on scene in 1984 as essentially a Porsche 956 for the IMSA/US market. A biturbo version was used in competition racing in Europe, while an IMSA version with a turbocharger featured in North America. The 962 C was based on the 956, with a 120 millimetre longer wheelbase and competed in LeMans. It differed from the IMSA version. The driver trio Stuck/Bell/Holbert was victorious at Le Mans in 1987. Porsche offered the 962 to privateers to race on their own and they were hugely successful.
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Special Porsche 962 Cars

Some of the special models worth mentioning

Dauer 962 Le Mans

Dauer 962 Le Mans (1994) In the late nineties, bringing prototype racecars to urban roadways was an idea that several companies shared. Considering the...
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Notable Porsche 962 Cars & Chassis #s

Initially, Porsche built 10 works team chassis numbers. Chassis #001 was built for IMSA, and is now in the Porsche factory museum. Chassis #002, #003 and #004 were the 1985 and 1986 Rothmans world championship team cars. Chassis #005 was a sprint car and was only raced once as a Rothmans car. Chassis #006 is in the factory museum. Chassis #007 and #008 were the new lightweight Rothmans cars for 1987 and raced until after Le Mans (#007 was crashed prior to 1987 Le Mans). Chassis #009 was the replacement Supercup car for the crashed #005. Chassis #010 was the last works car built, and was designed specifically to win the 1988 Le Mans 24 hrs. After withdrawing as a factory race team in 1988, Porsche built 6 more factory numbered chassis for the works supported Joest team, these being numbered Chassis #011 to #016. After the works withdrew in 1988, the privateer teams needed to carry on their own development to stay competitive with the Jaguars and Sauber Mercedes. In all, it is estimated that there were approximately 19 complete case built by Porsche for IMSA and another 16 cars made by others using Porsche (and their own) parts. For Group C, Porsche made about 54 cars completely and another 37 cars were made by others. In this 37 units includes the Dauer street and GT1 cars.

Works Porsche 962-006

Rothmans Porsche 962C (chassis #006) 1987 Le Mans 24 Hour winner photographed at Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, May 2017 The Porsche 956 and its...
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Porsche 962 Specifications & Performance

We broke the Porsche 962 specs into two broad segments, but the reality is that the car was optimized and changed over the years so these numbers are estimates more than exact.

Porsche 962 Engines (Over the Years)

Ignore wikipedia (it is wrong). Here are some of the configurations and engines used by the Porsche 962s used over it's racing life.

Porsche 962 Data & Research

We dig into some of the data surrounding the Porsche 962, including production numbers, specifications, chassis numbers and much more.

Porsche 962 Pictures, Galleries & Wallpapers

The Porsche 962 is all about technology and performance but at the same time it is still one sexy looking race car. Enjoy the design and all the little details in these Porsche 962 picture galleries.

Porsche 962 Videos

Experience the Porsche 962 in these engaging and awesome videos. We recommend you turn up the volume to be transported back to the days of insane racing cars.

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Porsche 962 News & Updates

Recent auctions, awesome review videos and all the latest news and posts regarding anything to do with the Porsche 962.

Rennsport Reunion 7

Having just experienced the seventh Rennsport Reunion at Weathertech Raceway, Laguna Seca, it’s clear absolutely nothing would get in the...
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