1990 Porsche 962C
Chassis No.962-159

REQUeST A printable PDF document with Photos

Team Trust
Le Mans 24-Hour 1990 and 1991

The Japanese Trust Porsche racing team successfully competed at Le Mans and selected World Sports Car Championship races in addition to the Japanese National Championship through the Group C era.

This 962 was purchased new from the Porsche factory in “longtail” specification specifically for the 1990 Le Mans 24 Hour race. The team raced this car only twice more in 1991 before switching to the Toyota 92C for the 1992 season. In 1992 the team performed meticulous cosmetic and mechanical restoration on the car before placing on museum display.

This was the team’s primary car for the Le Mans 24 hours race in 1990. It was driven by George Fouché (ex Kremer team driver), Steven Andskar, and Syunji Kasuya the car qualified 11th with a time of 3:38.28. In the race the car ran with the leaders for most of the race. Their pace was slowed late in the race and they eventually finished in 13th position. Their main sponsors were the Japanese oil company Nisseki, Cibie and Dunlop.

The car's livery was changed but still sponsored by Nisseki and driven by George Fouché and Steven Andskar for the 1991 Le Mans 24 hour race. The team was 16th fastest in qualifying with a time of 3:56.79. Again they ran with leaders early on but their race would end after 316 laps with gearbox failure.

The team then brought the car home to Japan and competed once more at Autopolis in a Japanese National Championship race. Driven again by George Fouché and Steven Andskar the pair won in the car's final competitive appearance.

This remarkable 962 has only been raced three times, never modified from factory specification or damaged in any way, this is one of the most period correct 962s in the world today. Canepa Design has just completed a full “nut and bolt” mechanical and cosmetic restoration. The car was disassembled down to the tub. All systems were inspected and rebuilt where necessary. The engine and transmission have been completely rebuilt. All suspension components have been crack checked and restored to new condition. The original body was repainted to the 1991 Le Mans livery.

About the 962
The Porsche 962 (also known as the 962C in international competition) was a sports-prototype racing car built by Porsche as a replacement for the 956 and designed to mainly to comply with IMSA’s GTP regulations, although 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 privateer owners while having a remarkably long-lived career, with some examples still proving competitive into the mid-1990s.

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 GT Championship. However rule changes in IMSA GT saw the water-cooled engine of the 956 forbidden, as well as the chassis itself due to new safety regulations, which required the whole driver to sit behind the front axle. The 956’s chassis had the driver’s legs positioned on top of the chassis, thus making the car ineligible.

To make the 956 eligible under the new rules, Porsche extended the 956’s wheelbase to make room for the pedal box. A steel roll cage was also integrated into the new aluminum chassis. For an engine, the Porsche 934-derived Type-935 2.8L Flat-6 was used with air cooling and a single Kühnle, Kopp und Kausch AG K36 turbocharger instead of the twin K27 turbochargers of the Group C 956, as twin-turbo systems were not allowed in IMSA’s GTP class at the time.

The newer Andial built 3.2L fuel injected Flat-6 would be placed in the 962 by the middle of 1985 for IMSA GT, which made the car more competitive against Jaguar. However it would not be until 1986 that the 2.6L unit from the 956 was replaced in the World Sportscar Championship, using 2.8L, 3.0L, and 3.2L variants with dual turbochargers. The cars run under World Sportscar Championship regulations were designated as 962C to separate them from their IMSA GTP counterparts.. The 3.2L unit, which had been eligible under IMSA’s Group 3 engine rules was banned in IMSA by 1987. In 1988, to counteract against the factory Nissans and the threat of withdrawal from Porsche teams, water cooled twin turbo Porsche engines would be allowed back but with 36mm restrictors.

In total, Porsche would produce only 57 complete 962s and 35 spare tubs between 1984 and 1991.

 

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