Legendary Group C Porsche features at Gooding's Amelia Island Auction

Legendary Group C Porsche features at Gooding's Amelia Island Auction

Campaigned by Brun Motorsport at the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans
Estimate: $1,500,000 - $2,000,000
Chassis: 962-160
*Please note that this vehicle is sold on a Bill of Sale. Online bidding is not available for this vehicle.


Late-Production 962C Campaigned by Brun Motorsport
Just Two Private Owners from New
Driven by Oscar Larrauri, Harald Huysman, Walter Brun, Jesús Pareja, and Massimo Sigala
Started on the Front Row of the Grid for the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans
Easily Among the Most Desirable Sports Racing Cars of Its Era

2,999 CC Type 935/85 Flat 6-Cylinder Engine
Bosch Motronic Fuel Injection
Twin KKK Turbochargers
Estimated 750 BHP at 8,100 RPM
5-Speed Manual Transaxle
4-Wheel Ventilated Disc Brakes
Fully Independent Suspension with Coil-Over Shock Absorbers


PROVENANCE
Dr. Robert Bishop, Indianapolis, Indiana (acquired new from Porsche and leased to Brun Motorsport)
Current Owner (acquired from the above in 1997)

RACE HISTORY
24 Hours of Le Mans, June 1990, Larrauri, Brun, Pareja (DNF)
FIA WSPC Dijon, July 1990, Larrauri and Huysman (12th Overall)
FIA WSPC Nürburgring, August 1990, Larrauri and Huysman (8th Overall)
FIA WSPC Donington, September 1990, Larrauri and Huysman (DNF)
FIA WSPC Montreal, September 1990, Larrauri and Huysman (DNF)
FIA WSPC Mexico, October 1990, Larrauri and Huysman (DNF)
FIA WSPC Suzuka, April 1991, Larrauri (DQ)
FIA WSPC Monza, May 1991, Larrauri and Sigala (6th Overall)
FIA WSPC Silverstone, May 1991, Larrauri and Sigala (10th Overall)
24 Hours of Le Mans, June 1991, Huysman, Santal, Stirling (DNF)
FIA WSPC Mexico, October 1991, Sigala and Pareja (8th Overall)

LITERATURE
Karl Ludvigsen, Porsche 956 & 962: Immortal Endurance Racers 1982–1994
Jürgen Barth and Gustav Büsing, The Porsche Book: Porsche Race Cars

THIS CAR
The Porsche 962 and its predecessor, the 956, are among the most important models in the history of endurance racing, ranking alongside other motor racing icons such as the Alfa Romeo 8C 2300, Jaguar D-Type, Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, and Ford GT40.

The success achieved by this series of Porsches is unrivaled in the history of sports car racing. Between 1982 and 1987, the Porsche 956 and 962 won Le Mans six times, finishing 1-2-3 every year except 1987, when they were a mere 1-2. In North America, the Porsche 962 won 48 of 68 IMSA GTP races between 1984 and 1987, including 1-2-3 finishes at both Daytona and Sebring for three consecutive years.

Campaigned by the Porsche works team and well-funded private entries, the 956 and 962 captured the World Endurance Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ Championship (1982–1985), the World Sports Prototype Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ Championships (1986–1987), the IMSA GTP Manufacturers’ Championship (1985–1988), and the IMSA GTP Driver’s Championship (1985–1987), along with numerous other important victories and series championships.

Following a pattern set by the 956 program, 962s built for the works team began with chassis 001 and benefited from many technically advanced features, while customer cars, starting with chassis 962-101, were more standardized. Like their predecessors, factory 962s typically wore the famous Rothmans colors, though for the 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans the works team cars donned a new Shell-Dunlop livery. Even after withdrawing as a factory entry in 1988, Porsche built additional 962C chassis for privateers.

Founded by Walter Brun in 1983, Brun Motorsport GmbH was a Swiss racing team created from the remnants of GS-Sport. Racing initially in just sports cars, Brun would operate at the highest levels possible for a privateer team, being among the first to race the Porsche 956, both in the World Sportscar Championship and the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft, or DRM. Success for the team would follow, with 1985 bringing driver Hans Stuck 2nd Place in the DRM Championship while driving a 962.

For the 1990 season, Brun would run two Porsche 962Cs in World Sports Prototype Championship competition, including the car offered here, chassis 962-160. Originally purchased from Porsche through Brun by Dr. Robert Bishop of Indianapolis, 962-160 was contracted for use by the Brun Motorsport team in the 1990 and 1991 WSPC. Copies of both the agreement with Brun and the car’s Bill of Sale to Bishop are in the car’s comprehensive history file. Specifics of the agreement included requiring the team to restore the car to as-new condition with factory parts and return it to Dr. Bishop within 90 days of the season’s final event in Mexico.

Chassis 962-160 would see its first racing action at the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it would wear the famed and very attractive livery of Spain’s Repsol oil company. As recently recalled by the car’s chief mechanic at Brun, Steve McCaughey, and by Dr. Bishop himself, both of whom spoke to a Gooding specialist, Walter Brun decided that because of the two new chicanes on the Mulsanne Straight, 962-160 would run high-downforce bodywork at Le Mans. This eschewed years of practice and Porsche’s own recommendations, but it worked well and Oscar Larrauri held the pole position until the final moments in qualifying and started on the front row of the grid, outpacing all factory-backed 962s. Then 962-160 would go on to have a flawless run until just 15 minutes from the end of the race, when the engine expired. The rules governing Le Mans at the time did not allow for classification if the car didn’t finish, but had they, the team’s total of 353 laps were enough to put it 3rd in the overall running. McCaughey recalls the Brun team as being “simply gutted” by the experience of being so close to triumph at Le Mans.

The remainder of the 1990 season would bring a mixture of disappointing results for the Brun squad, including an infamous accident in Montreal involving a manhole cover that was dislodged by a car and then run over by Brun’s other 962C. The accident, in which 962-160 was also involved, caused damage to the left front corner of this car, which was subsequently fixed by the experts at Fabcar in Indianapolis, according to Dr. Bishop. Fabcar’s repair work was done to the car’s original tub, and the Porsche would race in Mexico two weeks later.

For the 1991 season, 962-160 was effectively used as a secondary car for Brun and saw action in four additional races, including its second running in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it failed to finish. After the Mexico round of the 1991 season, the 962C was restored by Brun’s mechanics and delivered to Dr. Bishop in Indianapolis.

On February 12, 1997, the Porsche was sold to the consignor, a noted enthusiast who owns a carefully cultivated collection of Porsche racing cars and also has his own race shop. In his ownership, the 962C has been campaigned enthusiastically in a multitude of events including four of the five Rennsport Reunion meetings and has competed in HSR (Historic Sportscar Racing) enduros at both Daytona and Sebring, where it won the Al Holbert Memorial enduro. Always fastidiously maintained, this 962C has seen care from experienced specialists. Recent work by Porsche Motorsports North America includes a comprehensive engine rebuild, after which the car has had just nine hours of track time. The Porsche’s bodywork has recently been repainted in its appropriate Repsol livery, and it is truly stunning to behold.

This wonderful machine, which demonstrates the iconic might of Porsche’s sports prototypes of the 1980s and ’90s, is now available to serve just its third private owner since new. Wildly capable in period, its performance is nothing less than staggering, even in modern terms. Still, while known for its incredible capabilities, the 962C is also renowned for its docile nature and friendly driving dynamics, allowing amateurs to live out their endurance racing dreams.

Retaining its original tub and period bodywork, 962-160 is rare among its peers. Its eligibility for vintage motor sport and concours events worldwide could keep even the most active collector busy for a lifetime, and there may be no more exciting way to experience tracks such as Daytona than in a 962C. Easily among the most desirable sports racing cars of its era, this 962C commands your attention, and has all the attributes to hold it indefinitely.


Related Market and Auction Articles

4,930 articles