Photos courtesy Porsche
Porsche released the livery for the Penske Motorsports 963s for the 100th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. From afar, it appears to be a rainbow of colors, but a closer inspection reveals there is meaning behind each stripe. Let’s a take a look at which era each stripe represents and the cars that ran during those times.
First, the numbers. Porsche and Penske will continue to use number 5 and 6 on its two 963s that are running the World Endurance Championship (WEC) series. They are adding a third car with the number 75 to celebrate the auto manufacturer’s 75th anniversary as a company.
How to spot each car? The fins are the easiest way. The number 5’s fin will be black, the number 6 will sport white, and number 75 will be red. All three will feature the unique stripes we’re about to discuss.
Gulf Orange: Porsche 917K
The design starts on the outside with Gulf Orange, inspired by the John Wyer-fielded 917s that featured the colors of its sponsor, Gulf Oil. Gulf Orange has been a PTS color found on modern street Porsches, as seen on Rennbow.org. Thanks to Steve McQueen and the 1970 movie, Le Mans, the #20 917 in Gulf colors became immortalized on the silver screen. However, it was not a lucky livery for Porsche at Le Mans, as a Gulf-liveried car never won at the iconic 24-hour race.
Pink Pig: Porsche 917/20
It's Pink! It was also known as Big Bertha and Truffle Hunter, but the name that stuck was the Pink Pig. 1971 would be another winning year for Porsche at Le Mans but not with the 917-20 Pink Pig. Instead, a Martini-liveried 917 would take top honors. The Pink Pig would be involved in an accident and retire early from the race. However, it has now become a cult sensation within the community of Porsche enthusiasts. It is worth mentioning that in 2018 Porsche entered two 911 RSRs with retro livery. One in Rothman colors and the other as the Pink Pig. The cars would finish 1-2 in the GTE Pro class with the #92 Pink Pig taking top honors. While not officially a PTS color yet, fans of the Pink Pig have either painted or wrapped their cars as a tribute, as seen on Rennbow.org.
Hippie Car: 917 LH
It was 1970 and the height of the hippie era. Porsche did not miss a beat by painting one of their 917’s for Le Mans in a psychedelic design. The car was purple with green and white edging — and Porsche didn't paint the green until after qualifying!Plus, it was a long tail version of the 917, a design that initially proved to be very dangerous to drive. Willi Kauhsen and Gerard Larrousse were picked to drive the Hippie 917 and after a fierce battle, most of it in the rain, the team would finish 2nd to the Porsche Salzburg winning 917 of Hans Herman and Richard Attwood. The Simeone Foundation in Philadelphia owns that same car and is worth a visit if you’re in the area.
Martini Racing: Porsche 936 and 936/77
The light blue doesn’t dominate the logo, but without it, you would notice something was missing. In 1976 and 1977, Porsche would win back-to-back with virtually the same car and almost the same livery, the Martini-sponsored 936 and 936/77. If you look closely at the Martini logo, you’ll see the same blue that Porsche used in this new 963. A great tribute to the victories of past Le Mans.
Rothmans: Porsche 956
The dark blue of the Rothmans liveried 956 are best remembered when they crossed the finish line at Le Mans in a 1-2-3 formation (same as their car numbers) in their inaugural debut. It would signal the start of new era of Porsche domination in motorsports. Porsche would make an army of cars for customer racing and further the legend of the 956 with victories throughout the world. Here’s a video Porsche did on this legendary model.
Porsche Salzburg: 917K
The 963s already include red in their standard season livery, but with the new design the red represents the 1970 Le Man winning Salzburg 917. This would be Porsche’s first overall win at Le Mans. Porsche would go on to become the winning-est marque in Le Mans history, ascending to the top of the podium nineteen times.
Penske Motorsport w/DHL: Porsche RS Spyder
The last color is yellow, and it represents the Penske-run RS Spyders. More of a tribute to Penske Motorsports who not only ran their cars in yellow and red livery but also had tremendous success in the American Le Mans Series. The RS Spyders would never compete for an overall win at Le Mans but rather score a class win in 2008 and 2009 through an independent group, Team Essex.
Whether you like or dislike the new livery for Le Mans, I think we can all agree that it will look spectacular at the top of podium.
Source: Porsche
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