Engineering, design, innovation; while the list is long for what describes the Porsche name, it can be distilled into one word; racing. Even before the days of cars that would bare his name, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche believed competition was the ultimate test for proving excellence in design and functionality. This belief was passed down to his son Ferry who would oversee the development of the model 356 sportscar.
Porsche 356/2 SL 063 before its class victory at Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans
In 1951, Porsche knew its best (and most challenging) path to acceptance and prestige in the world sports car market would be through competition. Hence came the idea to enter the world’s most grueling sports car race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With one of its two entries crashed in pre-race practice, it would be the sole responsibility of car #46 to prove its superiority among a crowded field of “small displacement” racers. When the checkered flag waved 24 hours later, #46 earned Porsche’s first “class win” and proved its name was now worthy of respect. From that moment on, Porsche strove to evolve its dominance in motorsport, the foundation of what it has become today.
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