1982 Porsche 956 Group C

'Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.' That may be clear nowhere better than with the Porsche 956 - winner of LeMans in its first appearance - with its derivatives the 962 and 962C, arguably the most successful single series of endurance racing cars ever built with more than 120 victories over a 13-year span.

This example, chassis number 956-003, was the single most successful of the 956/962 series. It was driven to second place in the 1982 24 hours of LeMans (winning by only 63 seconds after crossing the line with a nearly seized engine) by Vern Schuppan, Jochen Mass and Jackie Ickx, and won its next four races that year, driven by Ickx/Mass in three and by Ickx and Derek Bell in the other. In 1983, this car won at Spa, Fuji, Brands Hatch and a breathtaking victory at LeMans, driven by Vern Schuppan, Al Holbert and Hurley Haywood, covering a then-record distance of 3,136 miles. Porsche 956-003 has the best record of all the factory 956/962 chassis; responsible for more points than any other 956 and Porsche's 1982 World Endurance Championship and Ickx's Driver championship and - most important of all - the overall winner of the 1983 LeMans 24 hour race. It is an essential part of the bedrock foundation of the Porsche endurance racing legend.

On March 5th of 1986, 956-003 was sold to Vern Schuppan in whose hands it had twice raced and has had only four owners since then, all recognized collectors who have carefully maintained and preserved this singularly important piece of racing history. It has the 620 horsepower, 2649cc intercooled twin-turbo, dual overhead camshaft, four-valve per cylinder boxer six, with air cooled cylinders and water-cooled heads. Altogether 124 of these 956/962 series racers were built by Porsche and somewhere around 56 others were built by privateers.