1971 Porsche 908/3

Spyder
Chassis number: 908/03002

By 1970, Porsche developed a new racing weapon, the 908/03. This particular Porsche proved to be Germany's favorite racing car. This Porsche 908/03002 was a factory works car for testing. It was driven and tested by Paul Frere. It has a 3 liter boxer 8-cylinder engine with 350 horsepower at 8400 RPM and a Type 910 fully synchronized five-speed gearbox. The chassis is a space frame aluminum. The weight is 1100 pounds, 0 to 62.5 mph in just 3.8 seconds. The top speed is approximately 172 mph.

The Martini livery on this car raced at the Nurburgring in 1971. It was driven by Gijs van Lennep and Dr. Helmut Marko. They finished 3rd. It has been totally restored and is raced in historic races by the current owner.

Spyder
Chassis number: 908/03002

The 3-liter flat-8 air-cooled Porsche sports-racing prototypes made their racing debut in the FIA World Championship of Makes in 1968. Their predecessor was the Typ 907 model that was powered by a rear-mounted 2.2-liter flat-8 engine offering 270 horsepower. The new 3-liter engine brought that horsepower figure to an impressive 350 BHP at 8400RPM.

The Porsche 908 began as a closed endurance-racing Coupe that minimized aerodynamic drag on fast-venue tracks. From 1969, the 908 were mainly a lightweight open-cockpit Spyder. Porsche's racing ambitions extended to outright victory in the FIA World Championship competition.

Porsche produced a total of thirteen 908/03 chassis. The first five examples were assigned to test and development use centered upon the factory's Weissach research facility outside Stuttgart. The 908/03 models were even shorter than the 908/02, and weighed a mere 500 kg. In 1971, vertical tail fins were added to the cars and their 1-2-3 finish in their home 1000Km race at the Nurburgring cemented the 908/03 models reputation.

Of the thirteen constructed, only chassis number 003 was deployed in serious competition, finishing second in the 1970 ADAC 1,000Kms. Between 1970 and 1971, no more than five 908/03s were ever fully assembled and running at any one time. In fact, just eight of these cars' bespoke transaxles were manufactured in period.

In 1972, the FIA World Championship of Makes introduced new regulations which make the Porsche 908/03 obsolete. Instead, they began a second career with several examples eventually be reconfigured with turbocharged 6-cylinder engines and would race on through the mid-1970s. Many of the early 908/03 chassis were stripped and stored, and salvaged components were then built into later machines.

This example, chassis 908/03-002 was used purely for extensive testing and development during the 1970-71 period. It was tested at their test circuit at Weissach. It was later stripped, dismantled and placed into storage. It was later located and acquired by Dale Miller - formerly curator of the Collier Collection in Naples, Florida. He bought both this car's bare frame and that of its sister '004' almost simultaneously, this one from an associate of the factory and the other from former works mechanic-turned-Porsche preparer R.O. 'Paddy' O'Grady.

Restoration of the car soon began. Some of the parts were manufactured, and by the time of the program's completion, he had made eight 908/03 transaxles.

Of all the surviving Porsche 908/03s in existence, only one retains an original body-panel set, and that is chassis number 009 - currently residing in the Porsche Museum.

This example, chassis 002, wears a re-made body with a factory original transaxle. It has a proper-specification flat-8 engine, period brake caliper components, and re-make brake rotors. The seats are 're-done' the half-shafts are original, and the instruments are new but correct.

The current owner has campaigned chassis 002 extensively in US vintage racing over the past 14 years. In 2005, the owner shipped the car to the Targa Florio Storica event on the island of Sicily, running the car upon the circuit for which it was designed.

by Dan Vaughan

Spyder
Chassis number: 908-03-013

The intensity with which Porsche pursued the world championship in 1970 and 1971 is indicated by the 908/3. It was produced to win but two races: the Targa Florio and Nurburgring, twisty, difficult tracks where the 917's size and power were a handicap.

Predecessor 908s had been built as coupes or spyders, the latter evolving into a smooth flat shape that earned the fishy nickname 'Flounder.' The 908/3 was produced only as a spyder, and would be dubbed the 'miracle Porsche' by the Italians.

Only the engine remained the same, and it gave away at least 65 hp to the rival three-liter 312PB Ferrari. Relying on their mastery of featherweight design, Piech's engineers produced a car virtually supernatural in its weight saving, coming to the grid at a mere 540kg. Though the 908/2 had been easily the lightest car in its class, the 3 was lighter yet by a full 100 pounds through the extensive use of titanium. Its space frame weighed but 48 pounds; its plastic and foam body another 26.5.

Just 13 908/3s were produced: eleven in 1969-1970, two in 1971. Because of their extraordinary lightness, racing pundits predicted widespread structural failures. The pundits were wrong. A one-two finish in both the Targa and Nurburgring in 1970 saw to that; although the 1971 Targa was a driver error fraught crash out, a three car sweep of the 'Ring put the final event back on the track.

The only 908/3 breakages occurred in the two cars built in 1971 and only because their frames had not been built to specification. This example was one of them. Still, at the 1971 Nurburgring, Pedro Rodriguez and Jackie Oliver joined in the three-car Porsche sweep, nursing this car across the finish line to second place despite a broken chassis.

The 908/3's win rate was an astounding 75%. Even more astounding is how long the car's basic design remained competitive. With the 908/3, Piech and company moved far from the 910 design-of-the-month days. Like the 1927 Delage Grand Prix car, this Porsche was so brilliantly effective that it remained competitive for more than a decade.

The Porsche racing legacy began with the very first cars that it produced. Dr. Ferry Porsche was the company creator and a racing enthusiast who understood the benefits of racing participation. Prior to the 908, the Porsche victories had been in their class rather than overall wins, due to their small engines when compared with their competition.

The 908 was identical to the 907 both in long and short tail form, except for the engine. The eight-cylinder, three-liter 908 was Porsche's first attempt to win The World Manufacturers' Championship. In 1967, Hans Mezger, an employee of Porsche and an individual who would later design the 917 Type 912 12-cylinder, began the design and production of their power-plant that would finally equal the competition and make it a contender for the overall victory. The three-liter engine was a modified version of the four-cam six-cylinder engine that had been used in the Type 901 flat-six used in the 911. With dry-sump lubrication, titanium rods and bolts, aluminum heads and cylinders, and sodium-filled valves, the engine was technologically advanced, lightweight, and rugged. The bore was enlarged to 84 mm and fitted to the 907's six-speed transaxle. However, from 1969, a new five-speed gearbox was used.

The 908/3 engine produced 350 horsepower which was low when compared with the other manufacturer's engines. The reason the 908 was competitive was that it was light and its power-to-weight ratio was better than most.

The racing history for the 908 began at the 1968 Nueburging 1000km. The short-tail coupe driven by Vic Elford and Jo Siffert won the event. Another race in Austria had Stiffert finishing first and Kurt Aherns finishing second. By now, the shortcomings of the 908 were evident. It suffered from crankshaft-induced torsion vibrations causing many of the engine components to fail, including the alternator. There were aerodynamic instabilities, wheel bearing failures, gearbox failures, and frame breakage. These issues were addressed in time by changing the firing order of the engine, adding fins and fifteen-inch wheels, and using a new Type 916 transaxle.

The 908 was entered in the 1968 Le Mans 24 Hours where it finished third behind the second place 907.

For the 1969 season and with a year worth of 908 growing pains realized, it was ready for victory. Unfortunately, the 908 was unable to capture the checkered flag at Daytona or Sebring. The 917 debuted at the Geneva Auto Show and the 908 was becoming old news. The mechanical shortcomings in the 908 were once again addressed and the remainder of the season was positive. A win at Targa Florio along with many other victories earned Porsche its initial FIA World Manufacturers Crown.

The 908 had an illustrious career both on the race track and as a movie star. Porsche 908#022 was used in Steve McQueen's film about LeMans. The movie was to be a documentary of the 24-hour race. In preparation for the movie and for LeMans, Steve raced the 908 during the 1970 season. The vehicle was DNF'ed at Riverside International Raceway due to a gearbox failure. A first-place finish was achieved at the Phoenix International Raceway. At the Sebring International 12 Hour Endurance Race, another amazing race, it was Ferrari with Mario Andretti behind the wheel who would emerge victorious by a mere 22 seconds. The 908 placed second overall and first in the Sports Prototype class. 908.022 was entered in LeMans but Steve McQueen was unable to race. The film's backers did not want to take the chance of having their movie star injured or worse. So Herbert Linge and Jonathan Williams drove 908.022 to a ninth-place finish. The pit stops for 908.022 were longer than most due to the additional duties involved such as changing the camera film. McQueen's LeMans paid homage to the greatest endurance race in the world, the greatest cars of the time, and the greatest drivers. It is an excellent souvenir, documentary, and memento.

The entire racing career for the 908 included eleven championship victories over a span of four years. One of the closest and most memorable LeMans race was in 1969 where the 908 finished in second place. The 917 had been retired after hour 22 due to clutch failure. The race came down to a Ford GT 40 and the Porsche 908. The John Wyer's Ford GT 40 finished less than 70 yards in front of the 908. The LeMans race would ultimately become the one that would forever elude the 908.

The 908 is one of many great Porsches from the 1960's. The 904, 906, and 917 often overshadow the 908's success. The mechanical difficulties that plagued the 908 kept it from achieving some important victories but its accomplishments are undeniable and legendary.

by Dan Vaughan